# iTunes not so great?!



## rcw186 (Nov 5, 2001)

I am hearing all of this great talk about iTunes these past few days and am wondering why. When I first downloaded it from Carracho, I was very happy. Later though, I found out that the equalizer is pathetic. Has anyone tried the rock preset yet, it sounds like crap and the sound enhancer makes it worse; no bass at all! Secondly, the radio stations are still pretty lame. Take Audion for example, they have hundreds of great radio stations that have high bandwith streaming. I dunno about the rest of you, but I rather use Audion and take the extra time to find a SN for it (or buy it).


----------



## kcmac (Nov 5, 2001)

Hey, its a free country. I think iTunes rules. 

If you don't like the rock setting, make your own unique rock setting. iTunes is very flexible that way. But then again, sounds like you have made up your mind......


----------



## Snyper M (Nov 5, 2001)

All though iTuens is a bit of a resouce hog, doesn't have the prettiest "skin" and is limited in features compared to audion,  I find myself using itunes a lot mroe merely due to the excellent  functionality of it's playlists, ease of ripping/burning.  I know the LAME codec is prolly betetr at rippping, but I'm not an aduiophile or anything.  Plus you really can't beat that price...

And hopefully once I get my iPod (in my dreams) I'll love iTunes even more, although Panic has already odered theirs so they can tweak Audion to support it too.

BTW I like both players, they each ahve their own charms.   Just go with what you like.  and btw if you like audion enough just buy it so they are supported and continue to serve you.


----------



## symphonix (Nov 6, 2001)

Well, iTunes 2 works wonderfully on my iBook and recognises my MP3 player easily. The equaliser is sensible and lets me add as many presets as I want and then assign each song/artist/album a particular preset! (Have a look at that new option in the song info box) I haven't noticed much of an increase in speed for ripping, but burning seems quicker.
There are 2 bugs I have found, though. I can't command-tab off iTunes2, and if I command Q to quit while I'm using the visualiser full-screen, I lose my mouse cursor. Frankly, I won't be bothered hunting for a better player just for a prettier skin!


----------



## sheepguy42 (Nov 6, 2001)

I love iTunes 2. I don't know what _your_ setup is, but I have SoundSticks and they sound better than ever with the sound Enhancer! The sound is fuller, richer, and the rock preset for the equalizer is by far my favorite! I paid for Audion, and while I don't regret that, I use iTunes for MP3 playback just about exclusively. If Apple put an MP3 editor in iTunes, I would probably never use Audion again. The only problem I've had w/ iTunes is the G-force plugin (it won't let me do full screen!) and I think that's just some file corruption, so I will reinstall that plugin later. BTW, can Audion read iTunes' plugins?

PS: Command-Tab works fine in iTunes on my Cube, so I don't know what that prob is, I know it works cause I used it a dozen times last night.


----------



## Dekatophil (Nov 6, 2001)

> Has anyone tried the rock preset yet, it sounds like crap and the sound enhancer makes it worse


It all depends on the quality of your recording, the song and your speaker hardware. I found that you have to adjust songs in different ways, although they be of the same genre. The equalizer and enhancer featured worked quite well for me (when actually used correctly). You can set a preset for every single song (which is used automatically). Choose, "Get Info" from the context menu. Don't blame Apple if you can't use their SW properly...


----------



## fryke (Nov 6, 2001)

Whatever happened to the fun of trying out new software, loving it, destroying the harddisk and then read the manual? Nowadays it seems that most users do the following: Download (warez, freeware), install, run, find one bug or feature they don't like, post it to a forum.

If iTunes 2 (which works great for me) lacks some features you want, send a request to Apple. If it's a good feature, they'll implement it. They want to have the greatest MP3 player software on the planet. Let's help them make it. They're on a good way in my opinion. If you want the greatest sound experience ever go see good musicians live. Second best thing: Buy a decent audio system. Not for the computer. For the audio system.  And if you want perfect audio, video, virtual 3d worlds and a Gigabit connection to the net, come back later.

Wow, I'm flaming again. Hmm... Let's move on a little further...

If you buy a license of Photoshop for all its worth (and it's worth more than they charge as soon as you actually earn money with your graphic designs) and they messed up with the version you bought, they *have* to provide you with an update. Else you can complain.

If however Apple releases such a great piece of free software (certainly they want more money, they want people to buy iMacs and iPods for example), you can complain as much as you want, you still get an infinite percent return on investment (how many times zero makes a great mp3-player?). So either shut up or tell Apple.

What can the macosx.com board community do for you if you don't like a feature in iTunes?

We can tell you there's Audion, which costs money. We can tell you that you can play the CDs you bought in your stereo, which might sound better. As long as you're playing pirated MP3s on free software, how much can you expect? We're getting a lot these days, aren't we.


----------



## capacity (Nov 6, 2001)

ok so i've got itunes 2. yay for equalizers. but! i've got apple's pro audio speakers (the little clear round ones!). these speakers dont seem to work too well with the equalizer presets that came with itunes 2. (ie they're terrible with the bass and alright with the trebble.) has anyone who's got these same speakers made any equalizer settings specifically for them? i've been messing around with them andi think i've found a good setting for the rock genre, but the ones i've made sometimes dont sound that great. like right now, haha. what a coincidence. 
anyway, if anyone knows where to find some equalizer settings for the pro audio speakers, please tell!


----------



## symphonix (Nov 6, 2001)

Try the "small speakers" preset as a guide, and adjust the sound to your own tastes. (That's what the equaliser is for!) Also, experiment with the sound enhancer level.
And again, I cannot fault iT2, the only bugs I've found are superficial and I seriously doubt I could find a more suitable product out there ANYWHERE.


----------



## Harvey (Jan 18, 2003)

Hrm... I have been running iTunes on my new iBook... but really... I don't like it...

I just want somethingi where I can file, open, a list of mp3s, and push play. That's it.

iTunes is really too multifeatured for me.

Any simple, freeware players anyone would recommend?


----------



## Drizzt (Jan 18, 2003)

For more internet radio stations try www.live365.com.  Many of those stations can broadcast through iTunes.


----------



## Gregita (Jan 18, 2003)

Here's a better question: does anyone have iTunes 3? hehe


----------



## jeb1138 (Jan 18, 2003)

Old, dead threads should stay........dead.


----------



## fryke (Jan 19, 2003)

Unless the subject comes up again... But yes, this one's old...


----------



## toast (Jan 19, 2003)

Prithee, fryke, let's close this one !
What an utterly pathetic start for this thread:

_When I first downloaded [iTunes] from Carracho..._
Hey b*tth**d, iTunes is free and downloadable on www.apple.com/itunes. Thanx for telling people you can download software on Carracho.

_I found out that the equalizer is pathetic._
Well, I have to tell you: it's an *equalizer*. It *equalizes* sound, which means adding/substracting dB to some freq. ranges. There's only ONE way to do that, no way this equalizer is better or worse than any other one ! What you dislike is equalized sound, not the equalizer in itself.

_Has anyone tried the rock preset yet, it sounds like crap and the sound enhancer makes it worse; no bass at all!_
I know this preset well, it's always activated at home which doesn't sound like crap when combined to my Sennheiser HD570 headphones. The Rock preset is very much similar to the default Logic Audio Platinum settings, I can't consider this as 'crappy'. I don't know about the enhancer.

_Secondly, the radio stations are still pretty lame. Take Audion for example, they have hundreds of great radio stations that have high bandwith streaming._
The only lame part of the whole thing is the fact you didn't click the thousands of high bandwith radios on www.shoutcast.com to install them in iTunes.

_take the extra time to find a SN for it (or buy it)._
YEAH ! Software pirating ! Combined to Carracho, that makes it a very nice post indeed


----------



## fryke (Jan 19, 2003)

I'm moving the thread to 'opinions', because it's certainly not 'news' any longer. keep in mind that the thread is old, leave it be.


----------

