Attention hard drive controller users...

[rob1963]

For those of you that have your music on a hard drive which you control with a Cortex, D2 or HD2500, I was wondering something.....

.....when you made the move from CDs, did you notice any difference in the of bass, treble or output level?

[Corabar Steve]

No .

[Penfold42]

I think....and maybe i'm wrong...but there is a sound card inside the systems that improve the quality of sound........as said "I think".......:)

[Tom]

For those of you that have your music on a hard drive which you control with a Cortex, D2 or HD2500, I was wondering something.....

.....when you made the move from CDs, did you notice any difference in the of bass, treble or output level?

When I went from my laptop to the Denon I did notice I was getting a lot more bass but then again I guess that's because I went from a Behringer BCD3000 to a Denon???

The annoying thing now is that my speakers can't cope with the bass so I have to turn the bass down if I am not using a sub but hey ho.

[CRAZY K]

For those of you that have your music on a hard drive which you control with a Cortex, D2 or HD2500, I was wondering something.....

.....when you made the move from CDs, did you notice any difference in the of bass, treble or output level?

I think its bound to sound slightly different to original CDs because its ripped at presumably 320?

Are you saying its a quality issue Rob?

In any case you will compensate by tweaking your mixer--possibly you will get less bass that from an original CD---

CRAZY K

[rob1963]

I think its bound to sound slightly different to original CDs because its ripped at presumably 320?

Are you saying its a quality issue Rob?

In any case you will compensate by tweaking your mixer--possibly you will get less bass that from an original CD---

CRAZY K

Crazy,

I ripped my CDs at 256.

Of course I will tweak my mixer if necessary, but I was just curious as whether to EXPECT to, as I haven't yet used the D2 through my sound system...only through a small powered speaker, which won't tell me anything.

:)

[CRAZY K]

Crazy,

I ripped my CDs at 256.

Of course I will tweak my mixer if necessary, but I was just curious as whether to EXPECT to, as I haven't yet used the D2 through my sound system...only through a small powered speaker, which won't tell me anything.

:)

Should be no problem then--although would it not have been just as easy to rip at 320?

CRAZY K

[wensleydale]

i dont think you will notice any difference on an average sound rig.

[BeerFunk]

Nope, no difference. Nor through my Netgear MP101 at home, which is connected through my hi-fi - which is better quality than any PA system (most hi-fi systems are)

[Vectis]

Rob

My d2 sounds slightly punchier overall than my laptop which I was using prior (and still do for background sets).

I find that I need to trim the bass ever so slightly and sometimes the very top frequencies too otherwise they sound a tad harsh. But the adjustments are minute so don't worry!

Martin

[Corabar Steve]

Nope, no difference. Nor through my Netgear MP101 at home, which is connected through my hi-fi - which is better quality than any PA system (most hi-fi systems are)
I was begining to think it was just me

Rob

My d2 sounds slightly punchier overall than my laptop which I was using prior (and still do for background sets).

I find that I need to trim the bass ever so slightly and sometimes the very top frequencies too otherwise they sound a tad harsh. But the adjustments are minute so don't worry!

Martin

That might just indicate that laptops don't sound as good as HD controllers.

[sleah]

There are very real technical differences, wether or not you notice them is a different matter.

A CD is an uncompressed digital format, whereas MP3 etc is compressed. This compression will affect sound quality. The higher the compression, i.e. the lower the bit rate (such as 128k or lower) the more the sound quality will be affected. Lower compression (such as 320k) will have less of an impact.
The first thing you notice about quality is indeed the tone, it's almost like it's been clipped.
The content of the track will also make a difference.
The more low and/or high frequencies that are present (take dance music with deep bass as an example) the more the sound will be affected by compression.

[Dragonfly]

That might just indicate that laptops don't sound as good as HD controllers.

although i swapped from using my cortex as a main play out to using a laptop for exactly the same reason , i felt the maya gave me a punchier bass end.

[sleah]

I was begining to think it was just me


That might just indicate that laptops don't sound as good as HD controllers.


although i swapped from using my cortex as a main play out to using a laptop for exactly the same reason , i felt the maya gave me a punchier bass end.


Steve was probably refering to laptop internal sound cards which are notoriously rubbish, ther are only designed for Windows noises really.

The Maya/ESI cards are a professional product designed to do exactly what we are using them for, so they are bound to sound good:D

[Corabar Steve]

although i swapped from using my cortex as a main play out to using a laptop for exactly the same reason , i felt the maya gave me a punchier bass end.
But it was a Cortex, come on! :sj:

Steve was probably refering to laptop internal sound cards which are notoriously rubbish, ther are only designed for Windows noises really.

The Maya/ESI cards are a professional product designed to do exactly what we are using them for, so they are bound to sound good:D

Yes.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I think it depends on the controller, mixer and soundcard you are using. The soundcard in my HD2500 and HC4500 appear to be louder than my Maya I was using.

I definately noticed a difference when I moved from CDs to a laptop and soundcard, but then that's because of the amount of compression on the Mp3s I guess. I achieved the same sound by a little tweaking on the mixer.

[CRAZY K]

But it was a Cortex, come on! :sj:


Yes.

Penmare (or someone who has both) reported no difference between Denon and Cortex playout--

Bearing in mind price difference I would expect a cheaper sound card in the Cortex though

CRAZY K

[Corabar Steve]

:sarc:

[sleah]

I think it depends on the controller, mixer and soundcard you are using. The soundcard in my HD2500 and HC4500 appear to be louder than my Maya I was using.

I definately noticed a difference when I moved from CDs to a laptop and soundcard, but then that's because of the amount of compression on the Mp3s I guess. I achieved the same sound by a little tweaking on the mixer.

I've found my Maya (and ESI) are lower output than a CD player. It is just the nature of the beast, as it were. Doesn't mean the sound quality is any different.
When using the nightclub gear, I've had to put signal boosters in line with my Maya.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Doesn't mean the sound quality is any different.


I didn't say the sound quality was any different, but the gain was.

[sleah]

I didn't say the sound quality was any different, but the gain was.

Alright smarty-pants. I was being general.

I hereby nominate you to be Head Cheese of the pedantic society.
Any seconders?

BTW Can I be your pedantic PA?:D :D :D

[Penfold42]

Penmare (or someone who has both) reported no difference between Denon and Cortex playout--

Bearing in mind price difference I would expect a cheaper sound card in the Cortex though

CRAZY K

Tis I.......did sound the same.......but the Cortex is .....well a Cortex....:D

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Alright smarty-pants. I was being general.

I hereby nominate you to be Head Cheese of the pedantic society.
Any seconders?



I think that honour is already taken by Steve. ;)

[CRAZY K]

Tis I.......did sound the same.......but the Cortex is .....well a Cortex....:D

Told ya!!!!!!!!

CRAZY K

[Excalibur]

Just to throw in a curiosity, when Justin and I were running our two sound systems side by side, as soon as we ran his laptop/mixer into mine, the sound quality appeared to improve out of all recognition. Since mine was CD based, I would have expected the opposite to happen, so the only conclusion I can come to is issues with my mixer. Thoughts anyone? :confused:

[CRAZY K]

Just to throw in a curiosity, when Justin and I were running our two sound systems side by side, as soon as we ran his laptop/mixer into mine, the sound quality appeared to improve out of all recognition. Since mine was CD based, I would have expected the opposite to happen, so the only conclusion I can come to is issues with my mixer. Thoughts anyone? :confused:

Peter, could be anything--your CD player, amp or mixer.

CRAZY K

[rob1963]

Peter, could be anything--your CD player, amp or mixer.

CRAZY K

...or maybe even a dodgy operator!

:rolleyes:

[Excalibur]

Peter, could be anything--your CD player, amp or mixer.

CRAZY K

It could, except the amp was the same in each case, and I don't suspect the CD player, since we also used the minidisc as a comparison, so evidence points to the mixer. A thread asking for recommendations will appear in the fullness of time. If funds allow, I shall take all your well intentioned advice seriously, weigh up the pros and cons at length, and then buy the biggest one on the market. ;) :D

[CRAZY K]

It could, except the amp was the same in each case, and I don't suspect the CD player, since we also used the minidisc as a comparison, so evidence points to the mixer. A thread asking for recommendations will appear in the fullness of time. If funds allow, I shall take all your well intentioned advice seriously, weigh up the pros and cons at length, and then buy the biggest one on the market. ;) :D

Why not start by trying Justins mixer then with your system---which I seem to recall had internal sound cards---and was a very reasonable price :D

Not sure if that helps with a USB controller though:confused: AS THEY HAVE THEIR OWN SOUNDCARDS.

CRAZY K

[Excalibur]

Why not start by trying Justins mixer then with your system---which I seem to recall had internal sound cards---and was a very reasonable price :D

Not sure if that helps with a USB controller though:confused: AS THEY HAVE THEIR OWN SOUNDCARDS.

CRAZY K

That's when we noticed the difference, Alan. It was absolutely amazing how much brighter and alive the music sounded, especially allowing for feeding it with MP3 files.:confused: :confused: ( And also Justin's mixer is so lacking in the knobs, buttons, bells and whistles department, I couldn't be seen with something like that :eek: :eek: :D :D . If it doesn't look capable of landing the space shuttle, it's not really a mixer, is it? :confused: :D :D )( I'm fairly sure we can't feed my CD/Minindisc into Justin's mixer for a true comparison, as the inputs on his are USB) I may try to borrow a quality mixer for tests, I may use my Maplins backup for that,:eek: :eek: :D :D , or I may do as I said, and ask you all for recommendations, and then buy the one Steve found a link for ages ago.;) ;) :D :D

[CRAZY K]

That's when we noticed the difference, Alan. It was absolutely amazing how much brighter and alive the music sounded, especially allowing for feeding it with MP3 files.:confused: :confused: ( And also Justin's mixer is so lacking in the knobs, buttons, bells and whistles department, I couldn't be seen with something like that :eek: :eek: :D :D . If it doesn't look capable of landing the space shuttle, it's not really a mixer, is it? :confused: :D :D )( I'm fairly sure we can't feed my CD/Minindisc into Justin's mixer for a true comparison, as the inputs on his are USB) I may try to borrow a quality mixer for tests, I may use my Maplins backup for that,:eek: :eek: :D :D , or I may do as I said, and ask you all for recommendations, and then buy the one Steve found a link for ages ago.;) ;) :D :D

You wont be impressed my Phonic then --

http://www.wedgwood-group.com/phonic_am440_flatbed_mixer.htm

but it does feed into this--

http://www.sessionmusic.co.uk/products/peavey_xr800f_plus.asp

CRAZY K