Fred Kaplan--a great journalist when he's covering defense issues or
jazz--has also drunk the High End Kool-Aid, and takes umbrage at
Anthony Tommasini's article (discussed in the Audiophile in an iPod
World thread):
http://www.slate.com/id/2179093/
Kaplan, not surprisingly, exaggerates the defects of MP3s, and also
glosses over Tommasini's point that musicians and music lovers can
experience music even without the crisp accuracy that high-fidelity
recording and playback provides. To some extent, Kaplan reveals that
he is listening for different things than Tommasini is. Nothing wrong
with that (unless you make the claim that Tommasini is therefore
somehow an inferior listener), but it helps explain why audiophiles
are few and far between.
Meanwhile, Terry Teachout's tired old ears don't care no mo
http://online.wsj.com/public/article...153888326.html
Reducing MP3s to "they take out the highs I can't hear anymore" misses
the mark. But he also makes this point, which should be of concern:
"In September the Journal's Lee Gomes reported in his "Portals" column
that "those who work behind-the-mic in the music industry --
producers, engineers, mixers and the like -- say they increasingly
assume their recordings will be heard as MP3s on an iPod music
player." Accordingly, these audio professionals are now custom-
tailoring their product to sound best on iPods, the same way that pop
record producers of the early '60s are said to have tailored their
product to sound best on car radios."
bob