Salutations,
MP3 is not a terrible technology. MP3 is a very good technology and it
allows high quality encoding and a very good compression rate.
Sure, if you encode a CD at 128k it is going to sound crappy. There are
two reason why people encode at such low bit rates. One is to cut down on
'net bandwidth and to speed up transfer (napster), in other words, to have
small files. The other reason is that up till now, 99% of the MP3 players
have less than 128megs of space and people want to have more than 3 songs to
listen to. :)
NOTICE TO ALL FLAMERS - I said 99% of the MP3 players.
And most people use them when they are working out or jogging and since the
ambient noise is usually loud, the highest quality doesn't matter. And they
would all rather have a lower quality of non skip music than a high quality
CD that keeps skipping.
I have encoded over 300 CDs at 320k on my mac and I am loving every minute
of it. And the songs have near CD quality.
NOTICE TO ALL FLAMERS - I said 'near'.
And I can burn CDs to carry in my car. So if I drop a CD, or God forbid
flies out when the top is down, I only lose 50 cents. Scratches do not
matter at all. I can always burn another.
I have access to ANY song in under 3 seconds. And having lightning quick
access makes it all worthwhile. And the iPod's menu system mirrors iTunes
for that same quick access.
I remember someone saying that on their Nomad, which was pretty full, it
took 20 seconds to find a song. I can tell you that is a terrible
interface. 20 seconds or scrolling and selecting is a long time. And just
to get to a specific song! Bad. Bad. Bad. I would never use anything like
that. I consider that a perfect example of my headphones example.
You could own a set of acoustically perfect headphones, but they are
uncomfortable to wear. That set of headphones would never get used. It
doesn't matter how good an object is, if it is a pain to use, then it will
not be used.
Sure, if you encode a song at 320k and then re-encode at 320k and then
re-encode at 320k and then re-encode at 320k and then maybe do it again ,you
will have sound degradation. But who really does that? No one. Everyone
encodes a song once.
And this whole argument is moo. (You know. What a cow says. Moo, it
means nothing :) If you REALLY hate MP3, then don't use it. Go and buy an
iPod and copy everything over in crystal clear lossless AIFF format.
Problem solved.
You know, it always amazes me these people that always argue for 'audio
perfection' in everything. They always seem to forget their surroundings.
I can understand people spending tens of thousands of dollars, or even more,
on a home stereo. But what amazes me is the people who buy the McIntosh car
stereo equipment. They will drop 5 grand or more in their car to get a
'perfect sound'. And then when they are driving around, their perfect audio
setup is gone. AC is on, road noise from outside, wind noise all bring that
'perfect' listening environment down to a decent one.
And every audiophile knows that the equipment is half of the equation and
the listening environment is the other half.
So go buy an iPod, copy your CDs with AIFF, and have a great listening
experience.
with style. :)
David
>
>> Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2001 16:07:43 +0100
>> Subject: Re: [NTLK] OT: Lo-Fi-IPod
>> From: Jon Glass <jonglass_at_usa.net>
>
>> BTW, I would suggest that if you can't enjoy music at less than "hifi"
>> standards, that you are missing a lot! Music is music is wonderful, and I
>> can enjoy it, even if it's my 8yr old daughter plunking painfully away on=
> a
>> piano. What I enjoy about music is the heart and soul that goes into it.
>> Quality of the playback medium can fall away when the music is beautifull=
> y
>> interpreted and executed. :-)
>> --
>> -Jon Glass
>
> Well, that's out of discussion! :)
> I do enjoy music at any level of quality, but if I have the option, I sure
> choose the superior copy.
>
> Regards,
>
> Oliver :)
>
> --
> "B=FCcher?
> Genau, sieht so aus wie Videokassetten, nur sind Bl=E4tter drin ;-)"
> Klobi und Michael Tueller in d.c.s.m.misc
>
>
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