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The Vinyl Adventure
10-05-2009, 20:21
i spent some time listening to my ipod today through my grados. i actually think good headphones make ipods sound worse. maybe i just expect more and then am let down by how i can more acurately hear how crap it is.
either way, i had a thought that maybe if i got a tape deck and a little walkman i can get better sound .
i then came on here and found very quickly the article about people buying blank tapes again. am i therfore not the only one having this thought?
for the low level of investment i think it is worth a try!

so can anyone recomend a deck i might get on a small budget?
and is there a particular walkman that might be better than others?

Beechwoods
11-05-2009, 06:41
The best walkman I've personally heard and used is the WM-D6C which was Sony's TOTL recording walkman.

http://www.walkmancentral.com/products/wm-d6c

Recordings from this sound fantastic, and it sounds easily as good as many 'separates' tape decks.
Michelle Shocked's first album The Texas Campfire Tapes was recorded on one of these.

It's younger brother, the WM-D3 is also worth checking out:

http://www.walkmancentral.com/products/wm-d3

I've not personally heard a D3 yet, mind...

I don't know how much these go for these days, but because of their reputation expect to pay good money.

The advantage of these machines though is that you don't need a separate deck to record tapes on, and the recordings should be perfectly aligned to the machine in which you're playing them back.

break-3
11-05-2009, 07:16
Certainly iPods have never been the best-sounding MP3 players - try a Sony to hear the difference. I won't comment too much on cassettes, as I always hated the background noise, how soft the sound became after a couple of plays, and generally having to carry a bag full of tapes. Give me an iPod any day.
Regarding your experience with the Grado+iPod combo, is there any issue with sensitivity? I don't know nearly enough, but someone else might be able to affirm/dismiss my thoughts that the iPod's headphone amp might struggle with 'serious' cans. Anyone?

Ali Tait
11-05-2009, 12:23
IMHO the poor sound will be mostly down to impedance mismatch.I know the likes of Senns are around 300 ohms,dunno about Grados,but I'd guess something similar? The lack of enough drive for big cans will be a factor too.It may be worth feeding the signal the a head amp to see if this is indeed the case.

DSJR
12-05-2009, 16:36
I'm informed that the Shure "in-ear" phones are great sounding, although I haven't tried them for myself.

I also reckon that as long as the MP3 data rate is kept at 192 or over, then losses should either be inaudible or very moderate, depending on the source material.

As for the Walkman Pro's recording quality - record an oboe concerto (or something with clarinet) at the beginning of the tape and play it back. I promise you that on batteries, it'll put you off one for life................

I personally regret that Minidisc failed. Sony finally got the ATRAC compression to a very fair standard after a few versions, the discs were easy to handle, especially in-car and the overall fidelity was streets ahead of all but the very finest cassette decks about by the very late nineties.

Beechwoods
12-05-2009, 19:08
I'm surprised that you consider mid-bitrate MP3 is considered preferable to a decent tape recording, Dave. I must admit that the recordings I heard on that WM-D6 were Rock; not 'fragile' and subtle stuff sensitive to speed issues. I'm going to try and see if I get hold of one to have a play with. It's been 15 years since I last heard one, but I was damn impressed with live and studio recordings I heard on it!

My portable headphone of choice are Sennheiser CX-400 Mk II in-ear type. £50 from HMV. I love the sound they make. If you want some discrete in-ear 'phones they are well worth looking out and very comfortable to wear, even for long periods. They are far more comfortable than the £70 Shure in-ear 'phones I had previously.

sastusbulbas
12-05-2009, 19:56
My preference is for a 120gb Ipod, simply because it does a good job, and can hold decent quality rips in a decent quantity.

For going out and about, runnig and mountain biking a pair of reasonable in ear earphones and Ipod or other reasonable MP3 player is much more preferable to a portable brick with batteries tape hiss and a 90 minute mix tape.

break-3
12-05-2009, 20:42
Sorry to carry on the diversion towards talk of headphones, but I can recommend Klipsch Image in-ears - not quite up there with the Shure SE530s (the best in-ears I've heard), but quite a bit cheaper. I'm gutted that mine have fallen apart after hours of daily use over the last year, but that's the longest I've had any in-ear headphones last so far. Currently trying out Monster Beats Tours, which I'm not too impressed with, but it's early days.