help me to get the best out of my music

jasonbourne · Mar 12, 2007, 08:52 AM

hi guys i got a creative x-fi extreme music and even with the buggy drivers for vista i still think that is a great card ,i also have a good set of creative 5.1 speakers at the minute wich works great, but for me to get the best out of it when im ripping a cd to my hd what is the best format that i should pick to improve quality ,mp3 320kbs ,windows media audio lossless 940kps, and i also noticed that with creative media source it gives me the option to super rip the cd to 24-bit 96khz 5.1 ,with the last option it takes around 1.5gb per cd wich is alot , is it really worth it? i really would like to hear from your own experience guys thanks

BlueMak · Mar 12, 2007, 09:17 AM

1.5 GB per audio cd? How is that possible? Isn't a cd 640MBs or so? If you rip it to wav it is about that, how can you increase the size to 1.5? lol

jasonbourne · Mar 12, 2007, 09:34 AM

the reason why it takes so much space is because the files can be encoded with lossless compression for high quality archiving, or alternatively, expanded up to 24-bit, 96kHz 5.1 surround using X-Fi Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS-3D processing, for a listening experience similar to that of a DVD-Audio.

BlueMak · Mar 12, 2007, 01:10 PM

Do you work for Creative Labs? lol

jasonbourne · Mar 12, 2007, 01:29 PM

no m8 i work at comet www.comet.co.uk lol

Rogacz · Mar 12, 2007, 01:32 PM

What crystallizer does is enhancement of low and hi tones what gives pleasing effects when using not-so-good speakers (or headphones) because main melody gets more audible and less muffled (we are talking about pop or rock music).

But if you have decent sound system you won't use crystallizer as it breaks music TBH.

24/96 is a M.Y.T.H. X-Fi DSP is still working at 16/48 and resamples everything.

Listen to some DVD-A music recorded in plain 24/48 (96 is waste of space) and then try to upsample standard 16/44.1 CD with crystallizer to "24/96" as CL speaks. It's bull****.

You'll get best results if you use a player like Foobar 2k using ASIO output in Audio Creation Mode with enabled bit-matched-playback (although I heard people speaking it's a myth also).

As for ripping CDs. I use FLAC. Stereo, 16/44.1. That's best for storing files. It's lossless and weights 250 - 500 MB per CD.
If I want to upsample it or make surround it's easy to apply different plugins via Foobar's DSP.

Ehh I wish I could buy X-Meridian here in Poland and sell this junk-fi.

jasonbourne · Mar 12, 2007, 01:52 PM

thanks roga u really seem to know what u`re talking about.u said that u use flac for ripping cds , i just downloaded some flac songs and u`re right it sounds just as good as super ripped songs and it takes way less space in my hd. im trying to ripp cds to flac using creative media source but it wont give me the option .i really dont want to use another player as im confortable using mediasource

Rogacz · Mar 12, 2007, 03:37 PM

Try using EAC > Exact Audio Copy. It's best for 1:1 ripping.

Then, you can use FLAC to encode WAV files to FLAC. I think EAC is capable of ripping into FLAC also but I can't remember.

You can also rip to wav with CL software (without any additions, just plain ripping to wav) and then use FLAC encoder to encode those wav files.

BlueMak · Mar 12, 2007, 05:00 PM

You can use vuplayer http://www.vuplayer.com to play and rip cds to FLAC (among others).
It is a small player few resources etc etc.
I use it for about 5 years now without any problems.

Mar 12, 2007, 08:52 AM	#1
jasonbourne DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: great yarmouth uk Posts: 1,082 Rep Power: 0	help me to get the best out of my music hi guys i got a creative x-fi extreme music and even with the buggy drivers for vista i still think that is a great card ,i also have a good set of creative 5.1 speakers at the minute wich works great, but for me to get the best out of it when im ripping a cd to my hd what is the best format that i should pick to improve quality ,mp3 320kbs ,windows media audio lossless 940kps, and i also noticed that with creative media source it gives me the option to super rip the cd to 24-bit 96khz 5.1 ,with the last option it takes around 1.5gb per cd wich is alot , is it really worth it? i really would like to hear from your own experience guys thanks __________________ http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...asonBourne.jpg

Mar 12, 2007, 09:17 AM	#2
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,464 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	1.5 GB per audio cd? How is that possible? Isn't a cd 640MBs or so? If you rip it to wav it is about that, how can you increase the size to 1.5? lol __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Mar 12, 2007, 09:34 AM	Thread Starter #3
jasonbourne DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: great yarmouth uk Posts: 1,082 Rep Power: 0	the reason why it takes so much space is because the files can be encoded with lossless compression for high quality archiving, or alternatively, expanded up to 24-bit, 96kHz 5.1 surround using X-Fi Crystalizer and X-Fi CMSS-3D processing, for a listening experience similar to that of a DVD-Audio. __________________ http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...asonBourne.jpg

Mar 12, 2007, 01:10 PM	#4
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,464 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	Do you work for Creative Labs? lol __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Mar 12, 2007, 01:29 PM	Thread Starter #5
jasonbourne DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: great yarmouth uk Posts: 1,082 Rep Power: 0	no m8 i work at comet www.comet.co.uk lol __________________ http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...asonBourne.jpg

Mar 12, 2007, 01:32 PM	#6
Rogacz Porcupine Floyd Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Poland Posts: 422 Rep Power: 0	What crystallizer does is enhancement of low and hi tones what gives pleasing effects when using not-so-good speakers (or headphones) because main melody gets more audible and less muffled (we are talking about pop or rock music). But if you have decent sound system you won't use crystallizer as it breaks music TBH. 24/96 is a M.Y.T.H. X-Fi DSP is still working at 16/48 and resamples everything. Listen to some DVD-A music recorded in plain 24/48 (96 is waste of space) and then try to upsample standard 16/44.1 CD with crystallizer to "24/96" as CL speaks. It's bull****. You'll get best results if you use a player like Foobar 2k using ASIO output in Audio Creation Mode with enabled bit-matched-playback (although I heard people speaking it's a myth also). As for ripping CDs. I use FLAC. Stereo, 16/44.1. That's best for storing files. It's lossless and weights 250 - 500 MB per CD. If I want to upsample it or make surround it's easy to apply different plugins via Foobar's DSP. Ehh I wish I could buy X-Meridian here in Poland and sell this junk-fi. __________________

Mar 12, 2007, 01:52 PM	Thread Starter #7
jasonbourne DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: great yarmouth uk Posts: 1,082 Rep Power: 0	thanks roga u really seem to know what u`re talking about.u said that u use flac for ripping cds , i just downloaded some flac songs and u`re right it sounds just as good as super ripped songs and it takes way less space in my hd. im trying to ripp cds to flac using creative media source but it wont give me the option .i really dont want to use another player as im confortable using mediasource __________________ http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...asonBourne.jpg

Mar 12, 2007, 03:37 PM	#8
Rogacz Porcupine Floyd Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Poland Posts: 422 Rep Power: 0	Try using EAC > Exact Audio Copy. It's best for 1:1 ripping. Then, you can use FLAC to encode WAV files to FLAC. I think EAC is capable of ripping into FLAC also but I can't remember. You can also rip to wav with CL software (without any additions, just plain ripping to wav) and then use FLAC encoder to encode those wav files. __________________

Mar 12, 2007, 05:00 PM	#9
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,464 Rep Power: 349 System Specs	You can use vuplayer http://www.vuplayer.com to play and rip cds to FLAC (among others). It is a small player few resources etc etc. I use it for about 5 years now without any problems. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*