Brent Powers

Well, as I say, I'm fine with iTunes. I am however interested in what can be done with high rez files. I don't anticipate downloading many of them since there is very limited classical material available. As for jazz, I don't see the point. Most jazz recordings from the period I like (late 1950s thru mid 1960s) were so poorly recorded anyway, with hard right and left driving, that iTunes will serve me there too. You listen to Atlantic, Blue Note recordings from that time on the original vinyl and you get the idea. And I don't care what you do with them in the way of remixing, upsampling or simply releasing them in 24/96 as is, they are just bad. Some Verve discs are good though. i'd go after a flac or whatever download of something like the Louis and Ella "Porgy and Bess" but such recordings are rare. It is a shame that the whole John Coltrane catalog is such a mess, and I don't think much can be done with that unless you falsify the whole thing with digital re-engineering, etc. However there are many, many classical albums which are splendid, even in Red Book, and some of the newer recordings are done from the start using higher sampling rates and being released as SACD and now Blu-Ray Audio that are quite good, I feel just as good as vinyl, perhaps even better.

I've downloaded one FLAC file, first directly to Fiio with mediocre results, but it is also on my desktop. Problem: I need a FLAC player download in order to listen to the file on my home system. I use Mac OS 10.7 currently but I just ordered a new MacBook Pro with Yosemite. Should I wait? Any advice? Thanks in advance.

Well, it turns out I was listening to files I ripped from older CDs which I compared against the downloads and found to be natively corrupted. I bought these albums in the 80s, before I had developed audiophilia and ruined my life. I was then listening to music on a boombox I found in the trash and Radio Shack headphones and, if you can imagine it, actually enjoying the experience (I am almost nostalgic now!). I just happened to want to hear these particular downloads and made no comparisons. I understand that CDs degrade over time. I've found this to be particularly true of RCA/BMG recordings from the 80s. I had forgotten my experience with the James Levine version of the Mahler 10th symphony which I played a while back and found to be utterly trashed. Also I finally went to the trouble of checking my hard drive space under THIS MAC and discovered I have plenty of room left. If all of this sounds naive, well it is; I've used Macs for several years but I am new to music downloads beyond the simple iTunes ALAC procedure with which I have up to now been content. However, being afflicted with audiophilia has driven me to hit the MORE-IS-BETTER default which presents me with screen after screen of wonderful apps and options and more expensive things to buy. I've been avoiding replacing my Mac for a while but this little adventure obliged me to do it even though the final decision was based on an error. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.

I download all my iTunes files using ALAC and have so far been satisfied. Recently I tried HD Tracks with one of the few classical offerings (Mahler 5th Symphony/Simon Rattle) using flac but it came out a bit clipped, this being possibly native to the original recording. Even so it was quite impressive. Currently I use an old Wadia 12 for processing and I am pleased with this; it will serve until I find a good USB DAC, preferably with upsampling.

Well, I decided to begin with ordering a new Macbook Pro and go from there. I'll add on a NAS later. I cruised the forums here a bit and got some good tips about Macbook Pro. I will try your suggestion to try a USB stick to see if the distortion is passed on. I've been having other problems with my Macbook, no doubt due to its age (2009). Seemed to be time to upgrade. Thanks for your advice.

I've been using iTunes for several years on a MacBook Pro. Recently I'm hearing some distortion in my files. I've read somewhere that this is a result of crowding the hard drive. I've been thinking of moving all my music files to a Mac Mini. Now, if I do this, will the distortion be carried over to the NAS or will the additional real estate fix the problem?