It's a MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD world.

[ElChevelle]

In the event someone wants all info on MAD(helping to spread the word http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/smile.gif):
http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002359.html
http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002572.html
http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002577.html
http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002650.html
http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002703.html
http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000305.html

[Sontal]

Great ElChevelle!!!

I had misjudged you to be honest...you are truly one of a kind when it comes down to MAD presentation. Show the lights to everybody...

People are MAD after all...and that's not bad at all. http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/smile.gif

[verement]

ElChevelle: Thanks. http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/smile.gif

-v

[KenoDaddy_2000]

ElChevelle, is it possible for us to merge threads? i.e. all of those links posted above could be put together in some kind of order? At least this way all the info's under one roof so to speak!

------------------
Life is a wheel. Sooner or later everything you thought you'd left behind comes round again. For good or ill, it comes around again.

Stephen King - Insomnia

[ElChevelle]

That's what I tried to do from the start, Keno http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/wink.gif

[just curious]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sontal:
Great ElChevelle!!!

I had misjudged you to be honest...you are truly one of a kind when it comes down to MAD presentation. Show the lights to everybody...

People are MAD after all...and that's not bad at all. http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/smile.gif<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Syntax question:

Do you mean to say, "I had misjudged you, to be honest" [with comma], meaning "frankly speaking, I had believed you to be dishonest but now I believe otherwise" or did you intend it as originally typed (sans comma), meaning, "Originally I believed you to be honest but I now I think you are not"?

Anyone can see what a difference a little comma makes.

I'm just curious.

BTW, what the hell is MAD?

[Sontal]

Yeah you are right Just Curious...a comma does make a difference most of the times. This reminds me of Pythia...the ancient greek seeress who used this kind of method when was revealing the future.

In my case it would be fun to follow the steps of my ancestor but I have to be honest at the end...I forgot the comma...unfortunately English isn't my native language and such syntax errors often occur.

And about MAD...you can follow the links that ElChevelle mentioned in his post in order to find better. But giving you an idea about it, it's an alternative decoder for Winamp.

[Nawhead]

With aspirations to be the BEST decoder ever. You have to put that in somewhere, cause that's what sells the eyeballs if you will. http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/smile.gif

[verement]

I just realized ElChevelle missed a few threads:

New alternate MP3 decoder plug-in: MAD (http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002255.html)
Better audio output with MAD (http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002350.html)

Cheers,
-v

[ElChevelle]

Oops, sorry.
I performed a search of the forums using the keyword MAD. Most of what came of the search was someone hopping mad cause they couldn't figure out how to convert this or skin that http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/smile.gif

------------------
I don't know Karate....
But I do know Karazy!!!

[Somebody]

This thread goes... BUMP!

[Nawhead]

In honor of getting my new 24-bit sound card, here's a bump for y'all. http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Somebody]

Sweet Nawhead, congrats, what did you get, a Midiman card?

[Mister Bill]

What companies make 32 bit soundcards. If I have enough cash from X-mas, then I may get myself one.

------------------
Mister Bill
ICQ#71042786

[Somebody]

Mister Bill, right here... nice table too http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/smile.gif http://www.pcrecording.com/soundtable.htm

[Somebody]

Yamaha DS2416 Digital Mixing Card
http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/DsplyModel/?gPRA00001DS2416

[Nawhead]

Yeah, Christmas came a little early this year for Nawhead. http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I've been using the M Audio Audiophile 2496 for about 3 days now. Without going into a detailed review, I'll just say it's a SWEET improvement over my Dimaond Monster Sound MX300 card. A very well spent and satisfying $160 outlay. Its DAC and noise isolation is head and shoulders above the MX300, and I have the option to connect it to a real audiophile quality external DAC later on using its bit-perfect digital out (unlike those sorry SBLive! cards).

My $50 computer speakers can't do it justice, so I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting for my Alessandro Music Series 1 headphones (Grado SR-125 equivalents) and Creek OBH-11 headphone amplifier to come in the mail. Just a little sooner, and I'm going to be in MP3 nirvana (or pretty damn close to it for $500). Listening to MP3's using the MAD decoder w/ 24-bit resolution just pushes my listening pleasure over the top, and I can honestly say my current computer setup is the best audio source I've ever heard, MP3 or otherwise (from under $1000 audio systems that is).

[This message has been edited by Nawhead (edited November 27, 2000).]

[xephyris]

/me suddenly feels his SbLive inadequate. DAMN this forum...

------------------
Quanti est sapere

[endless17]

50 dollar computer speakers attached to a computer sounding better than audio systems?ha. no piece of software can make up for a weak speaker system.

[Anish]

Nawhead, how would your new headphones compare with a Sennheiser HD600 ($350) pair of headphones. I'm asking since I might buy a pair.
Anish

[John M]

My sound card isn't. Its just a jack on the motherboard.

------------------
The little seen conscience of Ocelot312

[Somebody]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by endless17:
50 dollar computer speakers attached to a computer sounding better than audio systems?ha. no piece of software can make up for a weak speaker system.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


heh that's right, but that is why Nawhead is mentioned that he's getting better stuff http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/smile.gif

[fish]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Anish:
Sennheiser HD600 ($350) pair of headphones. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/confused.gif

I got a stereo set for free with my portable mp3 player and they sound great.


------------------
Lame Haiku Site and Hall of Fame (http://www.toasterweb.com/haiku) - Go there or I'll have WolfieD torch your house

[whee]

I've got Sennheiser HD 570s and would never ever trade them for anything else. Sennheiser makes really nice headphones.

[John M]

I got this nice $30 pair from radioshack. They even make my laptop sound good.

------------------
I used to be ocelot312, but then Mike kicked me in the head and the rest is history.

[Nawhead]

Wow. I just got my headphone amplifier, Creek OBH-11, and I'm using it with my Sony MDR-V6 phones right now. Amazing. (The Alessandro phones are still breaking in, and they'll need a few more days to sound good.) I didn't think my Sony phones could sound so much better. The midrange just comes alive and the low end is so powerful. It's the kind of difference that makes you want to listen to your entire music collection over again. Never understimate the benefit of a dedicated amp. I'm really going gaga over my computer audio setup now. And listening to 24-bit output with the MAD plug-in is even sweeter then ever. Instruments have that extra bit of natural decay and resonance that the Fraunhofer decoder can't begin to match. Beautiful.

[Winsane]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Anish:
Nawhead, how would your new headphones compare with a Sennheiser HD600 ($350) pair of headphones. I'm asking since I might buy a pair.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I haven't tried either, but I've read from what I think is a rather reliable source (www.headphone.com (http://www.headphone.com/)) that the HD600s are the way to go. Either that or some Etymotics (which I do have, and they're awesome, except for the frequency range).

[Nawhead]

Audioreview.com has a lot of headphone reviews. And you'll also find a lot user opinions on Headwize.com (the king of all sites headphone related).

[penguin22]

Beyerdynamic DT831 (www.beyerdynamic.de/com/). A bit costly, but perfect in my eyes. Sound is amazing, well built, comfortable.

[pbow9]

i'd like to know how you break in headphones. can someone tell me?

thanks.

[penguin22]

Over time and usage, the speakers in the headphones reach a (speaking simply) resonant state. This is when they move freely around the voice coil and actually sound better than when initially purchased. It happens naturally when being used over time, just like any moving part, they "break in."

[Nawhead]

Anish, I can't compare the Alessandro Music Series One (Grado SR80/SR125) to the Sennheiser HD600's as I've never auditioned Sennheisers before. There's plenty of reviews of both of these phones on the 'Net however, as they're both very popular. But the HD600 is Sennheiser's top-of-the-line model, so there's a bit of a price difference.

[Somebody]

*cough*
oops
bump.

[Anish]

Thanks anyway

[spanky]

ok... finally gave in and installed MAD. What a POS this is!
I could see why people would like this on inexpensive audio systems because it tears the bass out... yuck.
I think I'm gonna hurl.

[Somebody]

hahahaha spanky heh.
well everyone is entitled to their opinions
*shrug*
_________________________
http://temporary.homestead.com/files/carebear2.gif
"A message from your local carebear."

[whee]

I'm forced to use MAD because it can decode 550kbps mp3s and winamp's default decoder cannot. http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Somebody]

whee,
How can encode songs at 550kbps?
I heard that it is with some altered version of LAME, or am I wrong?
_________________________
http://temporary.homestead.com/files/carebear2.gif
"A message from your local carebear."

[This message has been edited by Somebody (edited December 09, 2000).]

[Jstalilwyrd]

550?!? Whoa. Is there such a thing?

------------------
I need a sig.

[Winsane]

Are the 550 kbps MP3s in surround sound? Or multilingual? Other than that, I don't think the MPEG audio specifications allow for bit rates that high.

[whee]

The latest CVS versions of LAME allow bitrates up to 550. The only decoders that seem to be able to handle it are MAD and LAME itself.

[Somebody]

Thanks for the info, whee, but where exactly to get it? Looked all over the sourgeforge cvs site and nothing http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/frown.gif http://sourceforge.net/projects/lame

unless I'm in the wrong place, heh.
_________________________
http://temporary.homestead.com/files/carebear2.gif
"A message from your local carebear."

[Winsane]

I don't see any mention of it in LAME's History/ChangeLog (http://lame.sourceforge.net/history.html).

[whee]

I don't think it's in the history anywhere. This is taken from the USAGE file of the CVS LAME:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">code:</font><HR><pre>=======================================================================
free format bitstreams
=======================================================================
--freeformat

LAME will produce a fixed bitrate, free format bitstream.
User must specify the desired bitrate in kbps, which can
be any integer between 8 and 320.

Not supported by most decoders. Decoders only required to support
up to 320 kbps.

Decoders which can handle free format:
supports up to
"lame --decode" 550 kbps
Freeamp: 440 kbps
l3dec: 310 kbps[/code]

[ReDVsion]

Is this not overkill? Or is it losless?

------------------
Bah! Humbug.

[whee]

It probably is overkill, but I consider it a quality test of sorts. MAD handles it fine, winamp's default decoder does not. Even though it is out of spec, it just proves that MAD's methods probably make more sense and are more bulletproof.

[Somebody]

Just can't wait for the auto attenuation update of the MAD decoder. http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Nawhead]

^bump

All your clipped MP3 files from overzealous 'noramlization' will benefit greatly. Not to mention all those new CD's that are mastered to clipping in the final mix. Can't wait for the next release!

[Somebody]

Yeah, damn, normalization destroys songs http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/frown.gif

[ecstatic]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nawhead:
Not to mention all those new CD's that are mastered to clipping in the final mix. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What kind of moron would do this? Why?

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Heh... I see no need for encoding above 256kbps. 550 is like hunting rabbits with a bazooka. There's a point at which you say, "enough is enough." I'm sure the rabbits don't appreciate being chased with heavy artillery. I still think that Nitrane sounds good.

And about the headphones: I'm broke, so there's no way I'm gonna get any of those spendy sets. I think my Sony StreetStyle headphones sound great. Just 30 dollars.

-Sarge-

[Nawhead]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ecstatic:
What kind of moron would do this? Why?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

A lot of new pop CD's have clipping in them. It's easy to hear on a revealing system. Heck, you can hear it on a mid-fi system with good headphone out. I know why CD's are amplified and compressed, as that's just to make them sound good on lower end equipment and radio. But as for why it's done to clipping, I'm not sure. I'm sure if an audio engineer wanted to amplify or normalize the track, he could do it without inducing clipping. Sheer sloppiness maybe? Or maybe just deaf? I've heard that a lot of audio engineers tend to have a loss of hearing as they get older, so they rely a lot on equalization and special equipment to "really" hear the music.

[ReDVsion]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sgtfuzzbubble99:
550 is like hunting rabbits with a bazooka.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
NOW I see what the appeal is... http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/biggrin.gif - I'd love hunting rabbits with a bazooka! Sure, it's overkill, and takes no skill, but seeing those little bunny carcasses flying 50 feet in all directions accompanied by a large explosion...



------------------
Bah! Humbug.

[ecstatic]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ReDVsion:
seeing those little bunny carcasses flying 50 feet in all directions accompanied by a large explosion...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think you'd be more likely to see meaty bunny chunks rather than carcasses.

[PunchingBagTemp]

If you guy are going to encode at 550lbp, might as well as encode it using lossless compression like Monkey's Audio or RKAU, compression is vary at around 50% & they are both free.

[M8rox]

Nawhead- how does the the soundcard/headphone combo alleviate the fact that you're still listening to MP3, an admittedly "flawed" sound format? By flawed I mean it doesn't have the fidelity of CDs. Wouldn't the money have been better spent on getting originals (CDs, Records, etc)? Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about http://forums.winamp.com/ubb/smile.gif Please enlighten me.

[kaiwei]

Oh boy here we go again. Source VS equipment. The thing is, with proper equipment, mp3s can sound good. I mean we're just getting the best out of this available format. Of course loseless is good but really takes up a lot of space. I know cause I have a harddisk full of Monkey's Audio files which I ripped from my frens CDs.