[rickcr42]

There was some chatter a few years ago about how Sony Music division (CBD/columbia Records) was considering cutting the shipping /receiving/wharehousing departments right out of the loop by having "in store" CD burning stations with the entire catelog stored on a hard drive.
They would have the blank discs,the music catalog and the cover art (also stored on hard drive) which they would burn a copy and print the cover then put it in the jewel case for the customer right there once a selection was made.
any "new releases" would be sent electronically to the various outlets and the catalog upgraded as they were available.

the funny thing in all this is the prices would not be changed one bit even though Sony would cut a major chunk of doinfg business out so in the end the profits would be quadrupled .
This never happened but there is no doubt in my mind it is still under consideration by ALL the major players looking for max profit margins and my thoughts on this are you get what you deserve.
If going this route and with zero quality control in place,the outlets being no better than the average downloader and music burner but on a grand scale whipping out product from a "list" on demand does not bother you then welcome to the future and enjoy your second rate music at first class prices.

not me,nope,not me folks.

 

[Duncan]

The time to worry isn't now...

...The time to worry is when the teenie-boppers of today who ARE quite happy listening to their 96kbps WMA files downloaded from whichever provider - get behind the mixing desks of the future... at that point, the grim reaper will be chuckling behind that dark hood - at what a dire state the music industry will be in...

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

...The time to worry is when the teenie-boppers of today who ARE quite happy listening to their 96kbps WMA files downloaded from whichever provider - get behind the mixing desks of the future... at that point, the grim reaper will be chuckling behind that dark hood - at what a dire state the music industry will be in...

our only salvation is that as folks mature so do their tastes usually and it is my hope the formerly happy with 96kbps crew will have a more refined outlook on music and what sounds good or you are right and we are doomed to an audio hell i hope never to live long enough to witness.

This also goes to passing on the torch and teaching the next generation what we know while we are here and still able.something I personally try to do daily even if i don't have all the answers. (strong opinions YES

)

wisdom and knowledge come with experience or a good teacher only.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 If going this route and with zero quality control in place,the outlets being no better than the average downloader and music burner but on a grand scale whipping out product from a "list" on demand does not bother you then welcome to the future and enjoy your second rate music at first class prices.

I can't see the quality control being any worse than what we have today on typical commercial CD's. The labels aren't interested in sound quality, they're interested in making their CD's sound louder than the competition's. Oh yeah, and cranking out new artists to follow teenage trends. Of course, the latter is nothing new.

I wish people would direct their ire at the real culprits... technology is really not it. The record labels are #1, consumer laziness and desire for ultimate convenience at the expense of sound quality is a distant second, in my opinion. Heck, Stereophile even gave a nod to the iPod.

 

[rextrade]

You all sound like a bunch of grumpy old men saying the world is going downhill.

Although I agree that mastering CDs too hot is a huge problem now, I don't think that the general quality of listening devices has or will go down hill. Most people aren't audiophiles and most people are happy to listen to their music through something that is loud and has lots of bass. I would guess that for the majority of people that have bought and MP3 player, it's the best sounding audio device they have ever owned. Even an 128 AAC on an ipod still sounds better than most cassettes and cassette walkmen. It's the small world of people with golden ears that drive sound quality, not the mass market consumer (and maybe I'm too optimistic, but I think the hot CD trend will be coming to an end in the next couple of years). So, hopefully, artists and recording engineers will revolt and stop overcompressing music.

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

I can't see the quality control being any worse than what we have today on typical commercial CD's. The labels aren't interested in sound quality, they're interested in making their CD's sound louder than the competition's. Oh yeah, and cranking out new artists to follow teenage trends. Of course, the latter is nothing new.

Have you actually been to a Music Store ? And if so would you really be comfortable having the workers,workers who most likely make minimum wage be in control of your music ?
i know when I was 16-17ish it was all I could do to walk in a straight line without tripping on my own D***

Quote:

I wish people would direct their ire at the real culprits... technology is really not it. The record labels are #1, consumer laziness and desire for ultimate convenience at the expense of sound quality is a distant second, in my opinion. Heck, Stereophile even gave a nod to the iPod.

technology IS IT if people will settle and the companies only put out what folks want !
If everyone cared then the quality would have to go up or nothing would sell and being all about the profits you give 'em what they want...or will settle for.The lowest quality means nothing if there is no higher quality for comparing to.
the ipod is not evil in itself and used lossless as good as CD if that is your personal benchmark.
But as soon as you try to get more music nto a small space and begin the process of lossy compression you lose something by the nature of the "loss" part of lossy.

it has also been my observation that many who are the most vocal on the merits as "superior" of the digital medium recieve the biggest shock when they hear a true high end analog system for the first time.check the sources forum for all the "holy crap" threads .

Quote:

. Even an 128 AAC on an ipod still sounds better than most cassettes and cassette walkmen. It's the small world of people with golden ears that drive sound quality, not the mass market consumer (and maybe I'm too optimistic, but I think the hot CD trend will be coming to an end in the next couple of years). So, hopefully, artists and recording engineers will revolt and stop

Depends on what you are comparing.Using a $400 ipod in direct comparison to a $30 casstte walkman is not a true test.Better to use a pro grade portable casstte recorder and then do the comparing on equal footing.

Digital was not the sonic nirvana we were fed hook line and sinker (perfect sound forever

) but cheaper to reproduce over the cost of the LP or open reel tape with all the steps and packaging PLUS,and this is no little thing,small size AND better sound on a crapty system requiring zero set up to sound reasonably good.

head to head with the absolute best of all worlds and an analog master tape will beat any other medium and the constest would not even be a close one if the participants were honest and not with their own agenda of proving one side ot the other.Audio means the proof as always is in the listening and not the science,the "gee whiz looky wot I can do" aspects or how much music we can squeeze into something the size of a pencil eraser.

Nothing is perfect and that is why i use all formats where they are best suited but i know which in the end is the superior and MP3 is not even in the running.

 

[Oga]

And the thing is how so many MP3 players dont support FLAC - and music stores too. So the music industry is not even trying to get the most out of this digital medium. They'd rather sell 96 kbps WMA downlaod files for the same price as the CD you walk to the store and buy. That's pretty sad.

Also I dont think you need an "audiophile" cassette walkman to hear what is missing in an MP3. Even my Sony Sports walkman with some merely-decent headphones (eg those KSC-35's in the pic) and there are layers and depth to the sound that aint gonna get on an MP3.

I'm a big fan of technology, but its really pathetic when standards of service go DOWN, not up, by adding technology.

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

I'm a big fan of technology, but its really pathetic when standards of service go DOWN, not up, by adding technology

all part of the grand plan from the beginning to digitize,shrink and transmit everything electronically and is called the information age.The "I want it NOW" generation who are so busy zipping around at full speed they never see the sights as they zip past.

But a funny thing happened.They turned over mediums such as music and art to cold hearted scientists who only see numbers and not the essence behind a thing they work to make "user freindly" and easily transportable and transmittable over long distances without loss of quality.
Far easier to send a lesser quality thing and lose nothing than to try an attempt to recreate the thing intact and "whole" at the other end.

I love the information highway ands it makes my work and research much easier than it once was was I like my "art" with all the warts and as a living breathing animal and that means no loss and not a "sample' of the original.

a sample of a steak is only a mouthful and in no way satisfying but the entire steak is called a meal.
If this same steak was lossy it would be chopped up and some parts left on the table with what is left becoming hamburger and while edible no where near the enjoyment I would have devouring the original steak.


I download a lot of literature but it is just a "tide me over" thing until the print copy arrives in the mail then I delete the file having no more use for it.
I want to feel the pages,to actually TURN the pages ! To sit in a comfortable chair with a cocktail while I read at my leisure and not squirm at the computer staring at a screen while I "multitask" and enjoy nothing.
Progress and technology should be partners with the old and not usurp all things that came before a sif they never had any validity and those who miss older ways are just fools who don't know when to let go.
An aid for when speed and gotta have it are requirements but not the only means of getting a thoing done.Some of those things needing to take time to devolop and consider.

I love my MP3 players.I use my WMA music all the time.i burn rip bend fold spindle mutilate and listen to all thing smaking music including a crapy little radio and enjoy each for what they are.But in the end I'll take mine complete and with the "hiss'" what little there may be,that for me is no worse than the low murmer of a crowd at a live event,comes with the territory and is nothing to get all crazy about and stop going to live events.

Recordings ?

Nakimichi 600 cassette,Revox B-77 open reel,Hard drive recording through my own DIY AD converter,portable MD deck,portable cassette deck and even the occasional VHS VCR tape recording-I am techno no snob by any stretch i jus tlike what I like and am very vocal about it

 

[wanderman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 I use MP3 in its place as i do all available formats both analog and digital but head to head I can make a far better sounding recording with my Nak' 600 than I can with any MP3 recorder I have ever come across.

Annoying plug but have you tried the iriver h320. It is rated the top voice recorder on dap review it also has line in recording. My recording witht he iriver live in and via external mic are pretty much source quality it is the best mp3 recorder imo...

I adore cassete and used to buy them allot when because cds were so expenive and I would record the tape to my crappy system and turn these tapes into cd and then mp3s.