is stereo amp good for mp3 ?

[paramesh]

Hi gurus,

By reading some post,stereo amp better than AVR for music.so is stereo amp can do same job incase of mp3 (128 or 320 Kbps)file also ? otherwise AVR and amp are same quality for mp3 ?

please give me your suggestion.now I have Marantz 5006 with aviano 6(FS).

thanks.

 

[Audio_Freek]

Suresh,

Stereo setup is dedicated and only setup for Music. AVR is mostly meant for Movies.
you own a good setup to enjoy music, hence continue the same.

 

[corElement]

I don't understand the question.

mp3 is a compressed file format that's handled by a dac, namely the cd player or a seperate dac, once the dac processes the mp3 into an analog signal, it is sent for amplification AS an analog signal.

The amplifier has nothing to do with mp3 or not mp3, it's simply amplifying an analog signal coming from the source.

 

[asliarun]

Hi gurus,

By reading some post,stereo amp better than AVR for music.so is stereo amp can do same job incase of mp3 (128 or 320 Kbps)file also ? otherwise AVR and amp are same quality for mp3 ?

please give me your suggestion.now I have Marantz 5006 with aviano 6(FS).

thanks.

This question has been answered in great detail several times, so I will answer with my personal views.

You generally get what you pay for. If you spend the same amount of money on a stereo (2 channel) amplifier as you will on a 6 channel amplifier, you will most likely be able to buy a 2 channel amplifier that is 3 times better than a 6 channel amp for listening to music. Plus, if you factor in all the extra features that an AVR contains that are video specific, you are likely getting 5-6 times better value for money from a stereo amplifier - as far as music is concerned.

As far as mp3 is concerned, it is a very controversial topic in this and most forums! My personal experience has been that 320kbps in most cases sounds "very good". 128kbps often sounds "compressed" or muffled - i.e. it sounds as if someone has thrown a blanket over your speakers - because it loses a lot of details that is retained in higher bitrate.

A jump from 128kbps to 320kbps (for well recorded music) (with a lot of detail) (of the right genre) (and in a reasonably well thought out entry level stereo setup) will be quite a big jump in quality. Note the various caveats :-D

A jump from 320kbps to FLAC or CD quality in entry level systems will not be so much, and in any case, we are more often let down by poorly recorded music and not loss of fidelity due to the format of the source recording.

 

[haisaikat]

I think what OP is asking whether going for a dedicated stereo amp will be of any significant / great value over playing the same via AVR (using AVR-s internal DAC) if the source mostly in lossy mp3 format. I hope OP will use some sort of PC-Out or media player to play the mp3 in the former case.

Others can plunge in, but I think only mp3 without a dedicated DAC or minimum sound card in pc or devices like Logitech SBT which have good DAC on board will not yield much of great value if OP goes for a dedicated stereo amp. So my suggestion for upgrade path will be first get a decent budget DAC(in any of the above forms) and then after some months / years of listening using that DAC and AVR, OP can go for a dedicated stereo amp.

 

[jagdish_p]

To add to what Haisakat mentioned upgrading to a dedicated DAC / Stereo Amp will yield improved Sound Quality only if your source files are HQ.
You will not notice any improvement with 128 bit mp3. With 320 bit mp3 s may be yes depending on quality of original file compression.If you play FLAC files yes the difference is noticeable

 

[paramesh]

Till this time I was downloaded mp3 files.now I am downloading FLAC and buying original audio CDs.any way audio cd give good quality.but my problem is I want to get good quality on mp3 which I was downloaded till now(I can not buy those audio cds now,bcz those are old ) . If I want to get decent bass on mp3 files what can I do? please suggest me and correct me .

thanks

 

[Audio_Freek]

To add to what Haisakat mentioned upgrading to a dedicated DAC / Stereo Amp will yield improved Sound Quality only if your source files are HQ.
You will not notice any improvement with 128 bit mp3. With 320 bit mp3 s may be yes depending on quality of original file compression.If you play FLAC files yes the difference is noticeable

Jaga,

May i conclude the following statement with your observation\experience.

"Until you have FLAC or MP3 with 320Kbps DONT choose Stereo,it may not provide the VFM, instead for same cost get AVR and use for dual mode(Music an Movies)"

Also ,is there any dedicated site where can i get music in FLAC format for downloading, Getting original CD's for old movies is not possible these days

 

[paramesh]

Jaga,

May i conclude the following statement with your observation\experience.

"Until you have FLAC or MP3 with 320Kbps DONT choose Stereo,it may not provide the VFM, instead for same cost get AVR and use for dual mode(Music an Movies)"

Also ,is there any dedicated site where can i get music in FLAC format for downloading, Getting original CD's for old movies is not possible these days

I tried FLAC songs,but I did not find for old days movies.I think we can find 320 Kbps songs. I want system for music and movie also. thats why I went for HT. but I feel like if I go to stereo setup it may be help.

 

[haisaikat]

You may not rely much on the recording quality for items belonging to old days specially in Indian context. I have seen many people do FLAC rips of Vinyls since as per them corresponding CD format releases suffer from poor conversion losses / errors.

 

[paramesh]

You may not rely much on the recording quality for items belonging to old days specially in Indian context. I have seen many people do FLAC rips of Vinyls since as per them corresponding CD format releases suffer from poor conversion losses / errors.

If I go to DAC with current system,is it will fine with mp3 songs,I want some bass not heavy ?

there is SRS effects in windows meadia player,if I enable it ,I can get some bass, but sound signature is changing . I think VLC is not good to play songs,right ?

 

[Flash]

If I go to DAC with current system,is it will fine with mp3 songs,I want some bass not heavy ?

there is SRS effects in windows meadia player,if I enable it ,I can get some bass, but sound signature is changing . I think VLC is not good to play songs,right ?

Bass can be augmented using a Subwoofer , Since you use a AVR integrating a sub should not be difficult.
Adding a sub will augment the bass not necessarily mean it will make it bass heavy . It purely boils down to how you calibrate it.


SRS setting etc . is not a ideal way to get bass output from your speakers. However although not a fan of tone controls . you can use tone controls on your AVR and increase the bass by a couple of DB's.

Adding a DAC does not really make sense with 128 kbps songs . your AVR dac should be just fine .
A stand alone dac is not going to add any value.

If going the subwoofer route is not something you are looking at .Then the last option left would be to look at speakers which are known to be bass heavy .
Again it all depends on how much you are willing to spend so will refrain from speaker suggestions .

However in your case upgrading your speakers or AVR to a Stereo Integrated or buying a DAC honestly to me does not really make sense as the bottleneck is your mp3 media.

 

[paramesh]

Dont have another option other than SW ?

 

[Audio_Freek]

Dont have another option other than SW ?

Ya no option, in original recording or FLAC or even in 320 kbps we could expect the quaity, But its not possible in my case as i have more than 40GB songs(128 Kbps) its tough for me to search the Original CD's and also records.
Most of the 80's songs of Ilayaraja and 60's and 70's of Mahadevan,Vishvanathan ramamoothy's are not avilable even in CD's how to find the FLAC for same?

No way to get the original records, hence enjoy the MP3's which you have and collect only 320kbps from now on(am doing it)

 

[paramesh]

Ya no option, in original recording or FLAC or even in 320 kbps we could expect the quaity, But its not possible in my case as i have more than 40GB songs(128 Kbps) its tough for me to search the Original CD's and also records.
Most of the 80's songs of Ilayaraja and 60's and 70's of Mahadevan,Vishvanathan ramamoothy's are not avilable even in CD's how to find the FLAC for same?

No way to get the original records, hence enjoy the MP3's which you have and collect only 320kbps from now on(am doing it)

I already started to download 320kbps songs.even in 320 also I did not get good bass.but when I am playing DTS or Ac3 movies at that getting good bass.

 

[murali_n]

Hi all,

Even some FLAcs and 320 kpbs mp3s, available on net are upsampled ones of low bit rate mp3s.

N.Murali

 

[asliarun]

I already started to download 320kbps songs.even in 320 also I did not get good bass.but when I am playing DTS or Ac3 movies at that getting good bass.

You keep mentioning bass, so I want to clarify:

The recording format - 128kbps mp3, 320kbps, FLAC, CD, whatever - has absolutely nothing to do with bass. One format will not give you better bass than other. 128kbps mp3 will give you less detail than FLAC but will not give you less bass.

If you are finding better bass with certain modes in your AVR, my guess is that the mode in which you are playing stereo songs makes your AVR under-powered and it is not able to supply enough current to your speakers.

In other words, it is the mode of your AVR that is causing a difference in bass, not the music format.

 

[paramesh]

You keep mentioning bass, so I want to clarify:

The recording format - 128kbps mp3, 320kbps, FLAC, CD, whatever - has absolutely nothing to do with bass. One format will not give you better bass than other. 128kbps mp3 will give you less detail than FLAC but will not give you less bass.

If you are finding better bass with certain modes in your AVR, my guess is that the mode in which you are playing stereo songs makes your AVR under-powered and it is not able to supply enough current to your speakers.

In other words, it is the mode of your AVR that is causing a difference in bass, not the music format.

u meant to say marantz avr not producing enough bass,right ?

 

[Flash]

u meant to say marantz avr not producing enough bass,right ?

Suresh ....
The Marantz AVR produces decent enough bass. I have heard the 5006 with various combinations of speakers in different rooms and bass has never been a let down. It is pretty balanced throughout the spectrum

I feel the problem with your setup is not the AVR or the Aviano 6. It could just be your room

You maybe experiencing a bass null at your listening position . Have you tried moving the speakers to another position to see if the bass response increases .

Or the other plausible explanation is that the the Aviano's bass output is not something you like.
If getting your floorstanders to produce more bass is your goal . It makes sense to look at speakers which are known to have good bass output , Cerwin Vega, Klipsch , Wharfedale Diamond 9.5 etc come to mind

asliarun is spot on mp3, FLAC etc etc has nothing to do with bass.

 

[haisaikat]

I think the problem with AVR running short of power while producing bass out of speakers is common in my case as well since I own Aviano 6 as well. With ODAC I did get improvement in sub-less mode in terms of bass and also with break in of the speakers or more usage the bass response even from AVR alone improves, noticed this in my system as well. What I will suggest to be the cheapest option would be to go the Aviano 6 shop with the same mp3 file that you are not getting fair bass response at home and ask them to play using a dedicated stereo amp with Aviano 6. If you see improvement as compared to your home, you know it is the AVR and not speakers, if not then it is definitely the file. Ask them to play a bassy song using CD Player and observe the difference. If still no improvement then Aviano 6 bass is not to your taste.