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Articles and Reviews
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The Apple iPod – Part 4 Listening to Ripped Files & Headphones
A year ago, I had about 15 GB of variable bit rate WMA files ripped from my CDs. I was well on my way to having my music collection ripped to a compressed format with the convenient and easy to use Windows Media Player that came with Win XP. Then I looked into which players could actually playback those files and I found few options available. Things are much better now and almost all the portable players (save the iPod) support WMA playback, but I stopped ripping to WMA and wiped out the entire 15 GB collection and proceeded to rip to variable bit rate MP3 via iTunes. I received disdainful comments about using iTunes to rip MP3 files and being ignorant as I was then, I knew nothing of EAC and LAME. Who knew that how you ripped would have a role in the quality of the sound? I thought that ripping to 320 was ripping to 320, but not at all.
My first listening session were with files all ripped using iTunes, loaded onto the iPod, iPod connected to my Sonic Frontiers pre-amp, powered by the Classe amp, out to my Dynaudio speakers. Headphone listening was with the Sennheiser HD580 and Grado SR100. The track was Pink Floyd’s Money from Dark side of the Moon and was ripped as:
The session was blind in that I loaded the three files into the iPod, but I didn’t know which track was playing because I didn’t alter the file names and the iPod doesn’t tell me what the bit rate is of the file being played. As it turned out the order was alphabetical with the 128 MP3 first, then AIFF, and then Apple Lossless. When I heard the 128 MP3, I knew something was not right. While all the basics were there, there was simply no depth to the presentation. Everything was set to a plane just behind the speakers, but that plane was paper-thin. The quality was sorely deficient compared to regular CD playback. The AIFF gave me back the quality that was missing from the 128-bit track and I was able to enjoy the presentation. The Apple Lossless was the same as the AIFF. While I “felt” that the AIFF had something to it that the Apple Lossless file did not, I cannot offer anything substantive to point to that would explain this feeling. Additional listening sessions included a LAME MP3 ripped using the alt-preset insane setting, as well as MP3s ripped to regular 190 and 320 bit rates, FLAC, and WAVE files. In listening through the hi-fi, I could not detect any substantive difference between AIFF, WAVE, FLAC, LAME MP3, and 320 MP3 files. Through the headphones I detected a bit better coherence and smoother top end when comparing the 190 bit rate file to the 320 bit rate file. Whatever differences I heard from high compression to low compression tracks were found in coherence, as in how loose or tight the playback was, refinement in the way David Gilmour’s vocals were rendered either thinly with high compression, or with added body with low compression bit rates, and top end extension and smoothness. Except for the difference between the 128 bit rate file compared to high bit rate or lossless files, all of the differences were subtle. In the end, I was quite surprised and happy that the iPod with lossless or high bit rate files could compete very effectively against my CD player. However, do keep in mind that my CD player is very old and out of date as far as digital playback is concerned. Once I have a better DAC to pipe the CD player’s digital output, I’ll compare the two again.
If I didn’t have a USB sound card coming with a 24-bit, 96 KHz DAC to try out with the CD player, I’d almost be ready to retire the Arcam and either use the iPod or just run the computer direct into the amps. After all this, I suppose you’d wonder why I would bother ripping to FLAC and then duplicating to high bit rate MP3? Well, FLAC is an open-source codec, so the players that support it can continue to improve the sound quality as new versions come out. It’s lossless and archival, which allows me to easily compress to a new format if for some reason MP3 loses its universal appeal. If I start with MP3, it’s already lossy, so converting to another format could have quality degraded even more. It may seem more subjective than objective, but since I have the storage space, there’s no reason not to rip to a lossless file first. Headphone Choices I’ve described the differences between my two mainstay cans, the Sennheiser HD580 and Grado SR100, in my review of the Headsave Classic headphone amp. While the HD580s continue to be the champion cans in my house, they’re so big that one cannot use them for out of house portable use. Or, if one does, one looks like a dork in doing so J You also get pretty nasty headphone hair with the big cans.
The Grado SR100s are more compact and easier to pack, but they’re still fair sized and comfort is always an issue after a bit of time with them.
For less than CAN $100, the biggest favor you can do for your ears is to buy a set of Koss Portapros. Yes, that’s right, Koss, the makers of otherwise unremarkable entry-level and low cost audio equipment.
A sale at A&B Sound that dropped the price of the Portrapros to less than $60, gave me the excuse to buy a set for myself and see if Yoda was correct with his high opinion of them. I shouldn’t have doubted the master because after one listen, I concluded that the Portrapros are likely the best sounding cans for under $100. I even went so far as to wonder if the Portapros could give the mighty HD580s a run for the money. I thought too soon, as the comparison didn’t last long and just as the Portrapros are superior to the Apple earbuds, so are the HD580s over the Portrapros, which comes as no real surprise given the 7-8x cost differential. The HD580s don't offer quite as much bass slam as the Portrapros, which is quite a surprise, but they are more transparent, as one can hear more of the music than with the Portrapros.
After listening with the Portrapros, I wondered what made them so good. You can immediately hear that they have phenomenal bass slam for such small headphones and compared to the earbuds and most other cheap headphones, there’s no fizz in the high frequencies. But where I think they really hit the spot is a smooth mid-range and overall warmth that allows you to listen for hours without fatigue. No, they don’t have the resolution of cans costing in the hundreds of dollars, but for their price, I don’t think they can be beat. They offer a more open and transparent sound than the Apple, or the expensive Sony earbuds. About the only downside is that…well…they’re not the most stylin’ cans around. They
originally came out in 1988 and they look it, but 1988 was an eventful
year. I
graduated from high school and left small town
So, what I’m saying is that the Portapros look a bit dated, but think about it, for 17 years, they’ve been providing great sound on the cheap and are still going strong as they edge closer to a third decade of production. There aren’t very many audio products that have such staying power on the original design. The French YBA products produced by maverick Yves Bernard Andre come to mind as ones that don’t change very often; maybe once in a decade Monsieur Andre will update the components. Even long-terms stalwarts such as the Linn LP12 turntable and B&W 801 speakers have continuously been updated and improved over the years, some of them very radical.
The Shure and Etymotic cans require a really good seal in order for the full quality and bass impact to be heard and come with varying size cushions to mate with most ear sizes. While the upside can be very good sonic quality, the downside to the Shures and Etymotics is being completely sealed from external sounds, which can be a bit of a safety issue when walking on the street.
The Panasonics come with three rubber cushions and they are finally the only earbuds that will fit snugly enough in my ears to not fall out. That’s good, but they’re not the most comfortable cushions around and that’s bad, because after a listening session with them, my ears still feel them. Sound quality is also not in the same league as the Portrapros. While the Panasonic buds are more open and “sparkly” in the top-end, I found that this sparkle doesn’t really translate to increased resolution. High hat cymbals don’t sound like high hat cymbals and bass is definitely not even approaching anything what the Portrapros offer. In general terms, the Panasonic earbuds are akin to the Grados, as the Portrapros are akin to the Sennheisers for tonality, but the Panasonics don’t have the same quality as the Grados. Frankly, I wasted $40 on them and I know Yoda’s going to say “I told you so”, because he said I’d regret the purchase. But curiosity got the better of me and based on the experience with the Panasonics, even if the Shure and Etymotic buds are better sounding, I don’t think I could live with the lack of comfort either. The unfortunate aspect of these in-ear buds is that you cannot try before you buy as you can with regular cans. You try 'em, you buy 'em and there's no return policy unless they're defective. |
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Correspondence & About this website Copyright © 1998-2008 Edwin Leong |
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The
only way to know for sure was to rip some tracks using the various
methods and listen to which ones sounded the best. Before I get into
describing what I heard, just keep in mind that this pertains to what
I heard with the equipment that I own. Your setup won’t be the same
and neither will your hearing, so don’t extrapolate my experience
and compare to yours because we’re all different, and no, from what
I’ve experienced on Internet forums, we can’t all get along 
So,
while I initially bought the iPod on the basis that it would be a
portable device first, I have nothing holding me back from using it
as a primary source component. It’s quite convenient to sit in front
of the computer and do some work while the iPod is sourcing the hi-fi
and being able to just swivel the chair slightly and access the click
wheel for changing tracks or albums. I’m using a pair of interconnects
that are ten plus feet in length to allow me to connect the docking
station to the hi-fi, while keeping it close to the computer for convenient
access. 
The
Apple earbuds that come with the iPod are quite decent compared to
most other earbuds included with portable players. However, they can
only still be classified as “they don’t suck”, as opposed to being
great cans. They do compare well to a set of $100 Sony earbuds I bought
many years ago (seen at right, beside the Apple earbuds), so that
gives you a measure of what they offer, but...
When
Yoda mentioned the 
The 
1988,
if you recall was the year before the Berlin Wall fell, George Bush
Sr. won the US presidency, a Pan Am 747 was bombed out of the skies
over Scotland, the USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian airplane over
the Persian Gulf, the last time that hockey great, Wayne Gretzky celebrated
a Stanley Cup win before being sold off to the LA Kings, U2 was the
greatest rock band in the world as they followed up the Joshua Tree
with Rattle and Hum, but Guns and Roses came out of nowhere to quickly
takeover top spot for a few years based on the runaway success of
Sweet Child ‘o Mine. All of that occurred 17 years ago, which is a
whole lot of history and half a lifetime ago for me.
At
the same time as buying the 
The
Panasonics aren’t sealed from external sounds, but they do seal off
more than regular headphones like the 