Well, first off I have to question your requirement of FLAC. This is a portable media player which means it doesn't have the high end op amps and components to even output the audio and a high quality and unless your buying some 200 dollar Kipsch or Sennheiser headphones the signal is going to be even more distorted once it gets to your ears. There is also background noise from being outside. Basically this all means you're not going to notice the difference of FLAC quality with your portable media player. the only reason I can think that you would need FLAC is if you don't want to convert all your files before you transfer to the PMP. If i've done the math correctly:
4Gb = 4096MB Let's assume a FLAC file is at least 20MB Total songs = 4096/20 = 204 songs. If you convert to 256 VBR with avg of 8MB/song Total songs = 4096/8 = 512 songs.
You're getting almost twice the amount of songs at the same music quality with minimal effort. I'm a FLAC guy myself but I only play it through an Auzentech Forte with Z5500's if i'm looking to play music on the go I suggest putting your money towards a nicer cell phone with a 3.5mm jack and just upgrade the SD card. FLAC has it's places and PMPs does not seem to be one in my opinion.
@mdm2010 I know some people have their whole music collection in FLAC cuz they have an awesome sound system at home and don't want to go through the trouble with converting it down to another format just so they can use it on a pmp.
@BuffaloBoobs Well if you want to throw in jabs like that. Ears are no good without a brain. It's worthless to compare mp3 to FLAC without specifying a the bit-rate. Of course 128kbps sounds like shit, if you were listening to 320kbps then maybe you do have extraordinary ears. Also, if you truly do enjoy music buy yourself some real headphones, it's amazing what didn't notice in the songs before. I'd suggest AKG K240's but that's another matter.
And yes i understand inconvenience of having to convert your music every time you want to sync/transfer, but the vast vast majority of people don't look for hardcore quality when they use a PMP. They want battery life, storage space, form factor, and nice interface. My whole point was to have the guy just take a step back and look at the big picture and hopefully be able to better prioritize where he wants to really put money down for his music. I don't expect to the top notch quality music while i'm working out, or on the bus, i just want to hear something and if my phone can play music and save me from carrying another device then I'll take it.
First of all, FLAC not only offers a better quality, but it also stores the songs in a perfect copy. Lossy formats such as MP3 add a tiny gap of silence at the beginning of every track: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gapless_playback Unless the player can handle those properly (some can, others can't), you'll hear those tiny gaps on songs where's a transition from one track to another. (Most songs are not like this, that's why it's not an issue you often hear about.)
Second, at least for me, it's all about CONVENIENCE. I made a backup of all my CDs to FLAC, since it just makes the most sense. All of my PCs, my network media player, even my phone, play FLAC. Converting it for a device that's the exception is certainly possible, but would be a major ANNOYANCE. Why even support manufacturers who can't add such a simple feature, which is requested by a lot of people?
@mdm2010 I would disagree with buying a cellphone for music. Most good phone have iffy battery life, and copounding that by playing music would just make it worse. That's why I still use my Cowon D2 anyway. It can last days of very heavy use without a charge and holds a lot more music than my cell can.
I only listen to mp3 v0 or 320. Listening to almost anything less than 256 makes my ears bleed. I don't think they're extraordinary, just picky.
My point was that I can relate to the needs of Cam. Nothing personal with the 'ears' comment; I use sarcasm a lot, and we all know that doesn't work well on the 'net.
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Well, first off I have to question your requirement of FLAC. This is a portable media player which means it doesn't have the high end op amps and components to even output the audio and a high quality and unless your buying some 200 dollar Kipsch or Sennheiser headphones the signal is going to be even more distorted once it gets to your ears. There is also background noise from being outside. Basically this all means you're not going to notice the difference of FLAC quality with your portable media player. the only reason I can think that you would need FLAC is if you don't want to convert all your files before you transfer to the PMP. If i've done the math correctly:
4Gb = 4096MB
Let's assume a FLAC file is at least 20MB
Total songs = 4096/20 = 204 songs.
If you convert to 256 VBR with avg of 8MB/song
Total songs = 4096/8 = 512 songs.
You're getting almost twice the amount of songs at the same music quality with minimal effort. I'm a FLAC guy myself but I only play it through an Auzentech Forte with Z5500's if i'm looking to play music on the go I suggest putting your money towards a nicer cell phone with a 3.5mm jack and just upgrade the SD card. FLAC has it's places and PMPs does not seem to be one in my opinion.
@mdm2010
I know some people have their whole music collection in FLAC cuz they have an awesome sound system at home and don't want to go through the trouble with converting it down to another format just so they can use it on a pmp.
@mdm2010
Sansa Fuze is my recommendation.
As for the FLAC comments, I can tell whether a song is mp3 or FLAC through my $20 Sennheiser CX300's. Easily.
Some of us still have our ears.
Sansa Fuze kicks ass.
@BuffaloBoobs
Well if you want to throw in jabs like that. Ears are no good without a brain. It's worthless to compare mp3 to FLAC without specifying a the bit-rate. Of course 128kbps sounds like shit, if you were listening to 320kbps then maybe you do have extraordinary ears. Also, if you truly do enjoy music buy yourself some real headphones, it's amazing what didn't notice in the songs before. I'd suggest AKG K240's but that's another matter.
And yes i understand inconvenience of having to convert your music every time you want to sync/transfer, but the vast vast majority of people don't look for hardcore quality when they use a PMP. They want battery life, storage space, form factor, and nice interface. My whole point was to have the guy just take a step back and look at the big picture and hopefully be able to better prioritize where he wants to really put money down for his music. I don't expect to the top notch quality music while i'm working out, or on the bus, i just want to hear something and if my phone can play music and save me from carrying another device then I'll take it.
@mdm2010
First of all, FLAC not only offers a better quality, but it also stores the songs in a perfect copy. Lossy formats such as MP3 add a tiny gap of silence at the beginning of every track:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gapless_playback
Unless the player can handle those properly (some can, others can't), you'll hear those tiny gaps on songs where's a transition from one track to another. (Most songs are not like this, that's why it's not an issue you often hear about.)
Second, at least for me, it's all about CONVENIENCE. I made a backup of all my CDs to FLAC, since it just makes the most sense. All of my PCs, my network media player, even my phone, play FLAC.
Converting it for a device that's the exception is certainly possible, but would be a major ANNOYANCE. Why even support manufacturers who can't add such a simple feature, which is requested by a lot of people?
@Endadget
Which phone do you have that plays FLAC files?
@edodio
Nokia N79. But every Symbian phone does, if you install a right app (there are a few that play flac and other formats).
@mdm2010 I would disagree with buying a cellphone for music. Most good phone have iffy battery life, and copounding that by playing music would just make it worse. That's why I still use my Cowon D2 anyway. It can last days of very heavy use without a charge and holds a lot more music than my cell can.
@mdm2010
I only listen to mp3 v0 or 320. Listening to almost anything less than 256 makes my ears bleed. I don't think they're extraordinary, just picky.
My point was that I can relate to the needs of Cam. Nothing personal with the 'ears' comment; I use sarcasm a lot, and we all know that doesn't work well on the 'net.