Crappy quality music files sound crappy no matter what system you put them on. Be more diligent in how you rip your music and more wary of where you get your music from. You will find a TON of tips on this board to get your music sounding up to par...or better.

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+1

Nothing at all to do with what computer plays the track, a crap sounding mp3 will sound crap on a mac or a pc

SSL on Mac vs. SSL on PC with same files = Same quality. No difference. I can prove it. scientifically.

Stop using a Labtop. That could be why. :P

yeah once i made the switch from labtop to laptop it made a huge difference in sound quality...

ok, i agree with that. a laptop does sound better than a laptop but mac vs pc is the same.

Aw man! You killed it.

dang. subliminal spellcheck

i disagree you take a 128 bitrate on a pc with serato and the same with a mac and the mac sounds better. i guess its because of the processor..... i still use my dell e1705 even if i had the money i would still use this laptop.

wrong. a processor will not make a mp3 sound better. if it's a shit bitrate it will sound like shit on any computer.

Will it smell like shit too? hahahahaha

what im trying to say is if you took any file (320 bitrate or a wave ) with good sound quality a mac sounds better then a pc.

a processor does make a difference in sound (if the sound quality is good from the start)

alot of people i know say a 128 bitrate on a mac sounds as good as a 320 bitrate on a pc.

to say a processor does not make a difference is not accurate.

the sound is the start and the way it's played is the heart the processor. lol

maybe he had his main gain up higher than yours and it was louder (not necessarily better)

SIxxx you are fool. I can't stop labhing about the labtop.

My 1 & 0's SOUND better on a mac..... OMG... Steve Jobs is the fucking SHIT DUDE. I just sold my DELL, I'm all in bitches!!!

OK, I had to officially wait for KaGeN to chime in (Damn took long enough!)...

NOW I can FINALLY post (new un written rule of the forum).

www.apple.com

It's not the Hardware, it's the software (OS).

Direct from the Steve Job's Reality Distortion Field:



Not sure how true it is but sounds good to me....

Alright, this is getting a bit ridiculous. The main system processor has NOTHING to do with how good the sound quality is. Besides, Macs now use Intels, so wouldn’t that open up the Intel vs. AMD sound quality debate on the PC side of things? The only argument is for audio interfaces. The processor in a high quality interface does make a difference. A nice MOTU or Presonus interface is going to be cleaner and more accurate than say built in internal sound or even a consumer Sound Blaster.

Since we’re talking about the same interface (the SL1) on either the Mac or PC, it should sound IDENTICAL. All the system processor does is take the raw information from the .mp3 and feed it into the SL1, which then turns it into an audio signal which our amps and speakers then produce sound for our ears with. I don’t even buy that OSX’s magical “Core Audio” functionality is going to make any file necessarily sound “better”. The OS should have nothing to do with sonic quality outside the quality of the code behind the drivers for whatever interface it’s using.

ask the pros.

I am a pro bro. I make my living recording location sound for films and doing post production sound for films. I've worked with many different interfaces on both Mac and PC's and this is the first time I've ever heard this claim. I'm sorry, but the only arguments I've seen here are the processor (which is the same freakin' processor that's in many PC's) and the Core Audio functionality of OSX (which, from what I can tell, has more to do with I/O routing and latency issues than pure quality). Just sounds like more propaganda to me…

i own several macs, and am a "mac" guy.

i'd consider myself a professional too. djing/producing has been my primary source of income since i was 21 years old. i also own a three room private recording studio building built to my specifications which is leased to other professional producers and engineers on a regular basis.

so anyway... i'm telling you, as a pro...

it doesnt sound any different.
sorry to burst your bubble.

The cables have more to do with sound quality than the computers do.... and in that, the cables have VERY little to do with sound quality.

I'm new and confused what is "propaganda"?

wait, so should i put my mixtape on TDK or Memorex?

By “propaganda”, I mean the old-as-dirt argument of “Mac is better than PC because of ____” when in reality, they can both usually perform the same function in roughly the same way, but Mac does it with a bit more style and panache.

A lot of it is also due to the brilliance of the Apple marketing team and how they can make even small things seem earth shattering. For example, take something like *gasp* putting a right click and a scroll ball on a mouse, and they make it out to be a revolutionary new advance in interfacing with your computer; or perhaps the arrogance of calling the G5 “The fastest personal computer in the world”. I’m sorry, I in no way want to start yet another pointless “Mac vs. PC” debate here, but I don’t think anyone can deny that Apple (along with many other companies), are a bit guilty of occasionally over-hyping their stuff. So what I meant by “propaganda” was that this feels like another case of “See, Mac’s are so great, even your mp3’s sound better than if they’re played on a PC!”, that’s all.

ACTUALLY!!! I figured out the sound question... your buddy's Mac sounded better because you got in front of the speakers... that would make a world of a difference...

^^True

This is the most ridiculous discussion ever.

lol......
wow
so if you took a pentium 3 pc
and a macbook pro and used serato playing the same mp3 ( good quality ) it would sound the same?

there is no bubble.im just stating what everyone says about a mac.
i use a pc.im not a mac sales person. lol!

i feel if you use a mac for studio recording the sound quality probably would be better.so why not on serato?
i personally like my pc but all the producer/s use a mac.
why? because there more stable or because the processor?

uh-hmm... mac's use an INTEL processor now.. it's gotta be the difference.

LOL.... the Serato is the same!!! Serato is the sound card, not the PC or Mac.

a bigger stronger computer would be better made.for everything?

Well, let’s see, talking in terms of pure playback, yeah, they would sound the same Shadow. Consider this – a Pentium III is still faster than the processor inside an iPod, so if you’re basing your argument on processor power, why is the iPod one of the best sounding MP3 players? A good quality headphone amp? Nah, that couldn’t be it at all! Fudge it, I’m tired of trying to explain how technology works to people who don’t get it…

+1

hey im glad you shed light.....i learn something new all the time.

so your saying a mac has better internal parts for audio?
apple technology correct?

this is like telling 15 year olds from Georgia that Crank That Soulja Boy is wack......you'll never win even if your right.

I would like to nominate that as the BEST POST EVER!

it's generally considered that mac coreaudio drivers are better than asio drivers - but it really depends on who you talk to. The idea is that apple writes the coreaudio drivers with profressional music production in mind thus it's more optimized for the hardware than PC-based gear leading to greater stability and more effficient use of the processor.

Whether this has any effect on the actual sound quality itself is debatable and it certainly shouldn't have any effect on already-recorded music files like mp3s.

i second that nomination..


all in favor?

^^^ It has my vote...

Pssst...

As I said above, it's the software.

Thank you DJ soo, that made a lot of sense.

Again with the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field kicking in (AGAIN - click the link--->
folklore.org

I'm not saying that Mp3 files will sound better on a Mac and with Serato Scratch Live Box being the HARDWARE and Apple using INTEL PROCESSORS now, it has to be the software IF there is a difference (which I don't think there is).

I don't think it makes a bit of difference but that is like saying Mp3 files will sound BETTER on Serato than on Traktor/Final Scratch. It's not the Hardware it's the SOFTWARE! Good coded STABLE SOFTWARE will preform better and could possibly sound better/louder if the software was done right...

Just my .02¢ for a good Mac/Pc debate.

Seriously check out that link above. I love showing that to all you MAC BASHERS so U can understand where we Mac users are coming from. That was 1982. Jobs is a damn marketing genius.

xdissolve is 100% correct. There is no difference between the two. The Serato Interface is handling what you hear and your computer is breaking down the Mp3 information (bitrate, tag, length...blah blah). Not to mention when and where you tested the difference. And even worse, if you were tired or not...There are a lot of factors as to why one would think the Mac has an advantage as far sounds quality but the reality is that there is nothing scientific the differentiates the two as far as Serato output is concerned. A wack Mp3 is a wack Mp3 regardless of machine.

That's like saying the control cd sounds better on pioneers compared to denons or the control vinyl sounds better on silver tech 12's compared to black tech 12's...There are many factors that have to considered.

Well, I don't know about all this about sound. But, I recorded my fart and played it on both computers and the one playing through the PC smelled worst. :P

The original post (both computers playing from the same SSL box) definitely had everything to do with source material, and nothing to do with the computers.

However, it is fair to say that the built-in audio inputs and outputs on Macs are generally better-quality than what's on most Windows PC's. That's especially the case when comparing laptops.

there will be more..

*snooze*

finally someone gets it

Spot on. On a similar note, it won't matter on a different operating system, but it will make a difference when hardware is concerned, such as mp3 players or mixers. iPods have mediocre sound quality at best, but Apple's marketing team is brilliant and has pedaled this product into the masses, making nearly everyone think it's the only mp3 player around or is simply the best out there.

This guy's from Thailand. If you go to Thailand and China, you will see they all spell laptop with a b. I don't know why, but I've noticed this all the time with the visitors we get at my work when they fill out support forms.

It probably sounds like b to them. I know a few guys that are hispanic or black and also spell labtop. lol

i wonder if they think laptop is misspelled/mispronounced

they're all laughing at us cuz we spell it "laptop"

mac >>> pc.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

okay then... post away!

you guys can test this yourselves, just output the same files in SSL through the SL1 or 57 on both a PC and a Mac.

then drop them both in a DAW, line them up properly, flip the phase on one and they'll both cancel out. you will hear complete silence once you line them up properly.
This is evidence that the signals are identical.

i know for a fact this works, its on the nay-sayers to prove me wrong.

blukka!

p.s. make sure you use the same method / device to actually record the output files from both computers.