Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Not happy with my sound...

I used to be a MP3 nut and downloaded till the cows came home. It sounded great on my Altec Lansing speakers. One day I bought a good reciever and B&W speakers. I piped the same music throught that reciever. I just realized then how crap MP3s actually do actually sound. Many years later with newer higher end recievers and a slew of different revealing speakers, I went back to actually buying all the CDs I enjoyed. I use mp3 today as a means to sample music and the ones that I enjoy I head on down to the local Music store and purchase it. Time can't be better spent sitting on my comfy chair and listening to clear, clean recordings of my favorite music on a decent reciever and revealing speakers. Over the years I have Axioms, Monitor Audio, Paradigm, B&W to thank for that.

ps:I didnt know there was computer experts using MAC products.

The point on his sound card is actually well placed and it would probably be a good start if AMD listed exactly which card he's using, on which OS, with which drivers and how he has it connected to his receiver.

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There's even a company that makes a sound card for your computer that uses a vaccuum tube. I just read about it recently, so I don't know any specfics, but i'm sure it's pricey.

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It's not a soundcard. It's actually the AOpen AX4B 533 motherboard that uses a tube amp for the onboard sound, a ridiculous suggestion by AOpen. Tubes are very susceptible to EM disturbance and the inside of a computer with a massive switch mode power supply is about as EM heavy an environment as you can find. What's more, tube amps require high temperatures to opperate and I sure as hell don't want that kind of heat in my carefully cooled system.

MP3's CAN be done in a way that isn't too bad. Unfortunately, almost none of the people you download from know how to do it.

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ps:I didnt know there was computer experts using MAC products.

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I missed exactly to whom you were refering but even our own Hannibal at ArsTechnica, a CPU guru, is a big Mac fan now. All things are tools and some tools are better than others at certain tasks.

Thanks to evereyone who replied!
My soundcard is a GTXP using digital out to the receiver.

so when companies say oxygen free wire it is just a market ploy?

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Thanks to evereyone who replied!
My soundcard is a GTXP using digital out to the receiver.

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Shouldn't be a problem there for MP3's anyway.

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so when companies say oxygen free wire it is just a market ploy?

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Yep. And it gets much worse the more you spend...

The MAC comment was a joke. Since he was using an IPOD he could have been a MAC user.

Save your money on cables, your not going to hear any noticeable difference there, put your money where you will get the biggest bang for your buck. Replace that receiver first.

I didn't take any offense at the comment at all... I am mac user, but almost never mention it since it sparks too many arguments of near religious ferver.

Actually, I'm a bit more than a mac user - I work for Apple. Once you've worked there long enough you get pretty thick skin - I've heard almost every insult possible - so even your comment was serious, it wouldn't phase me one bit.

cheers!

I didn't pick up on the iPod comment because the iPod has become THE MP3 player among computer enthusiasts on both platforms.

NoWave:

Can you say hello to P. Schreiber at Apple. Tell him he owes me his set of pictures from the Whistler snowboard trip.

Saturn