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Re: [ARSCLIST] The "dumbing down" of Downloaded Recordings
I have now made five attempts to send this reply in the last hour. None
have got through to the archives but two other, trivial, posts on this
thread from me have got through.
SA
Pardon me, but I think that all of the posts so far on this thread have
completely missed the point. MP3 was a useful dodge when internet
connections were slow and memory was expensive. There is no reason not to
use lossless compression today - FLAC, APE &c. Pristine Classical now make
their transfers available in FLAC format. Internet lists for free downloads
of out of copyright recordings now offer high bitrate MP3 (e.g. 320 mbps)
and lossless files. Even Mike Richter has moved on from 32 kbps MP3 to APE
in some instances. There is a lot of material on the Internet Archive in
SHORTEN and FLAC. Apple have their own lossless codec. Linn offers 24 bit
downloads.
Don't panic. Progress has not suddenly come to an end. The general public
never did like Hi Fi. They preferred Walkmans and before that trannies.
The people on this list who bemoan the loss of hi fidelity are, in a number
of cases, themselves the ones who are trying to kill it off. They will not
mention SACD without insisting that the format is dead, which is absurd.
And you will find that they play their SACDs and CDs on DVD players
connected to near field monitors and surround sound systems.
I think it is surround sound that offers the real challenge to good sound.
A hopeful sign is the fact that manufacturers are increasingly offering
stereo only SACD players. You can get a decent player for $1000. There is
no great point in playing SACDs on cheap equipment. However, since most
SACDs are so-called "hybrids" and compatible with ordinary CD players, it is
worth buying them, if only for the DSD mastering. Hi Fi dealers and
manufacturers of expensive CD players are the ones who have conspired
against SACD.
Steve Abrams
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lindner" <jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 1:54 PM
Subject: [ARSCLIST] The "dumbing down" of Downloaded Recordings
Is it just me who wonders about this? With the hundreds of articles I
have been reading on the changes in media distribution (literally
hundreds and is this a REALLY big surprise??) I have not read one - not
one - that makes any mention of the fact that the quality of the
recordings being distributed by download are significantly compressed and
poorer then those distributed on media. Of course it does not have to be
this way - there is no reason why .wav files could not be being
downloaded instead of AAC or MP3 - but no one seems to care - at all.
I figure that if anywhere - the members on this list should care. I don't
get it - why aren't people complaining? Has our benchmark for quality
become Apple Ipod earbuds? Tell me it isn't so. While people are spending
untold thousands on Krell's and esoteric speakers what we are witnessing
here is a recording media and quality implosion and I for one am
concerned that getting a recording that is of the former relatively high
(ok we can debate that but this is not the real point) quality of
recordings on CD will become an impossibility in the not too distant
future. How come there aren't a bunch of audiophiles - or professionals -
or both - speaking up and saying to the downloading public and to the
distributors - hey wait a minute - if I am paying the same prices for
downloading as I am for physical media - the least you can do is give me
the same quality.
All I hear is - silence. To me this is a HUGE threat - even short term -
to what you are going to be able to listen to, and the quality of what
you will be able to listen to.
So, members of ARSC - I ask you - to discuss this - and - OK I will say
it - as an organization - take an actual position on this subject - let
the world know that this is a BIG issue. That is right - I am actually
advocating for standing up and talking out loud - not to our group but to
the rest of the planet. If we are not going to take a stand on this -
what will we take a stand on? Get some manufacturers behind you - you
know the Krell and "monster cable" kind of folk that have lots of
marketing smarts - because there really isn't any point in spending
thousands of dollars on esoteric gear when the quality of the recordings
will not let you hear it anyhow. They have allot to lose also. What we
are talking about here is the dumbing down - the AAC'ing of all
distributed music and I for one think this is an issue. Does anyone
agree?
Jim Lindner
Email: jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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