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Which iPod Best Suits You?

 
 


 
 >> Best iPod tips

Whether you want to buy your first iPod or you want to replace your current one, read on for some tips on choosing the iPod that’s best for you.

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 >> Adjusting the sounds in iTunes  

 

     Adjusting the Sound in iTunes


     Some songs are just too loud. We don’t mean too loud stylistically, as in thrash metal with screeching guitars; we mean too loud for your ears when you’re wearing headphones or so loud that the music sounds distorted in your speakers. And some songs are just too soft, and you have to turn up the volume to hear them, then turn it down to hear other songs. Is there a way to set the volume in advance for a certain song or album?


 >> Equalize in iTunes
 
 
    

     Equalize It in iTunes

     The iTunes equalizer (EQ) allows you to fine tune the specific sound spectrum frequencies in a more precise way than with the typical bass and treble controls you find on home stereos and powered speakers. You can use the equalizer to improve or enhance the sound coming through a particular stereo system and speakers. With the equalizer settings, you can customize playback for different musical genres, listening environments, or speakers.
You might want to pick entirely different equalizer settings for car speakers, home speakers, and headphones. Fortunately, you can save your settings, as we describe in the upcoming “Saving your own presets” section. To see the iTunes equalizer, click the Equalizer button, which is the icon with three mixer faders on the bottom-right side of the iTunes window. (On a Mac, you can also choose Window Equalizer.)


Adjusting the preamp volume

     The preamp in your stereo is the component that offers a volume control that applies to all frequencies equally.
Volume knobs generally go up to 10 except, of course, for Spinal Tap’s preamps, which go to 11.
The iTunes equalizer, offers a Preamp slider on the far left side. You can increase or decrease the volume in 3 decibel (dB) increments up to 12 dB. Decibels are units that measure the intensity (or volume) of the frequencies. You can adjust the volume while playing the music to hear the result right away.
 

Assigning equalizer presets to songs

     One reason why you go to the trouble of setting equalizer presets is to assign the presets to individual songs. The next time you play the song, it will use the equalizer preset that you assigned. When you transfer the songs to your iPod, the preset assignments stay assigned to them, and you can choose whether to use the preset assignments when playing the songs on your iPod.
Assign an equalizer preset to a song or set of songs by following these steps:
1. Choose Edit View Options.
The View Options dialog appears
2. Select the Equalizer check box and then click OK.
The Equalizer column appears in the song list in the iTunes window. You can combine Steps 1 and 2 by Control clicking any song list column heading on a Mac (or right-clicking on a Windows PC), and then choosing Equalizer from the shortcut menu that appears.
3. Locate a song in the song list and scroll the song list horizontally to see the Equalizer column.
4. Choose a preset from the pop-up menu in the Equalizer column. The Equalizer column has a tiny pop up menu that allows you to assign any preset to a song.
When you transfer songs with presets to the iPod, the presets can be used for song playback using the iPod equalizer. The iPod built in equalizer modifies the volume of the frequencies of the sound. And although you don’t have sliders for faders like the iTunes equalizer, you do get the same long list of presets to suit the type of music or the type of environment. You can use the iPod equalizer for on the fly adjustments.
The iPod equalizer uses a bit more battery power when it’s turned on, so you might have less playing time on your iPod battery. You can also use the iTunes equalizer to improve or enhance the sound, assigning presets to each song and then updating your iPod. Working and experimenting are producing master, so it’s up to you to make some masterpieces.
 

 
 
   
 

 >> Modifying songs in iTunes

    Modifying Songs in iTunes
      Although iTunes was never meant to be a song editing application, it offers a simple control over the starting and stopping points for playing back a song. You can use this feature to cut out unwanted intros and outros of a song, such
as announcers and audience applause. You can also use it in conjunction with the Convert feature to split a track into multiple tracks.
Setting the start and stop points in a song iTunes will play only a portion of a song if you specify start and stop times within the song. To set the start and/or stop points in a song, select the song and choose File Get Info; then click Options to show the dialog that lets you specify the start and stop times. To determine with accuracy the time for the start and stop points, play the song and look in the Status pane at the top-center part of the iTunes window for the Elapsed Time. You can drag the slider in the Status pane to move quickly through the song and find the exact times for the start and stop points you want to set. iTunes plays only the part of the song between the start and stop times. You can use this feature to your advantage because when you convert the song, iTunes converts only the part of the song between the start and stop times.