How do you listen to music?

Ice Rich

Ice Rich

Ice Rich

Soldato
Joined
3 Dec 2004
Posts
2,625
Hello all,

Just put an order in for the Acoustic Energy Aego M 2.1 Speakers :)

Whats the best way of playing music? I want to experience a high quality of sound :)

Is MP3 not recommended due to the sound compression? Whats the best type?

When I get my speakers do you have any advice on how I should set them up? Or does it not matter? Im completely clueless.

Im currently using a really cheap pair of speakers Ive had for about 7 years. Cant really notice any difference regardless of the media type/bit rate I use.

Thanks
 
In all honestly, the clarity depends on how you define it. With some digital audio files they can sounds awful such as sub 128kbps mp3 files. I suggest that using vbr or a slightly higher bitrate will make a difference, although if you can't tell then just stick to the files you have at the moment. Ogg is definitely a good format, although not supported by a high majority of mass media players.

Set the speakers up either side of your monitor usually slightly facing inwards towards your ears, with the sub on a lower level, I'm not sure about on the floor or resting on something though. Once you've broken them in, and are used to the sound, get a cd and rip 1 song at a few different bitrates such as 128, 192, 224 vbr or similar and see if you can easily tell the difference, if you can't then just use the bitrate you want.

Enjoy your speakers man :)
 
Thanks for replys, good advice :)

So you think that mp3's I play should be above 128kb bitrate? Will look out for the Ogg format too.

Any more advice - please post

Thanks
 
apparently for the best sound qulity your gonna want to put the sub inbetween the speaker, preferably in the centre of your desk. This is because due to the small speakers, the sub has to produce sound at higher frequencies than with bigger speakers, at these higher frequencies the sound becomes directional so you want it facing towards you.
Look here:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17539410
 
It makes quite a big difference encoding mp3s at a high bitrate.
It also increases the amount of storage you need though.

I listen to music on my PC when I'm working/surfing/etc and not really concentrating on the music so it doesn't really matter (although I still encode at a high bitrate).

When I want a quality listen I go downstairs and use my hi-fi.
 
The best way to listen to music is from a CD :p

High quality mp3 or equivalent is fine though.

I find winamp 5 really annoying compared to earlier versions, and it crashes loads more. It's still miles better than itunes and wmp though.
 
I wouldn't listen to 128 kbps MP3s if I had a choice. 160 kbps sound significantly better, and then 192 kbps sound even better still. It's a case of diminishing returns though as you go higher and higher, the difference between 192 kbps and 320 kbps isn't as much as you would think, and a lot of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Same with 320 kbps and CDs (originals, not burnt from MP3s), there is a difference, but it's pretty small and undetectable by most people. I don't see the need to use lossless on PC speakers/PC soundcards.

The real answer though is to try for yourself when your speakers turn up. Listen to one of your CDs, then rip it to 320 kbps MP3s and listen to them, then try 192, then 128 etc, and at each point see if you can tell a difference.
 
I to have some Acoustic Energys and I use .AAC at 320Kbit, 44Khz. Sounds great! I still cant figure out how to run these speakers "digitally" as they refuse to? The hissing is starting to bug me.
 
1. Aegos have no digital input, so you can't connect any Optical or Coax digital input into them.

2. The hiss would be down to your source component or the sound card. I'd suggest upgrading the sound card (and/or the interconnect cable) if you have problems with hissing.
 
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