Quote:
Originally Posted by nick20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Can you copy/paste what he said?
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I may have read it a bit wrong, but that is the fault of his writing. anyway, here is what Jim Austin said.
"There are people in this world, apparently, who claim that "Red Book" CD playback sends them to the hospital. The hospital part may be urban legend, but it's common to hear analog-preferring audiophiles say that "Red Book" gives them headaches. That part is real.
I mean no disrespect—okay, maybe I mean a little disrespect—when I say that I think these people should have a neurological exam, or something, because clearly they have issues, medical or otherwise. Or perhaps they should bury their too-bright speakers, princess-style, under 20 or so eiderdown mattresses. I am no great fan of "Red Book," but it's been years, maybe decades, since I found the format less tolerable than much of the scratchy, abused vinyl on offer in most record stores. I'd rather listen to a 1950s opera performance with Maria Callas on a CD reissue than to one of those burlap-clad original LPs—talk about headaches.
Yet there's no denying that "Red Book" has a sonic character that sets it apart—and not in a good way—from the best of hi-rez, analog, and live performance. At its best, music, whether live or recorded, just floats there in space, a palpable sonic object you can observe at your pleasure. Take me or leave me, it seems to say, as it somehow washes over you and immerses you in the experience. But "Red Book" shouts at you; it forces itself on you in a way that's neither flattering nor pleasant. Stress ensues.
In trying to make our meanings clear, reviewers often overstate the case, and I'm doing that here. Fact is, I get a lot of pleasure from good music recorded on CDs. "Red Book" is a compromised format, but I can live with it. There's a pea under the mattress, but I sleep just fine, thank you very much."
