[335dX]

I’ve been an avid iPod user since day dot, but now I’m older I want something with far better sound reproduction together with some decent headphones.

I’m looking at Astell and Kern but can’t work out, even after googling how I’d get my iTunes music, circa 60gb from my PC to the new player....

So what do you have and if it’s non Apple how do you get any iTunes music both purchased and loaded from old CD’s to a non Apple player?

Thanks in advance guys.

[Soul_Glo]

All my music is on my iPhone.
I ripped my CD's and converter them to lossless audio.
Briefly had a Sony FLAC / High Res Audio player but there is not enough High Res content out there and some that is, is expensive.

If your music is on your iPod only, then you can rip this off and move it to another device. Apple Digital Rights Management (DRM) mean you can place a song on up to three devices and/or discs. Beyond that it locks it.

It would be worthwhile converting your discs to a higher resolution and then loading them on a device of your choice.

[JustChris]

iPhone (all music)
Garmin Fenix (workout music)
Powerbeats Pros

Certainly not high fidelity but it works for me.

[isleaiw1]

CDs and my car... I haven’t quite embraced this digital world yet...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by 335dX

I’ve been an avid iPod user since day dot, but now I’m older I want something with far better sound reproduction together with some decent headphones.

I’m looking at Astell and Kern but can’t work out, even after googling how I’d get my iTunes music, circa 60gb from my PC to the new player....

So what do you have and if it’s non Apple how do you get any iTunes music both purchased and loaded from old CD’s to a non Apple player?

Thanks in advance guys.

I have an Astell & Kern portable player...

Which one are you thinking of, as I believe that some models use different procedures etc...

Mine, which is a couple of years old, simply uses android file transfer to load up files onto the internal storage (or to an add-on sd card in the player)... it's drag/drop easy... Just make sure you are loading files that the A&K can read/play...

The other thing to consider is what format your archived music files are and whether or not a) the player can read them and/or b) whether they are worth loading into it.

Bluntly, there is not a whole great deal of point buying a player retailing between £650 and £3,400, targeted at reproducing lossless and hi-res music files, if you are going to load it with 128 MP3's... I mean, they will sound "better" than on some other players, but nowhere near as good as a lossless or hi-res file... what you are really paying for in the player are the DAC's on board, of course, so you are going to want to give them some good data to work on...

Any hi-res files you buy from the reputable resellers (Qobuz, for instance) will be able to be downloaded in a variety of formats to suit your needs...

Be aware... This is a rabbit hole shaped abyss you are staring into and you will now be chasing the rabbit of audio through the warren...

Next, it'll be network streamers, Tidal subscriptions, dedicated file servers, etc etc etc... You'll be analysis signal path details in Roon... and working out whether or not your cables are the source of that slight loss of detail you could swear you heard last night when listening to "Trout Mask Replica" for the third time straight...

Have fun... :��:

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

CDs and my car... I haven’t quite embraced this digital world yet...

But... Cd's are digital... 😉

[Sennen]

If you want the absolute apex i wouldnt look any further than the Sharp RD-807X

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Soul_Glo

All my music is on my iPhone.
I ripped my CD's and converter them to lossless audio.
Briefly had a Sony FLAC / High Res Audio player but there is not enough High Res content out there and some that is, is expensive.

There have been some big steps in the last few years in the availability of hi-res music (for either purchase or streaming)... If you have a look through online stores like Qobuz or you try Tidal's hi-res streaming (or Quobuz, for that matter) you will see a ton of music in hi-res (typically 24bit/96kHz)... Some is even higher resolution although it does get a bit like a numbers thing, at times...

Of course, a "hi res" file is not necessarily the guarantee of sonic bliss... It is arguable whether or not a super hi-res file of a song from an old CD that used masters from an original vinyl release is really all that much better than the CD from whence it came, which may itself sound rather poor when compared to the original vinyl, where the mastering was targeted... and I find it is the newly remastered releases that benefit most from remastering that is suitable to the digital format and the way in which devices reproduce it... Just the same as it was with CD's and other digital formats...

[Soul_Glo]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

CDs and my car... I haven’t quite embraced this digital world yet...

No CD player in the G20

[335dX]

Originally Posted by Sennen

If you want the absolute apex i wouldnt look any further than the Sharp RD-807X

I had to google this

[TaranF32]

Haven't a clue what half the thread is on about hahaha

iPhone and Spotify for music

Sonos speakers in the house
Airpods for the gym or when doing mundane tasks
Bose SoundLink 3 as my portable speaker

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by DaveA

But... Cd's are digital... 😉

Clearly I haven’t understood any of it...

DAB is my radio of choice. So I do do digital!

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Soul_Glo

No CD player in the G20

Won’t be buying one then ...

[ArthurKing]

My iPhone and Spotify.

Shame the Apple Watch can't do offline playback with Spotify yet as it would be handy not to need my iPhone in the Gym but there we are.

£15 a month for the family plan, sublet two accounts to mates for £5 each so costing me only £5 a month for me and the Wife. Bargain.

[Bibbles]

iPhone and AirPods. I'd need to invest in new ears before I looked to spend £1000+ on a portable music player that has no other function, I just don't think I would be able to hear enough of a difference.

[doncarlyon]

Never heard of all this fancy stuff.

I've got a Samsung Galaxy S9 and a Renault Megane Trophy

[RobUK]

I still have an 80GB iPod Classic although I find myself using the iPhone more these days, especially when I'm walking which is when I do most of my listening. Tend to listen to audiobooks from Audible more than music when I'm out and about.

[thescouselander]

I gave up on moving files between devices years ago. To be honest it's swimming against the direction the technology is going.

I'm not convinced hi-res outputs are too beneficial when it comes to mobile listening. Most of the time mobile listening devices are wireless so by the time a really high quality source has been mangled by blue tooth it kind of removes the benefits. My approach has been to just use my phone and a streaming service (currently Spotify) and make the investment in good headphones.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Clearly I haven’t understood any of it...

DAB is my radio of choice. So I do do digital!

Double digital in fact.. CD's and DAB... 🙂

Sorry, my original reply seems rather curt when reading now... Was meant to be humorous... My bad and apologies... 🙂

[Eddamoo]

Firstly, why do all these threads say 'do' instead of 'do you'?! What have I missed

I'm pretty into my audio and my 36yo ears and can't discern the difference between 320bps MP3 Vs Flac on Mid range hifi (worth about 6k). I therefore just use Spotify on very high quality.

I would personally spend my money on a decent USB C DAC, good ear/head phones and just use a phone.

[335dX]

Thanks all.

So for portability I have ordered the following:

Audiolab M-DAC Mini
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 open back head phones

To go with my iPhone XS

Fingers crossed it sounds a little better. Thankfully I set iTunes to download and rip music art the highest possible quality many years ago!

Thanks for all your help.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Eddamoo

I'm pretty into my audio and my 36yo ears and can't discern the difference between 320bps MP3 Vs Flac on Mid range hifi (worth about 6k). I therefore just use Spotify on very high quality.

On the face of it that sounds rather surprising, but I guess it depends on what data you have wrapped up in the FLAC files (as I am sure you already know, the FLAC standard is really just a holder for the data, which once unpacked is then fed to your DAC/DACs of choice)... and, possibly to a greater extent, upon how you are getting the data from that file to your system and then output on it...

Assuming that both were being delivered to the DAC's unadulterated, and that the DAC's can handle the increased bit depth and sampling rates of the hi-res original, then I would certainly be surprised if, say, you could not hear a difference between a 24bit/96kHz file (bit rate probably 3,000 to 3,500kbs) compared to a version of it that was converted and compressed into a 320kbs MP3 file...

I'm not knocking anybody's personal choices, by the way...

Originally Posted by Eddamoo

I would personally spend my money on a decent USB C DAC, good ear/head phones and just use a phone.

Yes, this is an alternative to buying a separate player... Use the iPhone to output the digital data without converting it... and you are then comparing the DAC's in the various devices...

I was looking at this as a possibility for me...

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/zorloo-ztella