[Kacey Green]

Which is where the excitement is all coming from, it looks like they left the ultra enthusiast in the dust.

I'm hoping there are bigger players already ready but they just haven't announced them because they're giving Apple a chance to put the new iTouch out and say, "look what we did, nobody needs a Zune" Then MS will drop the 64 or more on the market after it is too late for Apple to save face.

[Kacey Green]

Which is where the excitement is all coming from, it looks like they left the ultra enthusiast in the dust.

I'm hoping there are bigger players already ready but they just haven't announced them because they're giving Apple a chance to put the new iTouch out and say, "look what we did, nobody needs a Zune" Then MS will drop the 64 or more on the market after it is too late for Apple to save face.

[Phillip Dyson]

Yeah, while I would love to see a 64GB device announced on or around release day, my cynical side tells me that we've seen all MS has to offer on the hardware side. If we're lucky they'll show out on the software side.

[PhatCohiba]

Originally Posted by SoundMix

I did that test ages ago. I can easily hear the differences. Of course each persons hearing can vary. And it depends on how well you've take care of your ears, ie. loud levels. Plus it depends on how you listen to music. A professional recording engineer/producer or musician probably listens differently and more critically. All my music except that from Amazon is recorded at the highest bitrates. If I had room on my Zune, I'd probably use lossless or at least OGG if it were an option. Yes, I use professional earphones.

Paul

Consider testing your ears with a site like this on: http://nigelcoldwell.co.uk/audio/

It has the same song transcoded into numerous formats. It could help you hone in on one that's best for you. Also note the blind test at the bottom, but you could certainly have a friend load up and test all sorts of versions.

I'd be interested to see how you do with these audio samples as well: http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/

Lastly, I totally think that there may be an ability to see the existing devices for a little while on the clearance racks, so there by the time they sell out of 80s and 120s maybe there will be HD-128s.

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by Kacey Green

...because they're giving Apple a chance to put the new iTouch out and say, "look what we did, nobody needs a Zune" Then MS will drop the 64 or more on the market after it is too late for Apple to save face.

You sir are a dreamer. Anything is possible, but the Zune team can't keep anything a secret for more than 60 seconds, so if there were a 64 GB version planned, we'd know about it by now. Apple meanwhile has managed to keep the wraps on their new iPods quite effectively.

[SoundMix]

Originally Posted by PhatCohiba

Consider testing your ears with a site like this on: http://nigelcoldwell.co.uk/audio/

It has the same song transcoded into numerous formats. It could help you hone in on one that's best for you. Also note the blind test at the bottom, but you could certainly have a friend load up and test all sorts of versions.

I'd be interested to see how you do with these audio samples as well: http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/

Had my ears tested by an Audiologist when my pro-earphones were fitted.

We did double blind testing sometime ago at the AES (Audio Engineering Society) tech meetings. We compared master tapes to decimated (MP3/WMA) audio. Low bit rates = crap. High bit rates = less crappy. YMMV. My ears tell me that at low bit rates, OGG sounds best (not an option for Zune).

[stlbud]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

...
The iPod? I get nothing at all because the piece of crap program won't monitor my music folder. I'm adding music from various sources - Amazon.com MP3s, Zune Marketplace MP3s, ripped CDs - and iTunes stupidly thinks that it's the only place that someone would POSSIBLY add music from.
...

Looking at this some more I believe you are correct and apologize for the confusion. I guess when I had my iPod I was so blinded by the black denim and turtle neck sweater I was deluded into thinking the damn thing was a god ;-)