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Ideas needed for playing FLAC files

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by zenMachine, Dec 25, 2009.

  1. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    I have just received for Christmas the Beatles Remastered Stereo USB apple, in 24-bit FLAC format (as well as the lowly and ancient MP3). It is one awesome sounding collection of some not-so-bad music. Very convenient too. Just pop the USB stick into my laptop and put on my headphones.

    Now I wonder what is the best way to play these lossless files in the car. The only thing I can think of so far is to buy a media player that supports FLAC (like a Cowon iAudio) and plug in through the Aux port. But that would still require converting and loading the files to the player.

    Would be so much nicer if you could just plug the USB stick into the head unit directly somehow. Any ideas/suggestions?

    Thanks, and merry Christmas to all!
     
    #1 zenMachine, Dec 25, 2009
  2. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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    Try a SanDisk Sansa:
    SanDisk Sansa Clip+ (4GB, red) MP3 player reviews - CNET Reviews
     
    #2 vertex, Dec 25, 2009
  3. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    I'll refrain from going on about how much the Beatles suck and suggest you simply transcode the files into higher quality MP3.

    Transcoding everything to everything with MediaCoder | Internetspotter

    1. Mediacoder is free software (as in speech and beer)
    2. By not buying yet another consumer electronics crap device, you're helping to save the environment just a little bit
     
    #3 a_gray_prius, Dec 25, 2009
  4. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    I don't agree that the Beatles "suck" but +1 on the transcode idea. I recommend using a high quality variable bit rate encoder that gives about 200kbps or higher average bit rate.

    Contrary to what marketing people will tell you the fact is that even under the most ideal listening conditions and even with the most discerning listeners, they generally can not distinguish between 16 bit and 24 bit formats under blind testing conditions.

    BTW. A car is far from an ideal listening environment. Even in a prius there is enough noise from road and wind and other traffic that you will never be able to tell the difference between high quaility mp3 and 24bit lossless flac.
     
    #4 uart, Dec 26, 2009
  5. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    Plus there are more than "enough" distortion introduced by the entire audio system and the cabin environment, unless you custom build the sound system. ;)
     
    #5 2009Prius, Dec 26, 2009
  6. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    And sound-proof your cabin :)
     
    #6 Bob64, Dec 28, 2009
  7. dhancock

    dhancock 2 Prius Family

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    If you are going to go this route, I would suggest the Sansia Fuze (8GB) instead. It also has a micro SD slot so you can add another 8GB. I have one (& love it). Only "issue" with this (or most any similar device) is that you can't use a cigarette lighter type charger and play the device at the same time (there is a conflict between the ground of the charger and the audio ground of the aux in).
     
    #7 dhancock, Dec 28, 2009
  8. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    There's a TSB out for this that fixes the issue. Toyota will fix it for free if your within the warranty period of 3 years and 36000 miles.
    http://priuschat.com/forums/toyota-prius-service-bulletins-tsbs/46700-noise-aux-port-06-08-a.html

    They'll install a ground loop isolator for your aux input that'll fix the problem.
     
    #8 Bob64, Dec 29, 2009
  9. dhancock

    dhancock 2 Prius Family

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    #9 dhancock, Dec 29, 2009
  10. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    #10 Bob64, Dec 31, 2009
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