keytothehighway wrote:As for the sound, I agree with kyle - i'm no expert and probably kinda deaf from being a front row fanatic at far too many concerts, but the distinction between a cd and a well-produced mp3 is lost on me. Some of the crappy ones are pretty offputting though. Since digital music is the most profitable format currently, it's only a matter of a very short time before they find ways to make it sound like Joe's right in your living room playing just for you, or sittin and strummin next to you in the car.
It probably won't be in .mp3 format though, as it will always use a lossy compression algorithm, and .mp3 has several inherent limitations.
There are extraordinary hi-def digital audio files/compression formats, but they take up much more memory. (DolbyHD, Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), MPEG-4, ect.)
Now that I think about it, I think iTunes went to an AAC (still a lossy compression algorithm, but much more superior to an .mp3) awhile back. I'm not sure if this a standard, but I remember reading that they were offering it, which is good, but it's still a lossy.... .
I'm usually broke myself, so I can understand not laying down hard earned cash for something that just doesnt sound right to YOU - even if others enjoy it.
Well, after spending lots of time learning about this stuff in school, I usually can't help but notice those compression formats. Those "components less audible to human hearing" still indirectly affect what you do hear. Much like how frequencies above 20 KHz (or below about 20 Hz) or so are beyond human hearing, but still have an effect on the lower (or higher) frequencies.
It isn't so bad when there is other extraneous noise going on while you are listening, but for non-passive listening (how I prefer to listen to music, personally), it tends to bug me.
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