Stereo Connection Kit

[gnagel]

I just received by Apple Stereo Connection Kit for my iPod 20 GB g3 today. It contained the Monster cable, dock station and power connection.

I have a Yamaha (RX-V795) receiver and a pretty good home stereo system. The sound was absolutely terrible when connected to my PHONO input on the back of my receiver. The sound was much better when connected to the MD recorder, Tape Deck, etc. input.

I think the bass sounds muddy. I knew that the sound would probably not be CD quality. But, I guess I expected it to be closer to CD quality. I'm not overly impressed.

[AndyH]

Originally posted by gnagel
I just received by Apple Stereo Connection Kit for my iPod 20 GB g3 today. It contained the Monster cable, dock station and power connection.

I have a Yamaha (RX-V795) receiver and a pretty good home stereo system. The sound was absolutely terrible when connected to my PHONO input on the back of my receiver. The sound was much better when connected to the MD recorder, Tape Deck, etc. input.

I think the bass sounds muddy. I knew that the sound would probably not be CD quality. But, I guess I expected it to be closer to CD quality. I'm not overly impressed.
Yes, connecting it to the MD line-in is the way to go...PHONO is no good (as you discovered).

As far as the sound quality goes...what settings do you use to encode your music in iTunes? As much as Apple claims 128 Kbps AAC files are "CD quality", if you have a decent set of speakers (or a good set of headphones), you'll find that it is far from CD quality. I discovered this right after purchasing my iPod, and decided to rip & encode my CD collection at 224 Kbps, with a few of my favorite jazz CD's at 320 Kbps. Both sound excellent through my Shure & Ety canalphones, and through my home setup (Sony ES receiver >> Paradigm speakers & Sunfire sub).

[gnagel]

Originally posted by AndyH
As far as the sound quality goes...what settings do you use to encode your music in iTunes? As much as Apple claims 128 Kbps AAC files are "CD quality", if you have a decent set of speakers (or a good set of headphones), you'll find that it is far from CD quality.

Andy,

Thanks for the response. I did encode all of my recordings at the default setting of AAC files at 128 Kbps. The bad part is that it took me quite some time to transfer 4,200 songs from my CDs into iTunes and the iPod.

At 224 Kbps, should I expect each song to take up twice as much space on average? How does that conversion work? Is it a simple ratio?

Thanks...

[AndyH]

Originally posted by gnagel
Andy,

Thanks for the response. I did encode all of my recordings at the default setting of AAC files at 128 Kbps.

At 224 Kbps, should I expect each song to take up twice as much space on average? How does that conversion work? Is it a simple ratio?
Yup, you're looking at approx. twice the disk space for a 224 Kbps AAC compared to a 128 Kbps AAC file. Only you can decide if the extra quality is worth it. I ripped a few favorite songs at different settings (both AAC format, and LAME encoded MP3's) before settling on the 224 AAC setting). You might find something lower works for you.

Some additional data points for you:

Miles Davis: So What
AAC 192 = 13 MB
AAC 224 = 15.1 MB
AAC 256 = 17.3 MB
AAC 320 = 21.6 MB

Originally posted by gnagel
The bad part is that it took me quite some time to transfer 4,200 songs from my CDs into iTunes and the iPod.
Ouch, I hear that...it took me quite a long time to rip my CD's into iTunes too (currently 4,821 songs) and I can't imagine the thought of going through that entire process again.

[gnagel]

Andy,

Thanks for the information. My first step will be to compare the quality of some of my songs at two different encoding rates. Then, I'll start replacing some of the albums that I listen to most frequently.

You're right, though....OUCH!

I should have visited ipodlounge a little sooner!

Thanks,

Glenn