Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

People have posted warnings regarding downloading Holosync to Ipods and MP3 players. I'm wondering if anyone here knows if compressing the Jeffrey Thompson CDs would diminish the effect of those sounds too? Any comments?

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

From what I understand if you are using any kind of audio technology that is supposed to help you with meditation or brain wave entrainment, etc., then you wouldn't want to lose any of the quality or information of the tracks; thus you would want to use a lossless or uncompressed file format such as wav or flac, etc.

I'm not sure if compressing Jeffrey Thompson's cd's would effect his program, but I would rather use the extra space needed to listen to his audio files uncompressed and have the technology work than listen to them compressed and useless.

Sorry if this didn't answer your question, have you checked his website?

Blessings,
Hae

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

Thanks, Hae. You've brought up a valid point–why risk the loss? Someone posted a good link elsewhere in this forum about the same thing, and provided this link: http://healingsoundsblog.com/

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

I'm on the 1st part of Holosync and called to find out if using it on MP3 works, and they said yes. so …

Anybody else have more detailed info?

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

Hi Guys!

Here's the Centerpointe FAQ response to the MP3 question.  Lynn, that's interesting that they said MP3 was ok… I'm going to call and ask them too, and see if I can get some more details myself.  (I'm assuming you called the Centerpointe hotline.)

What's the Jeffrey Thompson CD?

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

I can't help but think that perhaps whoever Lynn spoke to misunderstood or might have been new. He is quite explicit in his FAQs regarding HOW to put Holosync on your MP3 Player/Ipod.

Here's the information that Elizabeth provided the link to:

———————————————————————————–

Can I listen to Holosync using a Digital Music Player, iPod, or MP3 Player?

Simple Answer:

We don't recommend compressed formats like mp3 for your Holosync/Autofonix soundtracks. Compression can diminish the effectiveness of some binaural beat technologies like Holosync.

You can copy your Holosync/Autofonix soundtracks to your iPod or other media device using the following audio file formats without losing effectiveness:

• WAV
• AIFF
• FLAC
• APE (Monkey's Audio)
• SHN

Note that the above list includes commonly used lossless or uncompressed file formats. Your media player may support other formats not listed.

(Not all formats listed are supported by all media devices. See your owner's manual or help menu for your media device to determine which formats yours supports and how to make the necessary changes to your media player settings when converting audio files.)

More Complete Answer:

While most conventional musical recordings can be converted to an mp3 format without a significant loss of sound quality, Holosync/Autofonix soundtracks are a bit different. Because of the high and low frequencies and subtleties used in the recording of your Holosync/Autofonix soundtracks, we advise using great care when transferring your soundtracks from the original CD format to any other format. Transferring your Holosync/Autofonix soundtracks to an iPod or any other digital music player can result in the degradation of the Holosync/Autofonix technology as portions of the audio spectrum where these specialized sound technologies reside can be “sheared-off” by the compression process.

An iPod or other digital music player will by default compress the audio files prior to transferring them to your player. Depending on the bitrate used in the transfer, compressed digital audio formats used by these players can interfere with both Holosync and Autofonix technologies. Higher bitrates take up more room on your digital audio player, but generally yield a better result. Always opt for the highest possible bitrate for the format you are using.

To ensure that no loss of fidelity occurs, convert your Holosync soundtracks to a digital audio format such as WAV or AIFF (or one of the formats listed above). The resulting files will store the soundtracks in an uncompressed or lossless format and will retain the quality and the effectiveness of the original recordings.

If you are uncertain how to transfer the soundtracks without compressing them, please refer to the help section of your digital audio players software, or consult with the technical support offered by the manufacturer of your device.

Please note that Centerpointe does not offer technical support or troubleshooting for any hardware or software problems encountered in transferring or converting audio files or using digital music players.

Users of Apple's iPod can find more information on this subject here

————————————————————————————————

I followed the above instructions, and the linked Apple instructions, and was amazed that the new file on my Ipod was ten times larger (jumping from approximately 30 to 300 mb) LOL! The new instructions also alerted me to the fact that my old Ipod was starting to die, and a brand new one is on its way.

Elizabeth, Jeffrey Thompson does similar CDs to Holosync. His CDs are easily found in (physical) bookstores, in Amazon, and in ITunes. You've probably seen them somewhere, as they are the most widely available.  His website is www.neuroacoustic.com. I never found any information at his site regarding conversion to MP3s, but decided to take Haelon's advice and play it safe.

Lynn, I would play it safe and follow the above directions. I feel like I'm a month behind because I compressed those CDs into MP4s. If you have an Ipod and have trouble with the directions, let me know. (I can't help you on any other players  :-)  )

Deb

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

Hi Deb, thanks for the info!  And thank you for posting the FAQ response directly to the thread.

…was amazed that the new file on my Ipod was ten times larger (jumping from approximately 30 to 300 mb) LOL!

Yup!  This is exactly what happened with me.  I did end up calling the Centerpointe Hotline anyway, and talked with someone in the sales department (all the coaching reps were busy).  She said she could answer my questions regarding the MP3.  She said that using an MP3 was “acceptable” for the Awakening Prologue, but Centerpointe highly recommended uncompressed formats for the levels afterwards.  I still use uncompressed with AP, and I think it makes a difference.

I'm interested in checking out the Jeffrey Thompson CD's… Blessings!

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

Elizabeth, Thanks for sharing what you found out regarding MP3s. At least I can find comfort in knowing that I was getting “acceptable” sounds for the first four weeks.    :-)

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

Hey deb *or anybody else knowledgeable on the subject* i see that you are offering help for people wanting to put the holosync onto their ipods. i am currently on awakening prologue and i started out using it on a cd player but recently switched to ipod. i transfered it to my ipod using a WAV format just like it says to do in CENTERPOINTE'S FAQ's, however i read in other threads that there are certain programs which don't give you the exact quality that the cd does even if you put it in an uncompressed file like WAV. They were talking mostly about itunes. Supposedly itunes does not guarantee a perfect “rip” from the cd like some digital music programs such as EEC ( i think that was the name of the digital music converter they said guranteed exact replicas of the cd's if done in WAV). They said the reason for this is that itunes doesn't notify you if there were small errors while ripping the cd (such as if the cd has a small scratch on it) where as programs like EEC will notify you about the error and try to correct it and if it can't, then it won't continue the rip. i happened to had used itunes for my rip, and although i used WAV format like it says to do in the centerpintes FAQS, i am worried that there could've been an error i wasn't informed of. When i listen to it on my ipod it sounds the exact same (from what i can tell) as when i listen to it on my cd player, i'm wondering though, could those errors maybe not be heard by the human ear? or do those errors that their talking about have to do will actually skipping and stuff like that. please note that the information i got was not from a holosync thread but just music in general on an ipod. i just want to make sure i'm not losing ANY effectiveness! please help! thanks a bunch!!!
-alex
ps sorry if this was confusing i typed it really fast

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

Alex,

Don't worry. If you're using a lossless format then you're good.

Also, think about what they said about ripping and EEC. What they said is that if there is a minor flaw on the CD, it will be carried over onto the WAV file. Well, so what? That means that your WAV file is just as good as your CD, so you're not losing any quality by ripping it.

If you haven't been careless with your CD to the point that you can hear scratches, then you're fine.

Relax and enjoy your meditation. And look into whether your fear about the sound quality is a subtle form of resistance :)

Pelle

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

Wow, thanks for the replies - somehow I didn't check this link, and posted somewhere else, cause I don't know who Jeffery Thompson is.

Sometimes I lose “the thread” that I think I've been on here.

Anyway- I've definitely had some results with Awakening although I've only listened to it on my IPOD.

But now that I'm ready for level two - definitely time to switch to a CD player, I guess!

Are there any caveats about those?

Lynn

Re: Jeffrey Thompson--MP3 & MP4

My personal caveat is that the better equipment you use, the better the sound reproduction, and therefore the better the program will work.

I started off using an RCA portable CD player for up to mid-way through Awakeing Level 3, mostly because it was convenient.  Then, when I purchased the more heavy-duty head-phones in anticipation of starting AL4, I noticed that with the CD player, I was getting distortions.  So I purchased a nice portable JVC combo CD player, stereo, tape deck - still more portable than a regular stereo set, and will work on batteries, but is more economical to run on household current, therefore mostly needing to be plugged in.  With the new head-phones there was a whole world of difference, so much so that I went back to the beginning of AL3, and found it still had “push” I hadn't felt with the regular portable player and lighter ear-phones.

My own ideas on this are that if you are spending a major chunk of change on the program, it only makes sense to make sure you're getting the most out of it.  Yes, it is certainly more convenient if you can use portable players, but I think you give up something in auditory values for that convenience.  This is also based on the findings of a friend of mine who started the program about six months after I started, but continued to use a portable CD player, even with the better head-phones, into AL4.  She didn't think the program was doing anything for her - so I had her try my equipment - and it didn't take much to convince her to upgrade to the boom-box.

Cheers!
Gem