Pandora

[novisnick]

I like to listen to pandora for the wide selection, but that is in mp3 format . The burr brown in my Yamaha 3020 seems to do a good job but I'm not sure. What method would you recommend to get the highest quality sound... What do you think? 

[red5ive]

I have no idea what my Aventage 3010 and 1010 are doing, but they actually make free Pandora sound good. Granted I don't do any critical listening with Pandora, it's more for just playing music while I work, but that said I have to listen closely to pick up the nuances of low bitrate audio that are normally glaring. Other preamps I've used with Pandora didn't sound good at all, not even with the "enhancement" feature that tends to make things sound bloated. My vote is to keep your Aventage.

[jlafrenz]

If you are really concerned about getting the best sound, then listening to a higher quality source is the way that you need to go.

When you ask what method should you use, are you referring to what connection, setting, or something else...?

[novisnick]

I have the higher bit rate service of Pandora,Would it make a difference to play Pan through Apple TV , Oppo, DC-1 if I had it? I really like the variety of the music and would like to find the best way for optimal Quality. I do more serious listening through vinyl Oppo 103, Haven't drifted to the computer yet. I have tried DSD download once , sounded really good.Just asking, pretty new to all of this. Thanks all

[jlafrenz]

Aug 16, 2013 20:12:09 GMT -5 novisnick said:

I have the higher bit rate service of Pandora,Would it make a difference to play Pan through Apple TV , Oppo, DC-1 if I had it? I really like the variety of the music and would like to find the best way for optimal Quality. I do more serious listening through vinyl Oppo 103, Haven't drifted to the computer yet. I have tried DSD download once , sounded really good.Just asking, pretty new to all of this. Thanks all

What are you using now to listen to Pandora?

[novisnick]

Aug 16, 2013 22:07:25 GMT -5 jlafrenz said:

Aug 16, 2013 20:12:09 GMT -5 novisnick said:

I have the higher bit rate service of Pandora,Would it make a difference to play Pan through Apple TV , Oppo, DC-1 if I had it? I really like the variety of the music and would like to find the best way for optimal Quality. I do more serious listening through vinyl Oppo 103, Haven't drifted to the computer yet. I have tried DSD download once , sounded really good.Just asking, pretty new to all of this. Thanks all

What are you using now to listen to Pandora?

I'm using my Yamaha 3020 to Pre-1 to XPA -1L or I can use any of the other connections I have.

[jlafrenz]

Aug 16, 2013 22:32:41 GMT -5 novisnick said:

Aug 16, 2013 22:07:25 GMT -5 jlafrenz said:

What are you using now to listen to Pandora?

I'm using my Yamaha 3020 to Pre-1 to XPA -1L or I can use any of the other connections I have.

What source are you using to listen to Pandora? Internet radio via the Yamaha?

[novisnick]

Pandora is built into Yamaha. It does have a 50mg Internet cable connection and like I said I pay for a higher bit rate

[novisnick]

I have the app on my TV, Oppo, Apple TV, rocky, or Yamaha, you pick.

[jlafrenz]

The next step would be to stream Pandora from an external source such the Oppo and take advantage of it's DAC. Connect it to the Yamaha via analog and listen in "Direct" mode.

[novisnick]

;)I'll try that rite now, Thanks So you think the Oppo DAC is better then the Yamaha?

[novisnick]

Aug 16, 2013 22:40:58 GMT -5 jlafrenz said:

The next step would be to stream Pandora from an external source such the Oppo and take advantage of it's DAC. Connect it to the Yamaha via analog and listen in "Direct" mode.

Ok, You have found the SWEET spot! Thanks.I knew I had the parts but not the intel to put it together like that.
All praise jlafrenz, HAIL !!!!

[jlafrenz]

Glad to hear you are enjoying your system.

[novisnick]

Just thought you would like to know, Pandora One claims to stream at 192k bits per second. This should mean better sound, Rite?

[novisnick]

Aug 16, 2013 23:56:23 GMT -5 novisnick said:

Just thought you would like to know, Pandora One claims to stream at 192k bits per second. This should mean better sound, Rite?

Wow,,, pure silence between songs even with my Sherbourn C-12 s running is a remarkable feat, I think. No amp buzz or anything. God is Great!

[arthurz]

Aug 16, 2013 23:56:23 GMT -5 novisnick said:

Just thought you would like to know, Pandora One claims to stream at 192k bits per second. This should mean better sound, Rite?

192 kbps is still fairly compressed. It's fairly easy to tell it apart from CD. Most people here will disagree (I think based on hearsay, not actual testing), but IMO 320 kbps MP3 is extremely close to CD (I _usually_ can't tell the difference using pretty highly resolving systems – both with my HD800's as well as 803 Diamonds). Both Spotify and MOG stream 320 kbps. There are only a few songs I've found where the difference is apparent, but still _tiny_.

[novisnick]

Thanks arhurz .

[garbulky]

In my listening impressions, I found that pandora uses a normalizing where they make all the songs have the same volume. Also their goal isn't pure audio quality but simply delivering it.
As for your internet connection unless you are watching HDTV you don't need that speed for audio.
192 kbps is equal to 0.192 megabytes (well not quite but you get the idea with your 50 megabyte line).
There's free higher quality radiostations out there, I had a thread where some people reccomended but you would need a computer for tat.
Real quality comes from CD's, lossless files, and high resolution downloads. But mp3's can and do sound darn good fwiw.

[arthurz]

Aug 17, 2013 1:24:17 GMT -5 garbulky said:

192 kbps is equal to 0.192 megabytes

It's actually 192 kilo-BITS per second. This is equal to only 24 KB/s, or 0.02 MB/s.

[garbulky]

Aug 17, 2013 1:41:08 GMT -5 arthurz said:

Aug 17, 2013 1:24:17 GMT -5 garbulky said:

192 kbps is equal to 0.192 megabytes

It's actually 192 kilo-BITS per second. This is equal to only 24 KB/s, or 0.02 MB/s.

Yep.