You can have big sound in a little room or have a reference HiFi system in your pocket!

Written by Published | Rapallo AV Team

The iBasso DX150 Interface – view

Cowon Plenue D2 MK2 – view

Fall in love with music again by cutting back and upgrading your digital format. You will be amazed at what happens when you listen to a higher resolution format, the sounds come alive, the snare drum clicks like a whip.

Step up the Digital Audio Player, its a game changer!!

Remember when music sounded great? Before we started making computer music files (digital formats) that had so much compression that sounds just started disappearing and music lost that toe tapping feeling.

Recorded music was never meant to be compressed like this, and as technology advanced and left formats like vinyl, tape and even compact discs behind we all suffered for the “future of Music”. It just doesn’t sound as good on your mobile phone, squashed into a flat MP3, with no amplifier or proper digital audio converter aka a DAC.

Many younger Millennial’s & Centennial’s have never even experienced music properly with nice home systems, or on vinyl or CD, it’s just not convenient anymore. It’s like if you grew up only on Wendys and that’s all you knew, that’s what has happened with recorded music.

I too started to fall victim to convenience, and slowly but steadily my vinyl and CD home system was slowly transitioning to download music. My vinyl was only used for nostalgic reference and my CDs sold or put into boxes in the back room. Then after all that the infamous iPods got better, then iPhone and then we got Spotify & Apple music to replace the MP3s on my phone.Sadly, all the quality sound and emotion was left behind in the dirt and a threat of nearly zero return.

BUT THEN…

About 4 years ago I hit a wall where I simply became overwhelmed with too much music available, it was just impossible to keep up with new music and newly released albums. Then one day I had a thought and dug out my vinyl again and with the help of my trusted classic Thorens turntable something clicked. Not only was there too much music and an overwhelming abundance of downloadable MP3s, the comparison to vinyl just seriously sucked

Listening to the warmth of vinyl, and all the details of analog started me off on a mission to find better ways to listen to music when not at home and travelling about.

Overnight I became a digital player convert, the sound was truly AMAZING!!

Below is our guide to help you achieve a high level of superb toe tapping music that is available in your pocket, on the bus, the train or lying on the grass on a sunny day with your favourite headphones on.

1.0 – DON’T LISTEN TO LOW LEVEL MP3’s

Please don’t get me wrong they can sound OK, but unless you have a DAC (digital to analog converter) and an amplifier on your phone and some insanely good headphones, it’s still just OK nothing special.

So I started to research the basics and found that FLAC and Apple’s Lossless format ALAC are the best bet for mobile due to their smaller file sizes and they recreate CD quality sound… excellent!!

You can also go with DSD files for the super high-quality formats, but these files are large, and only necessary if you are a true audiophile, so generally flac is very very good with the right player. Then started the epic chore of digging out some old CDs and ripping them. Ripping is a term for copying a CD into a computer file, and as I added the CDs to my computer, I then deleted the MP3 versions.

Why in the hell did I not rip “copy” them as FLAC files, to begin with? Idiot!

Cowon Plenue L – view

2.0 – RETHINK YOUR MUSIC AND HOW YOU LISTEN TO IT

I’m in the audio AV industry by trade, so this was a difficult task. I had to separate myself from that and think like a music fan again and not judge the music on a technical level. I started looking through my records, my CD’s, my MP3’s, etc. to filter the music that I loved vs. the filler that seemed to creep into every digital crevice and crack.

I started to delete things I would never listen to again, got rid of the mediocre stuff and began a long process of cleaning the musical cupboard which is still in progress (I have thousands of albums).

Cayin Audio N8 Brass Black – view

3.0 – START TO LISTEN DIFFERENTLY

When I pop on music via Spotify it’s often just background music (especially at work), I had started to become a passive listener and stopped being in the “here and now” for the music.

This is why I started listening to vinyl again, there is a gripping, binding hold and participation that brings you into the experience, and this is a game changer. You start to hear your music in all its incredible detail again and you again adore the albums, and you don’t just passively scan through singles and playlists.

This process forges a more intimate experience with the music; it moves you much more deeply when you are paying attention. I know that sounds like common sense, but just try it and you will see what I mean.

FiiO M9 Portable High-Resolution Audio Player – view

4.0 – FIND A HIGH DEFINITION AUDIO PLAYER THAT SUITS YOUR BUDGET

These devices not only significantly elevate your music experience it goes right along with the steps of becoming a pocket music lover.

Most have streaming services available on them or you can become a pure audiophile by listening properly to music stored on their memory and SD cards. The onboard DAC, huge memory, beautiful touch screen and simple controls force you to be more involved, captured in the whole process. You can take so much music with you on this device, and all of it great quality music!

I recommend you try one, like me, the true music, I am hooked!!