music

A couple quick housekeeping notes before we dive into today's deal...

First, I've heard one too many complaints from readers about 1SaleADay's slow shipping and poor customer service. I've asked the company to comment on these issues, but have yet to receive a response. Until I do, I won't be sharing any more of its deals. I'm not saying you shouldn't patronize the company, only that you should expect slow shipping and little-to-no information about your shipment.

Second, I get a quite a lot of reader mail, and I apologize that I can'… Read more

Your smartphone could soon become a combination personal trainer and DJ.

Thanks to headphones that can measure your heart rate and acceleration, and a smartphone app that can identify which songs on your phone will help you reach your target heart rate, you won't have to guess which playlist best suits your next jog.… Read more

Music Converter for Mac is, not surprisingly, a utility to convert music files from one format to another. With integration into iTunes, Music Converter for Mac also lets you edit album, track, and artist information on any track recognized by iTunes. Music Converter for Mac installs easily.

The Music Converter for Mac interface is clean consisting of a single dialog. To convert an audio file you can drag and drop it over the Music Converter for Mac dialog, which then displays information about the file. Select the output format and the utility works quickly. Music Converter for Mac can export … Read more

Enter our week-long Threadless contest for a chance to win one of three Threadless T-shirts -- one lucky winner will receive a $30 gift certificate to the Threadless Web Store. Just follow us on Twitter and @reply us a photo of your favorite T-shirt along with the hash tag #404Threadless. We'll select the winners next Monday. Good luck!… Read more

DENVER--The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, held in Denver, was a must-see event for audiophiles young and old. The biggest change this year was a bonanza of affordable high-end products -- mixed in with the usual crazy expensive gear -- along with a good helping of midpriced goodies.

Music Hall had a rather plain-looking little monitor speaker, the Marimba ($349 a pair), that sounded big and truly powerful. I have never heard that level of bass "slam" coming out of such a diminutive speaker; I can't wait to get it in for review.

Woo Audio's stunning new … Read more

While we all patiently wait for Justin Yu's airline troubles to dissipate, CNET editors David Carnoy and Ty Pendlebury join Jeff on the show to chat about the world of self-publishing, the best places to find FLAC music, Microsoft Surface, Xbox Music, and the places you're most likely to break your iPhone.

Topics from today's show:

- Check out David's new book "The Big Exit." Or, for a chance to win a digital or hardcover copy, send an e-mail with "The Big Exit" in the subject line to the404 [at] cnet [dot] com.

- Microsoft Surface dates and prices

- Don't worry, the iPad Mini will come in just 24 easy-to-understand versions.

- Xbox Music is coming. Don't call it Zune!

- Ty's FLAC music-finding guide

- Where you're most likely to break your iPhone. … Read more

If you want to listen to better-quality digital music, then FLAC files are a great way to do it. They typically use half the storage space of uncompressed music files and should sound identical to music played from a CD. And yes, you can use apps like FLAC Player to listen to them on iOS devices.

Like MP3s, there are two main ways to get FLACs legally: rip them from CDs, or buy them directly. While we cover how to rip your own music to FLAC format here, there are several sites that offer FLAC album downloads for less than the price of a CD, and yet offer the same level of quality. You'll find that most of these sites are independent and that's because major labels have yet to embrace fully lossless downloads, presumably because of the ever-present "piracy concerns."

Below are the best five stores that sell the FLAC format. If you're interested in higher-than-CD quality, some of the following sites also offer 24-bit "HD" downloads for an extra charge.… Read more

Digital music fans have never had more options, but the experience is more fragmented than ever. iTunes rules digital downloads, Spotify is the subscription music leader, and a slew of other services (Rhapsody, Pandora, Rdio, Amazon Cloud Player, Google Music, etc.) fill in the variety of remaining niches.

Xbox Music is Microsoft's latest entry in this space and while it's easy to write it off as another "me too" digital music platform, it's surprisingly comprehensive. Like Spotify, Xbox Music offers free ad-supported streaming of its subscription music library, plus Pandora-like artist-based Internet radio and a … Read more