Re: [ARSCLIST] Listening tests; Impact of lossy compression on audio restoration...

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Don Cox" <doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> On 11/12/07, Jon Noring wrote:
> > To comment on Howard's observation, I ran an experiment a few years
> > back where I took a few WAVE files of classical and rock music, ripped
> > by myself directly from audio CD's I own. I then created MP3's of each
> > at various bitrates using a highly regarded MP3 compression tool
> > (sorry, forgot the name of the tool), then converted the MP3's back to
> > WAVE and burned the original and the MP3-sourced WAVEs back to audio
> > CD for auditioning purposes.
> > On my lower end audiophile system (Rotel pre-amp/amp, Vanderstein
> > speakers, Marantz CD-63SE player) I asked my son to randomly play the
> > tracks, a sort of blind test comparison. It turned out I could tell
> > the difference between lossless and lossy up to 192 kbit (although
> > things got pretty subtle at 192 kbit) -- at 256 and 320 kbit, though,
> > I could not reliably tell the difference. (I don't claim to have
> > golden ears, so those here who have "golden ears", what do you say?)
> > 
> You might have been able to tell the difference at higher bit rates with
> better speakers - indeed, I have seen it suggested that one way to tell
> the quality of a loudspeaker is by testing what bit rate of MP3 is
> distinguishable from the original.
> It is likely that on little computer speakers, even low bitrate MP3s
> sound no worse than original CDs (or studio master tapes).
> 
Speaking as...
1) Someone who has listened to 78's for about six decades...
2) Someone whose current hearing is seriously impaired, both
   by "wear and tear" and by a series of head injuries...

I find it basically impossible to identify low-bitrate MP3
files...or, for that matter, ANY dubious-sound version of
any familiar sound recording...from one another...!

I STILL can tell acoustic 78's from electric (with the one
exception of very good examples of the former vs. very BAD
examples of the latter...see under 1925 Brunswick sides, eh?!)
but, sadly, not much more than that...

Steven C. Barr
(Then, again...think of how much I'm saving on audio gear...?!)