8 Replies Latest reply: Feb 10, 2009 5:42 PM by Spoot51 RSS

    Playing Music Files on PC

    Spoot51 Community Member
      I like high fidelity audio. Who doesn't? When I started using Adobe Creative Suite I soon noticed that music files I had ripped from CDs or recorded from vinyl into my pc sound MUCH better: crisper, cleaner, no distortion, when played using Soundbooth as opposed to Windows Media Player, including the current version11. Since I rip all my cd's as .wav files using lossless compression, I was wondering what's the problem with Windows Media Player? It definitely distorts the high end and muddies the low end at any sort of volume. This is especially noticeable when I am listening through Studio Reference type headphones so the lousy quality really bugs me. If Soundbooth could play my library and shuffle the thousands of tracks, I'd be happy, but I know it wasn't designed as a media player.
      Anyone know of a better media player?
        • 1. Re: Playing Music Files on PC
          JSS1138 CommunityMVP
          I like QCD. Never done any critical listening on my computer, though.
          • 2. Re: Playing Music Files on PC
            Eddie Lotter Community Member
            >I was wondering what's the problem with Windows Media Player?

            Chances are good it is one or more plug-ins. Turn off the SRS plug-in and the equalizer. That may make enough of a difference to be acceptable.
            • 3. Re: Playing Music Files on PC
              Spoot51 Community Member
              Thanks, Eddie. I think you hit it. Turning off the graphic equalizer improved the sound on Windows Media Player quite a bit through both the headphones and my KEF tower speakers. I have hooked up my 20 year old Yamaha stacked components (250 Watts per channel at 8ohms) to my pc since my wife won't let me put the old stereo in the living room. Using my pc to play through the old system is really great and I don't know anyone who isn't shocked when they hear what is coming out of "the pc". Not your Daddy's little tinny pc speakers!
              I also have undertaken a project to record my hundreds of old LP's in storage and digitizing them in huge sized files. Soundbooth helps quite a bit, but I still can't get rid of all the spilled beers, dust and scratches from my youth on some of the records.In any case I don't like the lousy quality on some newer CDs and doing it the old fashioned way straight from the vinyl brings things back to life in a big way!
              • 4. Re: Playing Music Files on PC
                Eddie Lotter Community Member
                You're welcome. Have fun. :)
                • 5. Re: Playing Music Files on PC
                  creig bryan-mUOxt4 Community Member
                  > "...I also have undertaken a project to record my hundreds of old LP's in storage and digitizing them in huge sized files...."

                  Thomas: How many LPs do you own, and do you intend to convert them all?
                  Or are you selective, recording some tracks on each LP, and skipping the "B-sides"? What sound card are you using to import the audio? What sample rate?

                  I have over 3000 LPS, and have no plans to convert them. Conservatively (very conservative) estimating an hour per album, I decided it just wasn't cost/time effective to attempt it. Instead, I only transfer those tracks that are to be directly utilized in productions. For listening pleasure, I still prefer the vinyl aurals.

                  Keep Smiling
                  • 6. Re: Playing Music Files on PC
                    Spoot51 Community Member
                    I have fewer than 350 albums left, having sold most of them years ago when I thought I was being wise by recording all my vinyl to cassette tape! How did I know? I was only a college kid. Unfortunately, my old tape decks weren't that great and now they sound like squeaky mp3 files when i play them.
                    When recording I usually do a full side at a time at 48000 sample rate and 24-bit depth.This creates large files of at least 4-6mb per song. Later, I work on individual cuts that I like in Soundbooth and save those faves to my library. Is it overkill? Maybe, but I can use the files that I clean up in Soundbooth to create excellent sound on a DVD. According to "Adobe Soundbooth CS3, Classroom in a Book" a commercial CD contains a sample rate of 44,100 Hz and 16 bit depth. A DVD would have a sample rate of 48,000 Hz and 24 bit depth. So I am recording basically a higher frequency range and higher dynamic range than necessary for normal humans to listen to, but it's my archive and I don't want to do it again in two years.
                    As to time/cost, I find it incredibly fun to sit and listen through some of those old things, up to 45 years old in some cases! You will discover memories that make the effort worthwhile and besides, it's a hobby for me.I have wired an AudioTechnica turntable into stereo jacks which input directly into my pc soundcard (Creative SB X-Fi) which has proven just fine. Turn on Soundbooth, pop the top on a cold one and go back down memory lane as far as you want!
                    • 7. Re: Playing Music Files on PC
                      creig bryan-mUOxt4 Community Member
                      Thomas:

                      Thanks for the information. My hats (all of them) off to you. Of the about 350, how many would you say that you have completed? And do you foresee running out of hard disk space (if you are storing them as well as burning them)?

                      Keep Smiling
                      • 8. Re: Playing Music Files on PC
                        Spoot51 Community Member
                        I've recorded about 35 albums and they occupy about 45.9gigs of space on one of my hard drives. Memory is so cheap it's ridiculous and it is only going one way. i have three external HDs for backup of important files and keeping video projects andf it's hard to conceive of running out of space. By the way i am eagerly awaiting the rumoured "G Drive" from Google due out later this year? It's the "cloud computing" storage where we won't need hard drives any more. Google will lease infinite space very cheap online and it will possibly eventually eliminate the need for pc hard drives? Don't doubt it, how many floppy disc do you still have? Do you keep your banking files on your pc or do they reside somewhere on monster online servers?