[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvrboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks, that is interesting info. I knew a bit about compression and the loudness war before but didn't realize how bad it was affecting audio production. Now that I know more about hi-fi, I am spending a LOT in gear and CDs where before I only stole music and listened to the cheapest player. Maybe better consumer education could help the hi-fi industry in general.

This is part of the reason for the resurgence of vinyl. I'm not going tonget into the fight over formats (I love analog and digital), but you tend to run into far fewer bad mastering problems on the black discs. This is part of the reason why vinyl often betters digital.

It also is the reason why I've made a point lately of seeking out CDs from the 1980s. I like the music for one (I grew up with it) but this was also a time when sane recording/mastering processes were carried over from the analog era. You get much better dynamics on the earlier discs - often ruined on remasters. This is the same reason I'm a fan of SACD. You can go back and forth on the merits of the format (and there are a bunch of threads on this if anyone is interested), but SACDs are generally produced for the audiophile crowd and produced to a much higher standard. While the technical merits are debatable, a SACD is almost a guarantee of a quality recording. That's why I buy them and will continue to. 64 times the resolution of CD certainly can't hurt anything, either.

And I fully agree that we're developing a generation that doesn't know goodnsound when they hear it. I alsoblame car audio for this. While quality home and portable gear is easy enough to find, good car speakers and decks are nearly impossible to obtain. I know there are several manufacturers who make high-end car speakers, bu it's a pain to find good ones that fit every car. Mostly, el cheapo speakers and head units with crapola equalization are the norm. Since people spend so much time listening in their cars, they're exposed to awful systems and come to expect quality headphones and speakers to have the same flaws.

 

[Happy Camper]

It is invaluable to have your entire music collection in your shirt pocket, organized with playlists, genre, random play etc. The industry investment has to favor portability because of the shift of listening habits. Us people who sit tethered to a cable dedicated to listening to music as a singular task are becoming a very small minority. A multitasking lifestyle is the norm and quality is a non-issue when you are also driving, reading, typing, walking, working, etc.

Until that crowd brings their lifestyles back into the home, they won't want or spend money on the high fidelity world. Vinyl is only for the confirmed audiophile with disposable income to invest in the format. Even the vast majority of audiophiles are CD and digital format users.

 

[xnor]

I just found a german diploma thesis that deals with questions like "How does PCM sound vs DSD? Are there hearable differences between SACD, DVD-A etc.".
They did an extensive 28 day ABX double-blind trial with 110 people (sound editors, piano tuners, music journalists, professional musicians ...).
The evaluation and interpretation shows that, even under ideal conditions, listeners were not able to perceive an audible difference between DSD and High Resolution PCM.

I don't know how much this contributes to the OP's question(s), but in my opinion something marked "high fidelity", "premium" or "audiophile" does not automatically mean that it sounds better in any way. And this leads to even more confusion about what is premium and what isn't.

edit: link to the thesis

 

[jawang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is invaluable to have your entire music collection in your shirt pocket, organized with playlists, genre, random play etc. The industry investment has to favor portability because of the shift of listening habits. Us people who sit tethered to a cable dedicated to listening to music as a singular task are becoming a very small minority. A multitasking lifestyle is the norm and quality is a non-issue when you are also driving, reading, typing, walking, working, etc. Until that crowd brings their lifestyles back into the home, they won't want or spend money on the high fidelity world. Vinyl is only for the confirmed audiophile with disposable income to invest in the format. Even the vast majority of audiophiles are CD and digital format users.

That's not entirely true. I see a lot of people at UCLA studying and/or working with headphones on (sometimes very expensive ones too). At least on college campuses, there is plenty of reason to get quality headphones. I'd imagine that the same logic applies to workplaces and even high schools (among kids that actually study )

 

[Riordan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... People who are familiar with acoustic music are few and it feels like an uphill battle to convince people that "bass light" headphones and speakers actually sound like the real thin as opposed to that fuzzy basszilla sound where you can hardly tell the difference between the notes.

nice freudian typing error

i guess even the real thing sounds real thin if you're used to bass-heavy reproduction...