I bought myself and my iPod Classic an Altec Lansing IM7 a few months ago. It replaced an Altec Lansing MX5021 that was too bulky for my tiny living room. While it lacks the power and the stereo separation of the MX5021, it still sounds great for the price (Php 6500) and the small package.
Based on reviews on the internet (iLounge, Macworld, Pcmag) it's by far the best sounding portable iPod speakers for its price range. Even user reviews from Amazon confirm that it sounds incredible. There are a couple of 1 to 3 star ratings though but even the 1 star ratings still applaud its sound. I agree wholeheartedly.
Just a couple of flaws to note. Do get the newer black version since the white one has a sliding tray to load your iPod. Unless your iPod is in a case, it will be scratched badly. The black version has a cradle much like the Apple Hifi and the Bose Sounddock.
Also the remote is quite weak, you do need to be close (about 1 meter) and at a fairly perpendicular angle to the IM7 for it to work.
Biggest problem for me was the lack of any visual indicator for treble and bass. It took me about a month tweaking them before I had setting I was content with. Now I'll be hiding the remote so no one messes with it.
After a long hiatus, I'm back. I'll no longer trouble you with my opinions. Instead, I'll share something some of you may find useful.
If you've read my previous posts, you should know I am fanatical when it comes to quality CD ripping. I'm also a cheap-assed torrent pirate. Arrh.
For me, there is nothing better than ripping a CD yourself with a secure ripper like EAC. The next best thing is downloading a torrent ripped with EAC.
How does one know for sure it was ripped with EAC? Here are some signs:
1. The torrent is labeled or has a comment or the files themselves are tagged indicating EAC was used to rip.
2. There is an EAC log included with the tracks.
Of course these are no guarantees. They can easily be faked. Also anyone can securely rip burned unsecure copies. Still, they're free so who am I to complain?
First up is... Jeff Buckley's Grace. This torrent is ripped into one file per disc with cuesheets. The EAC log is included. Enjoy. Download .torrent
UPDATE:
This torrent just got even better. With fooaccrip, I just found out this torrent is verified by AccurateRip. This means 2 things: this rip matches other rips by different people with different copies of the CD and ripped with different PCs.
Here it is my first foobar2000 theme. It's pretty basic. Nothing fancy. It's aimed at people who like to keep the interface simple and clean and who spend time listening to their music rather than looking at their media player.
Some things you would need to set it up:
1. the latest beta version of foobar2000 (currently v0.9.5 beta 2) available here
2. foo_facets.dll available here
3. my theme file available here
4. (optional) the windows xp theme used in the screenshot is available here
After you have the foobar beta installed, copy the facets dll file into the foobar component directory. Run foobar then in preferences, go to default user preferences and click import theme. You just then need to select my theme file.
It's been a while since my last post about my new Ipod Classic. Honestly I'm just tired of it. Last time I mentioned the little annoyances like slow syncing with Itunes and how it handles albums by various artists in cover flow.
Apparently that's not the worst of it. The damned thing's battery gets drained after around 2-3 hours of listening. Sometimes it get's drained even while it's off and not in use for days. It looks like the culprit is the hard drive failing to stop spinning. Now Apple, I think that is a BIG problem you need to solve quick. And this is happening to a lot of people. Check these links:
Mobile Magazine, Engadget, Ilounge, Apple Support
I've been using Winamp since I first started listening to MP3s. I think that was 2001. I'm not sure though because it has been a long time. I've tried every other media player back there but I keep coming back to good old Winamp. It's light on resources, not bad looking and it just plain works.
With the new Winamp 5.5 and it's great looking Bento skin and album art support, I thought it just became perfect. But I've been getting a lot of crashes with this version and I can't wait for the next one.
Luckily I found the latest beta of foobar2000. I've been using this for months now as a ripper but never as a ripper because it just looks ugly. And I don't have the time and knowhow to configure it to look decent.
That was then. Now with the new version I was able to come up with this layout in minutes. It finally looks decent to me and usable. I'll continue tweaking this and see what I come up with.
Finally an update. But still no fixes to the problems I've been experiencing. Itunes still freezes. Albums with various artists are still displayed multiple times in Cover Flow. Albums with the same title still have their songs grouped together.
And now another bug I've noticed: the Classic sometimes displays the wrong album art. Itunes displays the right album art but the Ipod does not.
Geez.
I wonder what problems I'll find if I used this for stuff other than music.
It's my third week with my Ipod Classic. While I love its looks, capacity and ease of use, I've been noticing more and more bugs as I go along. A lot of users have been experiencing the same things at Ilounge.
Have mentioned previously that Itunes freezes randomly with the Classic connected? I have to mention it again. Whether adding or deleting songs, editing tags or just plain searching through the Ipod's contents or scrolling through the song list, I guarantee you, Itunes will freeze.
Also there are more bugs about Cover Flow than the Various Artists problem. Different albums with the same album title appear together under one album art. To illustrate: I have an Alice in Chains album titled Unplugged and an 10,000 Maniacs album also titled Unplugged. In Cover Flow I select the first album. The Ipod then lists the songs from both albums.
WTF?
There's an easy enough solution though: I rename both albums and include the artist name in the album title.
One more thing. I play a Tori Amos song. The Ipod displays the song info along with the album art but it does not play. I hit pause then play. It still does not play. I check with the original file on my PC and it plays. Argh.
