Author Topic: So...I just bought my first all-digital album  (Read 5452 times)

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Offline Samsara

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So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« on: August 31, 2010, 09:32:08 AM »
Ok, so in my big CD sale, the reason behind it was me going all digital, except for my absolute favorite bands, which I'll get all the limited edition crap.

So today, it was Disturbed: Asylum. 8.99 for 256 kbps MP3s (which is what I rip at anyway). Quite honestly, the quality is absolutely fine, and I rip at 256 because the human ear (from my own experience and from what I read) can't even notice any dip in quality at rips higher than 192.

Big win for me today. I had been buying CDs and ripping them and shelving CDs never to look at them again. Here's to progress. It was a trouble-free purchase for cheap, and I had it before I even took a bite of breakfast this morning.

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Offline Perpetual Change

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2010, 09:34:02 AM »
Ok, so in my big CD sale, the reason behind it was me going all digital, except for my absolute favorite bands, which I'll get all the limited edition crap.

So today, it was Disturbed: Asylum. 8.99 for 256 kbps MP3s (which is what I rip at anyway). Quite honestly, the quality is absolutely fine, and I rip at 256 because the human ear (from my own experience and from what I read) can't even notice any dip in quality at rips higher than 192.

Big win for me today. I had been buying CDs and ripping them and shelving CDs never to look at them again. Here's to progress. It was a trouble-free purchase for cheap, and I had it before I even took a bite of breakfast this morning.

 :metal

I've been doing the same thing lately. It's cheaper, and most stores simply don't carry the music I'm looking for anyway.

Offline faemir

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2010, 09:40:13 AM »
Psht, I'll buy my CDs online and at gigs till the day I die.

Offline Samsara

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2010, 09:42:34 AM »
The thing with me is this. I always loved buying the physical product. But when it got down to it, I never listened to the physical CDs any longer. I'd always rip them. So then it became a mental thing. When you get over the fact that while you are purchasing lossy files, you can't audibly hear a difference if it is encoded higher than 192 kbps, then that mental hurdle is gone. THen it was the liner notes. But some of these releases come with digital booklets anyway, and frankly, other than looking at the liners a couple times, they usually sit in the rack and collect dust.

So for me, this just made absolute sense, particularly how I listen to music (on a MP3 player, in the office, car, etc.).

For the big time bands for me, or special anniversary/limited editions, I'll get the physical stuff. But I can't justify doing it at this point for regular releases. Just doesn't make sense (for me).
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Offline Nick

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2010, 09:45:42 AM »
If it works for you then good going. Personally I can hear a big difference and I listen to my actual CD's all the time.
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Offline Perpetual Change

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #5 on: August 31, 2010, 09:47:40 AM »
Yeah. For the kind of music I'm looking for, it just doesn't make sense to buy it unless I really, really want it. I had to go on a witch-hunt to find a copy of Road Salt One when it came out, and I wound up just buying it on amazon mP3 anyway.

Amazon MP3 is pretty good. Lots cheaper than amazon, and sometimes you really get a steal. I've dl'd a couple new releases for like $3 there.

Offline Mebert78

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #6 on: August 31, 2010, 09:49:15 AM »
To me, the album booklet and packaging is part of the album experience.  So I'll always buy the physical CD for any band I like.  The artwork and "presentation" of the CD really adds to the whole vibe of the record.  Would I like DT's Awake album as much without the dark and thought-provoking artwork that really pulls the whole theme together?  Or what about Queensryche's Promised Land album artwork without the fold-out totem pole in a ravaged swamp?  Basically, having the artwork or packaging right at hand on a regular basis is important to me personally.  I feel like something is missing if I don't have it.
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Offline Samsara

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #7 on: August 31, 2010, 10:06:26 AM »
To me, the album booklet and packaging is part of the album experience.  So I'll always buy the physical CD for any band I like.  The artwork and "presentation" of the CD really adds to the whole vibe of the record.  Would I like DT's Awake album as much without the dark and thought-provoking artwork that really pulls the whole theme together?  Or what about Queensryche's Promised Land album artwork without the fold-out totem pole in a ravaged swamp?  Basically, having the artwork or packaging right at hand on a regular basis is important to me personally.  I feel like something is missing if I don't have it.

For bands that I am a huge fan of (original Queensryche, Fates Warning, Alter Bridge, Sevendust, Alice in Chains, etc., etc.) I am in total agreement.

But for me personally, it makes no sense to do that for EVERY band I buy music from. It just doesn't. And although I can appreciate Nick's sentiment about being able to tell, if he feels that way, then that's good for him, although if you pull up the research, you'll find it's more of a mental thing than it is an actual thing, regarding hearing.

Really crappy MP3s (128, 160, etc.) you can hear the "thinning out" of the quality. But not when you are at 256 and 320. I can pick up a really slight loss at 192, but nothing higher than that. So for me, it was just a mental hurdle.

Also, it really depends where you are in life too. Maybe a guy like Nick, yourself (Mebert), have time to sit down and immerse yourself with a favorite album in peace and quiet. Just you, the album and a set of headphones with the artwork, and a good 90 minutes to enjoy the experience. I really don't. My music listening (most of the time) is in the car, at the office, and sometimes, when working around and outside the house.

Those times that I do have to sit down and listen, are usually taken up by watching concert Blu-rays and DVDs, so I focus more on buying those physical products.
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Offline hefdaddy42

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #8 on: August 31, 2010, 10:11:31 AM »
Hey, if you're happy, I'm happy.
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Offline Marvellous G

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #9 on: August 31, 2010, 10:25:40 AM »
I'm actually doing the exact opposite thing recently.  :lol

I've been getting all of my top albums on CD, but each to their own I guess.

Offline King Postwhore

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #10 on: August 31, 2010, 11:00:01 AM »
Sam,  I feel the same way. If it's a band I love, Rush, Kiss, DT, P-Tree, I'll buy the CD, otherwise, I'll mp3 it.
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Offline Mebert78

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #11 on: August 31, 2010, 11:18:18 AM »
Yea, I see your point.  If it's a band your're just a casual fan of, there's no harm in getting it digital.  If it's a band you're passionate about, get the whole package.
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Offline faemir

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #12 on: August 31, 2010, 11:27:08 AM »
Oh plus I don't want to buy any albums that aren't in FLAC digitally. I was a teeny bit pissed off when PT took several weeks to release Atlanta in FLAC, because I waited and waited then just got the mp3s. Felt a bit cheated.

Offline Perpetual Change

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #13 on: August 31, 2010, 12:08:40 PM »
Oh plus I don't want to buy any albums that aren't in FLAC digitally. I was a teeny bit pissed off when PT took several weeks to release Atlanta in FLAC, because I waited and waited then just got the mp3s. Felt a bit cheated.

Did you buy it in FLAC yet? And, was it worth it?

Offline Gorille85

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #14 on: August 31, 2010, 12:10:43 PM »
Psht, I'll buy my CDs online and at gigs till the day I die.

Offline drummerThatShreds87

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #15 on: August 31, 2010, 12:36:02 PM »
i agree with OP. problem is, when bands put out those gapless playback albums, digital stores fuck them up. I bought Btbam's Colors and the transitions were skipping out and choppy. In rage i went and bought the physical one...$10 lost.

So if DT puts out another SFAM, keep this in mind.
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Offline Sigz

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #16 on: August 31, 2010, 12:38:27 PM »
i agree with OP. problem is, when bands put out those gapless playback albums, digital stores fuck them up. I bought Btbam's Colors and the transitions were skipping out and choppy. In rage i went and bought the physical one...$10 lost.

So if DT puts out another SFAM, keep this in mind.

That's not a problem with the store, that's a problem with MP3 playback.

We pay attention to the exact timing of the tracks that you upload and this is preserved where possible in the download formats. Unfortunately MP3 is not one of those formats. The MP3 format does bizarro things with the start and end of tracks and in other ways messes up gap timing, as a byproduct of the compression process. For a player to play back the gapless transition between MP3s that info has to be recreated and half-guessed at. That's why iTunes does that "figuring gapless playback" step when you add tracks to iTunes. The good news is that iTunes does a pretty good job. No guarantees with other players, but at least you're not alone. The lossless download formats we support -- FLAC and Apple Lossless -- don't have this problem. Their gapless info is preserved in the downloaded files and they play back perfectly.
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Offline drummerThatShreds87

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #17 on: August 31, 2010, 12:41:54 PM »
Hmm, wow, well thats interesting. Still sucks though. Does that happen if the original tracks sent to iTunes or whatever are in MP3 format? I'm confused on that.
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Offline Sigz

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #18 on: August 31, 2010, 12:58:41 PM »
Yeah, it's a problem with the format, not the store or file itself. For example, the site that paragraph came from, bandcamp, only accepts WAV files from bands.
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Offline Seventh Son

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #19 on: August 31, 2010, 01:05:52 PM »
If it makes you happy, so be it. But personally, I'd rather buy CDs no matter what. If the songs are on just a machine, I don't really feel like I own them at all, they're just... "sitting there". If I have the case + artwork, then I truly feel like I own the album. If I just buy mp3's, it feels so goddamned empty to me. But whatever floats your boat.
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Offline cramx3

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #20 on: August 31, 2010, 03:06:19 PM »
Congrats on joining the rest of the 21st century... I still love CDs myself, but for me, it just became more of a hassle once you have a lot. They start to take up space and get dusty and well I never used the actual CDs anymore.  I now only buy the CDs for my favorite bands. For example, I bought The Final Frontier by IM, but I downloaded The Edge of Time by BG.

Offline Quadrochosis

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #21 on: August 31, 2010, 03:08:06 PM »
If it works for you then good going. Personally I can hear a big difference and I listen to my actual CD's all the time.
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Offline ich bin besser

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #22 on: August 31, 2010, 03:16:42 PM »
For bands I really love and still wanna support, I buy the actual CD (and I LOVE special editions!). But as I listen to music mostly in my car or on my PC, I try 2 things since last year:

1. Thinking twice before buying new music.
2. Buying "new" music as a download. My CD collection is already big enough and I run out of space...
256 kbps are enough for me and I don't care for gapless playback. I'm no audiophile.  

On the other hand, I bought quite a few vinyls during the last year or so. Hmm, contradiction?  :blush :lol
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Offline TAC

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #23 on: August 31, 2010, 04:23:31 PM »
Sam, congrats! This would be a torturous decision. Since I've got my iPod up, it really has rendered my CDs useless.
Plus:
Also, it really depends where you are in life too. Maybe a guy like Nick, yourself (Mebert), have time to sit down and immerse yourself with a favorite album in peace and quiet. Just you, the album and a set of headphones with the artwork, and a good 90 minutes to enjoy the experience. I really don't. My music listening (most of the time) is in the car, at the office, and sometimes, when working around and outside the house.

This exactly.

Now I'm not ready to make the leap, but I am certainly intrigued by it.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline robwebster

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #24 on: August 31, 2010, 04:30:53 PM »
I like having CDs 'cause I'm a bit of a collector. I like having the physical thing, and leafing through the booklet, and having shelves of CD and the ceremony of going to the shop and buying it.

BUT. I'm starting to like digital. There's a site called mFlow, where anything you buy (completely free of DRM, btW) can be listened to for free, by your followers. I was gonna buy a track off Gorillaz's latest album from it (Rhinestone Eyes), and then I realised the entire album of sixteen songs was only four pounds. Considering I was gonna pay £0.99 for the track anyway, that meant it was £3 for fifteen extra tracks on top. That's 20p a song. So I bought the whole album, as a punt. Love it.

Downloading is a nice way to minimise the risk when taking a stab in the dark. I still love buying CDs, but I'm gradually coming to the conclusion that there is a place for downloads.

That said, though, I'm still not entirely comfortable with the idea of spending money to buy nothing of any physical presence. I can't form a connection to a file. I can care about my CD collection, but when you're downloading stuff off iTunes? It's so disposable. You've not actually got an item out of it, you've just created a duplicate.

But yeah. Definitely got time for digital.

...What were we talking about?

Offline Gadough

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #25 on: August 31, 2010, 04:54:27 PM »
Honestly, I can't tell a difference with digital music based on the sound quality alone. I couldn't care less about that. I just have a compulsive desire to own the physical product, and listen to music directly from the physical product. So, I still listen to all my CDs in a portable CD player way more often than I listen to music on my computer or on my iPod (I own one purely for travel purposes). I just prefer it that way. It feels more real and authentic to me, and that increases my enjoyment of the music. But hey, to each his own, I'm glad you're happy with your decision Sam. :D
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Offline Portrucci

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #26 on: August 31, 2010, 05:01:30 PM »
I only either buy vinyl or digital download. I really don't like CDs actually. They are not big enough that they are an artistic package and their cases always so flimsy and easily breakable. The actual discs themselves aren't particularly robust either. Sure it means I can't rip in lossless, but it's not a huge issue considering the present day quality of v0 mp3s.
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Offline TL

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #27 on: August 31, 2010, 05:15:44 PM »
If it makes you happy, so be it. But personally, I'd rather buy CDs no matter what. If the songs are on just a machine, I don't really feel like I own them at all, they're just... "sitting there". If I have the case + artwork, then I truly feel like I own the album. If I just buy mp3's, it feels so goddamned empty to me. But whatever floats your boat.
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I don't care for gapless playback. I'm no audiophile. 
You do understand what gapless playback is, right? It has absolutely nothing to do with audio quality.

Offline blackngold29

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #28 on: September 01, 2010, 10:30:42 AM »
I still prefer and buy CDs, though I have bought a few things on iTunes like foreign bands or really old albums. Isn't a hugely noticeable difference in quality.

Offline MetalManiac666

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #29 on: September 01, 2010, 01:05:56 PM »
I don't buy MP3s, it just feels like a waste of money to me.  Physical products FTW.

Offline Sigz

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #30 on: September 01, 2010, 01:21:42 PM »
It's interesting to see how the way I view my computer has changed as I've been spending more and more time at it over the years(partly out of choice and partly out of necessity). Whereas 4 years ago a computer was just something I played games on and used to type school papers, now it's something that I've become completely entwined with, and I don't mean that in a "I HAVE TO BE AT MY COMPUTER 24/7" kind of way.

Things I never payed a second thought to before, like a wallpaper or theme, are things that I now obsess over and browse in my free time; much in the same way my parents started watching that DIY/homeowners channel things when they finally bought a house. The files on my computer were previously just stuff I needed for school, etc. Now there are gigabytes upon gigabytes of material that has no counterpart in the real world. Images, movies, music, save games, photoshop settings, they're all baggage that must be maintained, insured, and transferred over and installed to any new computer I get. And much like possessions in the real world, I hoard and refuse to throw away much of them, even when I'm nearly positive that they have little use to me.

I guess my point is that I've come to internalize my computer and its contents to the point to where it is simply another room for me, or more accurately a house, and I've really stopped making the distinction between a digital item and real item as far as possession is concerned.


Christ, it's like we already hit cyberpunk but instead of bioaugmentations and the matrix it's ergonomic keyboards and twitter. Goddammit that's depressing, I was really looking forward to it.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2010, 02:34:19 PM by Sigz »
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Offline limnides

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #31 on: September 01, 2010, 03:33:43 PM »
My collection is almost entirely digital, save for a few vinyls and special edition/promotional CDs.

I'm also an organisational freak.  but I'm able to cope with that because I'm very particular with how my files are stored.

Band Name  [ISO 3-letter country code]
 -- [year][type]  Album Title
 -- -- [00]  Front Cover
 -- -- [01]  Track Title

Yessssss.   Hi.

Offline Marvellous G

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #32 on: September 01, 2010, 03:52:37 PM »
My collection is almost entirely digital, save for a few vinyls and special edition/promotional CDs.

I'm also an organisational freak.  but I'm able to cope with that because I'm very particular with how my files are stored.

Band Name  [ISO 3-letter country code]
 -- [year][type]  Album Title
 -- -- [00]  Front Cover
 -- -- [01]  Track Title

Yessssss.   Hi.

I genuinely wish I could be that organised with my digital music.

Offline limnides

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #33 on: September 01, 2010, 04:12:47 PM »
It's a blessing and a curse, hah.

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Re: So...I just bought my first all-digital album
« Reply #34 on: September 01, 2010, 04:41:59 PM »
For some reason, I find digital purchases of electronic music to be o.k., but indie stuff must be either stolen or bought in a physical format.