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#1
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html
High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music Stereo system, CD sales way down Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." Justin Schoenmoser, of San Francisco, also traded in his rack system for an iPod. Currently working abroad and toting along his iPod, the convenience of carrying thousands of songs in a gadget smaller than a pack of cigarettes outweighs the sacrifice of quality. "The last time I had a full-blown home stereo system was in the mid-90s, and it was a gift from my parents," Schoenmoser said. "As I converted most of my stuff to digital over the last 5 years, I finally got rid of all my old equipment." A song ripped from a CD at 128 kilobits per second -- the default setting for most software -- retains only a fraction of the audio data contained on the originally mastered disc. Whether you downloaded the track from iTunes or copped it off LimeWire, the song remains the same. The small digital music file is a highly compressed shadow of the originally mastered recording. And regardless of how advanced your home audio setup is, if you're pumping a low-rate MP3 or iTunes file into it, you're getting a low-rate rendition of the original song out of it. It's listenable, but still lacking the luster of a CD played on the same system. 'It doesn't compare' Some experts say the sound quality lost in the process is undetectable to most untrained ears. But Michael Silver can hear the difference. Audio High, his high-end stereo shop in Mountain View, sells things like a $5,000 needle for your turntable and stereo cable at $2,700 a meter. "It doesn't compare," Silver said of the sound quality offered by today's portable digital music players and their compressed audio files. If his high-end gear is like a Ferrari for sound, and run-of-the-mill stereo equipment is a Honda, an iPod is "a moped," Silver said. That difference in sound quality, perceptible or not, hasn't saved some of the bigger traditional stereo and music sellers. Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc., a Canton, Massachusetts-based retailer of mid-to-high end audio equipment, is closing 49 of its 153 stores nationwide. Slumping sales at Sacramento, California-based Tower Records led that former industry juggernaut to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August. And Circuit City, the nation's No. 2 electronics retailer, is laying off 3,400 of its most experienced clerks. Year-to-date data from a recent Nielsen SoundScan report shows sales of prerecorded CDs in the United States down 20 percent from last year. "Everybody has a certain amount of money to spend. It's not that they're choosing not to spend it on the old-style audio. It's that something new came along," said James McQuivey, principle analyst for media technology at Forrester Research Inc. "The MP3 player integrated the collection of the music with the playback of the music," he said. "Now all of it's seamlessly hidden away on a hard drive somewhere." With the networked household ready to fill the void left by the demise of rack stereo systems, McQuivey sees a steady stream of new devices on the horizon that will erase any lingering drawbacks to going all-MP3. Santa Barbara-based Sonos, Inc., for example, sells a system that allows you to use a handheld device to navigate streamed music from your PC to an existing amp and speaker or home theater setup, sort of a hybrid between the old guard and the new. "A CD is not relevant to me anymore," said John MacFarlane, founder and chief executive of Sonos. "The iPod and that type of portable music player has even accelerated that trend." Even when consumers do buy CDs these days, "the first thing you do is rip your CDs and put them on your iPods," MacFarlane said. MacFarlane isn't even convinced that casual listeners can hear the difference between CD-quality sounds and the dumbed-down MP3 files, which he calls "good quality, not perfect." "When Philips and Sony first made the CD, they didn't cut any corners because they were careful to preserve everything that was there, even if you couldn't hear it," MacFarlane said. "That 128 is pretty darn good. A lot of Ph.D.s went in to making that 128 kbps work well and sound well. Schoenmoser, the globetrotting Californian, agrees. "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," he said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." |
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#2
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article
et, Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music Stereo system, CD sales way down Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." snip "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," [MacFarlane] said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." "Good enough!" the audiophile rallying cry. There's something in there about music becoming less valued as the quality goes down and the accessibility goes up. Still, things always change, and who loves last year's cell phone? On the other hand, I heard a trombone recital that included Arthur Pryor arrangements played on a narrow-bore instrument from the twenties. I drove my seventies Volvo to work the other day and you'd have thought I pulled up in a Model T given the reaction. Stephen |
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#3
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
MiNe 109 wrote: In article et, Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music Stereo system, CD sales way down Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." snip "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," [MacFarlane] said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." "Good enough!" the audiophile rallying cry. There's something in there about music becoming less valued as the quality goes down and the accessibility goes up. Still, things always change, and who loves last year's cell phone? On the other hand, I heard a trombone recital that included Arthur Pryor arrangements played on a narrow-bore instrument from the twenties. The perfect instrument for those solos! I drove my seventies Volvo to work the other day and you'd have thought I pulled up in a Model T given the reaction. lol |
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#4
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
"Jenn" wrote in message ... : http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html : : : High fidelity takes backseat to portability : POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 : Story Highlights : ? MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music : ? Stereo system, CD sales way down : ? Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices : I agree with one part of the article, CDs are a thing of the past. I have transferred all my CDs to Hard Drives and are networked throughout my house as Hi-Fi. I even have decent outdoor speakers as well ;-) Accessibility of MP3 downloads (for free) is great. I use them to research albums/artists and then BUY the CD/DVD-A/SACD/LP. Do I personally own an MP3 player? No! Unless you count my mobile and I have never used it as one ;-) BTW also note (and not mentioned in that article) LP sales are on the up and so are pornographs to play them on. Apparently "Retro" is in ;-) Just to demonstrate how far this is going I just bought a Sony STRDA5200ES receiver (I won't go into why) and this thing even has a USB port on the front and plays compressed music MP3, WMA, Atrac. Interesting it will not recognise a wav file on the USB port but has a Phono input on the back And to top it off a special sound field option to "Optimise MP3s" so Sony even recognises when you play back low bitrate crap it probably won't sound any good on a home system! We live in interesting times ;-). Cheers TT |
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#5
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
On Apr 23, 5:07Β*pm, MiNe 109 wrote:
In article et, Β*Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights ¬ MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music ¬ Stereo system, CD sales way down ¬ Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." snip "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," [MacFarlane] said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." "Good enough!" the audiophile rallying cry. There's something in there about music becoming less valued as the quality goes down and the accessibility goes up. Still, things always change, and who loves last year's cell phone? On the other hand, I heard a trombone recital that included Arthur Pryor arrangements played on a narrow-bore instrument from the twenties. I drove my seventies Volvo to work the other day and you'd have thought I pulled up in a Model T given the reaction. That wasn't it. A Model T is collectors item. Nothing collectible about your car. You'd get the same response from a 70's era suitcase cell phone. People were just shocked you bothered to maintain an absolute POS like a 70's era Volvo. ScottW |
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#6
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article .com,
ScottW wrote: On Apr 23, 5:07Β*pm, MiNe 109 wrote: In article et, Β*Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights ¬ MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music ¬ Stereo system, CD sales way down ¬ Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." snip "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," [MacFarlane] said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." "Good enough!" the audiophile rallying cry. There's something in there about music becoming less valued as the quality goes down and the accessibility goes up. Still, things always change, and who loves last year's cell phone? On the other hand, I heard a trombone recital that included Arthur Pryor arrangements played on a narrow-bore instrument from the twenties. I drove my seventies Volvo to work the other day and you'd have thought I pulled up in a Model T given the reaction. That wasn't it. A Model T is collectors item. Nothing collectible about your car. "In a museum" is part of the exact quote. Did you really think I was implying my beat up 140 is a collector's item? You'd get the same response from a 70's era suitcase cell phone. I'll bet there'd be quite a reaction as the first cell phone service I know about was in the eighties. People were just shocked you bothered to maintain an absolute POS like a 70's era Volvo. Wow. Any excuse to put me down. The 140/240 series was not only commercially successful, but pioneered safety and environmental features as well as enjoying longevity domestic cars didn't have. When your seventies ride turns over 380,000 miles we can compare notes on which is the POS. Stephen |
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#7
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
MiNe 109 said: When your seventies ride turns over 380,000 miles we can compare notes on which is the POS. I'll bet Scottie doesn't know how bad is the pollution from a 30-year-old Volvo. -- Krooscience: The antidote to education, experience, and excellence. |
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#8
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
MiNe 109 wrote: In article .com, ScottW wrote: On Apr 23, 5:07Β*pm, MiNe 109 wrote: In article et, Β*Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights ¬ MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music ¬ Stereo system, CD sales way down ¬ Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." snip "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," [MacFarlane] said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." "Good enough!" the audiophile rallying cry. There's something in there about music becoming less valued as the quality goes down and the accessibility goes up. Still, things always change, and who loves last year's cell phone? On the other hand, I heard a trombone recital that included Arthur Pryor arrangements played on a narrow-bore instrument from the twenties. I drove my seventies Volvo to work the other day and you'd have thought I pulled up in a Model T given the reaction. That wasn't it. A Model T is collectors item. Nothing collectible about your car. "In a museum" is part of the exact quote. Did you really think I was implying my beat up 140 is a collector's item? You'd get the same response from a 70's era suitcase cell phone. I'll bet there'd be quite a reaction as the first cell phone service I know about was in the eighties. People were just shocked you bothered to maintain an absolute POS like a 70's era Volvo. Wow. Any excuse to put me down. Wierd, huh? The 140/240 series was not only commercially successful, but pioneered safety and environmental features as well as enjoying longevity domestic cars didn't have. When your seventies ride turns over 380,000 miles we can compare notes on which is the POS. Stephen |
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#9
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
Jenn said: Wow. Any excuse to put me down. Wierd, huh? Scottie is not a happy doggie today. http://www.geocities.com/glanbrok/RA...ry_scottie.jpg -- Krooscience: The antidote to education, experience, and excellence. |
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#10
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
George M. Middius cmndr _ george @ comcast . net wrote: MiNe 109 said: When your seventies ride turns over 380,000 miles we can compare notes on which is the POS. I'll bet Scottie doesn't know how bad is the pollution from a 30-year-old Volvo. Not as good as a 15-year-old Volvo like my daily driver. Stephen |
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#11
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
George M. Middius cmndr _ george @ comcast . net wrote: Jenn said: Wow. Any excuse to put me down. Wierd, huh? Scottie is not a happy doggie today. http://www.geocities.com/glanbrok/RA...ry_scottie.jpg http://sa.nextwish.org/Photoshops/Fi.../Angry_cat.jpg |
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#12
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
MiNe 109 said: Scottie is not a happy doggie today. http://www.geocities.com/glanbrok/RA...ry_scottie.jpg http://sa.nextwish.org/Photoshops/Fi.../Angry_cat.jpg http://www.usarchy.com/wp-content/ph...ey_fullpic.jpg -- Krooscience: The antidote to education, experience, and excellence. |
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#13
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. Graham |
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#14
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
"George M. Middius" wrote: MiNe 109 said: Scottie is not a happy doggie today. http://www.geocities.com/glanbrok/RA...ry_scottie.jpg http://sa.nextwish.org/Photoshops/Fi.../Angry_cat.jpg http://www.usarchy.com/wp-content/ph...ey_fullpic.jpg Wasn't he in Star Wars ? Graham |
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#15
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
George M. Middius cmndr _ george @ comcast . net wrote: MiNe 109 said: Scottie is not a happy doggie today. http://www.geocities.com/glanbrok/RA...ry_scottie.jpg http://sa.nextwish.org/Photoshops/Fi.../Angry_cat.jpg http://www.usarchy.com/wp-content/ph...ey_fullpic.jpg Probably puzzling over my sentence structure... Stephen |
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#16
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
"MiNe 109" wrote in message ... In article .com, ScottW wrote: On Apr 23, 5:07Β pm, MiNe 109 wrote: In article et, Β Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights ,¬ MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music ,¬ Stereo system, CD sales way down ,¬ Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." snip "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," [MacFarlane] said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." "Good enough!" the audiophile rallying cry. There's something in there about music becoming less valued as the quality goes down and the accessibility goes up. Still, things always change, and who loves last year's cell phone? On the other hand, I heard a trombone recital that included Arthur Pryor arrangements played on a narrow-bore instrument from the twenties. I drove my seventies Volvo to work the other day and you'd have thought I pulled up in a Model T given the reaction. That wasn't it. A Model T is collectors item. Nothing collectible about your car. "In a museum" is part of the exact quote. Did you really think I was implying my beat up 140 is a collector's item? You'd get the same response from a 70's era suitcase cell phone. I'll bet there'd be quite a reaction as the first cell phone service I know about was in the eighties. People were just shocked you bothered to maintain an absolute POS like a 70's era Volvo. Wow. Any excuse to put me down. The 140/240 series was not only commercially successful, but pioneered safety and environmental features as well as enjoying longevity domestic cars didn't have. When your seventies ride turns over 380,000 miles we can compare notes on which is the POS. I had a '78 245 wagon that was the most reliable car I've ever owned. Wife force me to see it shortly before divorce (humm....may be a link there) but at that time it was well up in the high hundreds and the only thing that ever was replaced other than shocks and tires was one failed alternator belt. |
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#17
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
"Harry Lavo" wrote: "MiNe 109" wrote in message ... In article .com, ScottW wrote: On Apr 23, 5:07Β pm, MiNe 109 wrote: In article et, Β Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights ,¬ MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music ,¬ Stereo system, CD sales way down ,¬ Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." snip "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," [MacFarlane] said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." "Good enough!" the audiophile rallying cry. There's something in there about music becoming less valued as the quality goes down and the accessibility goes up. Still, things always change, and who loves last year's cell phone? On the other hand, I heard a trombone recital that included Arthur Pryor arrangements played on a narrow-bore instrument from the twenties. I drove my seventies Volvo to work the other day and you'd have thought I pulled up in a Model T given the reaction. That wasn't it. A Model T is collectors item. Nothing collectible about your car. "In a museum" is part of the exact quote. Did you really think I was implying my beat up 140 is a collector's item? You'd get the same response from a 70's era suitcase cell phone. I'll bet there'd be quite a reaction as the first cell phone service I know about was in the eighties. People were just shocked you bothered to maintain an absolute POS like a 70's era Volvo. Wow. Any excuse to put me down. The 140/240 series was not only commercially successful, but pioneered safety and environmental features as well as enjoying longevity domestic cars didn't have. When your seventies ride turns over 380,000 miles we can compare notes on which is the POS. I had a '78 245 wagon that was the most reliable car I've ever owned. Wife force me to see it shortly before divorce (humm....may be a link there) but at that time it was well up in the high hundreds and the only thing that ever was replaced other than shocks and tires was one failed alternator belt. I think there was a poem in the New Yorker that said to never sell your old Volvo. Stephen |
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#18
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
MiNe 109 said: I think there was a poem in the New Yorker that said to never sell your old Volvo. On the other hand, there's a sucker born every minute. -- Krooscience: The antidote to education, experience, and excellence. |
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#19
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
George M. Middius cmndr _ george @ comcast . net wrote: MiNe 109 said: I think there was a poem in the New Yorker that said to never sell your old Volvo. On the other hand, there's a sucker born every minute. The poem was more elegant. Stephen |
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#20
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
MiNe 109 wrote: In article , "Harry Lavo" wrote: "MiNe 109" wrote in message ... In article .com, ScottW wrote: On Apr 23, 5:07Β pm, MiNe 109 wrote: In article . n et, Β Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights ,¬ MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music ,¬ Stereo system, CD sales way down ,¬ Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." snip "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," [MacFarlane] said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." "Good enough!" the audiophile rallying cry. There's something in there about music becoming less valued as the quality goes down and the accessibility goes up. Still, things always change, and who loves last year's cell phone? On the other hand, I heard a trombone recital that included Arthur Pryor arrangements played on a narrow-bore instrument from the twenties. I drove my seventies Volvo to work the other day and you'd have thought I pulled up in a Model T given the reaction. That wasn't it. A Model T is collectors item. Nothing collectible about your car. "In a museum" is part of the exact quote. Did you really think I was implying my beat up 140 is a collector's item? You'd get the same response from a 70's era suitcase cell phone. I'll bet there'd be quite a reaction as the first cell phone service I know about was in the eighties. People were just shocked you bothered to maintain an absolute POS like a 70's era Volvo. Wow. Any excuse to put me down. The 140/240 series was not only commercially successful, but pioneered safety and environmental features as well as enjoying longevity domestic cars didn't have. When your seventies ride turns over 380,000 miles we can compare notes on which is the POS. I had a '78 245 wagon that was the most reliable car I've ever owned. Wife force me to see it shortly before divorce (humm....may be a link there) but at that time it was well up in the high hundreds and the only thing that ever was replaced other than shocks and tires was one failed alternator belt. I think there was a poem in the New Yorker that said to never sell your old Volvo. Stephen "They're boxy, but they're good" Anyone else know that quote? ;-) |
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#21
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
On Apr 23, 4:37Β*pm, Jenn wrote:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights ¬ MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music ¬ Stereo system, CD sales way down ¬ Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." Justin Schoenmoser, of San Francisco, also traded in his rack system for an iPod. Currently working abroad and toting along his iPod, the convenience of carrying thousands of songs in a gadget smaller than a pack of cigarettes outweighs the sacrifice of quality. "The last time I had a full-blown home stereo system was in the mid-90s, and it was a gift from my parents," Schoenmoser said. "As I converted most of my stuff to digital over the last 5 years, I finally got rid of all my old equipment." A song ripped from a CD at 128 kilobits per second -- the default setting for most software -- retains only a fraction of the audio data contained on the originally mastered disc. Whether you downloaded the track from iTunes or copped it off LimeWire, the song remains the same. The small digital music file is a highly compressed shadow of the originally mastered recording. And regardless of how advanced your home audio setup is, if you're pumping a low-rate MP3 or iTunes file into it, you're getting a low-rate rendition of the original song out of it. It's listenable, but still lacking the luster of a CD played on the same system. 'It doesn't compare' Some experts say the sound quality lost in the process is undetectable to most untrained ears. But Michael Silver can hear the difference. Audio High, his high-end stereo shop in Mountain View, sells things like a $5,000 needle for your turntable and stereo cable at $2,700 a meter. "It doesn't compare," Silver said of the sound quality offered by today's portable digital music players and their compressed audio files. If his high-end gear is like a Ferrari for sound, and run-of-the-mill stereo equipment is a Honda, an iPod is "a moped," Silver said. That difference in sound quality, perceptible or not, hasn't saved some of the bigger traditional stereo and music sellers. Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc., a Canton, Massachusetts-based retailer of mid-to-high end audio equipment, is closing 49 of its 153 stores nationwide. Slumping sales at Sacramento, California-based Tower Records led that former industry juggernaut to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August. And Circuit City, the nation's No. 2 electronics retailer, is laying off 3,400 of its most experienced clerks. Year-to-date data from a recent Nielsen SoundScan report shows sales of prerecorded CDs in the United States down 20 percent from last year. "Everybody has a certain amount of money to spend. It's not that they're choosing not to spend it on the old-style audio. It's that something new came along," said James McQuivey, principle analyst for media technology at Forrester Research Inc. "The MP3 player integrated the collection of the music with the playback of the music," he said. "Now all of it's seamlessly hidden away on a hard drive somewhere." With the networked household ready to fill the void left by the demise of rack stereo systems, McQuivey sees a steady stream of new devices on the horizon that will erase any lingering drawbacks to going all-MP3. Santa Barbara-based Sonos, Inc., for example, sells a system that allows you to use a handheld device to navigate streamed music from your PC to an existing amp and speaker or home theater setup, sort of a hybrid between the old guard and the new. "A CD is not relevant to me anymore," said John MacFarlane, founder and chief executive of Sonos. "The iPod and that type of portable music player has even accelerated that trend." Even when consumers do buy CDs these days, "the first thing you do is rip your CDs and put them on your iPods," MacFarlane said. MacFarlane isn't even convinced that casual listeners can hear the difference between CD-quality sounds and the dumbed-down MP3 files, which he calls "good quality, not perfect." "When Philips and Sony first made the CD, they didn't cut any corners because they were careful to preserve everything that was there, even if you couldn't hear it," MacFarlane said. "That 128 is pretty darn good. A lot of Ph.D.s went in to making that 128 kbps work well and sound well. Schoenmoser, the globetrotting Californian, agrees. "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," he said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." I find it difficult to understand why you would find these musings of Mr. Mass Man about his soul-mates worth republishing. Hi-Fi has been dying a thousand deaths ever since its birth. There was audio-cassette, cheap tape-decks , car audio systems, MP3 and who knows what next. "Classical" music has been dying for centuries. Who goes to a symphony concert when they watch Miss Lavigne display her cleavage? So has "classical" poetry, "classica" painting, any "classical" art- form. All of them are and will remain minority choices ..The mass man used to live in awe of the few setting quality standards fo9r him. Now that he has a decent standard of living and free public school education he follows boldly what appeals to him. And long may he flourish. As long as he stays content to share his preferences with his pals he is welcome to the sports page.. Ludovic Mirabel |
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#22
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
On Apr 23, 4:37Β*pm, Jenn wrote:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights ¬ MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music ¬ Stereo system, CD sales way down ¬ Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." Justin Schoenmoser, of San Francisco, also traded in his rack system for an iPod. Currently working abroad and toting along his iPod, the convenience of carrying thousands of songs in a gadget smaller than a pack of cigarettes outweighs the sacrifice of quality. "The last time I had a full-blown home stereo system was in the mid-90s, and it was a gift from my parents," Schoenmoser said. "As I converted most of my stuff to digital over the last 5 years, I finally got rid of all my old equipment." A song ripped from a CD at 128 kilobits per second -- the default setting for most software -- retains only a fraction of the audio data contained on the originally mastered disc. Whether you downloaded the track from iTunes or copped it off LimeWire, the song remains the same. The small digital music file is a highly compressed shadow of the originally mastered recording. And regardless of how advanced your home audio setup is, if you're pumping a low-rate MP3 or iTunes file into it, you're getting a low-rate rendition of the original song out of it. It's listenable, but still lacking the luster of a CD played on the same system. 'It doesn't compare' Some experts say the sound quality lost in the process is undetectable to most untrained ears. But Michael Silver can hear the difference. Audio High, his high-end stereo shop in Mountain View, sells things like a $5,000 needle for your turntable and stereo cable at $2,700 a meter. "It doesn't compare," Silver said of the sound quality offered by today's portable digital music players and their compressed audio files. If his high-end gear is like a Ferrari for sound, and run-of-the-mill stereo equipment is a Honda, an iPod is "a moped," Silver said. That difference in sound quality, perceptible or not, hasn't saved some of the bigger traditional stereo and music sellers. Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc., a Canton, Massachusetts-based retailer of mid-to-high end audio equipment, is closing 49 of its 153 stores nationwide. Slumping sales at Sacramento, California-based Tower Records led that former industry juggernaut to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August. And Circuit City, the nation's No. 2 electronics retailer, is laying off 3,400 of its most experienced clerks. Year-to-date data from a recent Nielsen SoundScan report shows sales of prerecorded CDs in the United States down 20 percent from last year. "Everybody has a certain amount of money to spend. It's not that they're choosing not to spend it on the old-style audio. It's that something new came along," said James McQuivey, principle analyst for media technology at Forrester Research Inc. "The MP3 player integrated the collection of the music with the playback of the music," he said. "Now all of it's seamlessly hidden away on a hard drive somewhere." With the networked household ready to fill the void left by the demise of rack stereo systems, McQuivey sees a steady stream of new devices on the horizon that will erase any lingering drawbacks to going all-MP3. Santa Barbara-based Sonos, Inc., for example, sells a system that allows you to use a handheld device to navigate streamed music from your PC to an existing amp and speaker or home theater setup, sort of a hybrid between the old guard and the new. "A CD is not relevant to me anymore," said John MacFarlane, founder and chief executive of Sonos. "The iPod and that type of portable music player has even accelerated that trend." Even when consumers do buy CDs these days, "the first thing you do is rip your CDs and put them on your iPods," MacFarlane said. MacFarlane isn't even convinced that casual listeners can hear the difference between CD-quality sounds and the dumbed-down MP3 files, which he calls "good quality, not perfect." "When Philips and Sony first made the CD, they didn't cut any corners because they were careful to preserve everything that was there, even if you couldn't hear it," MacFarlane said. "That 128 is pretty darn good. A lot of Ph.D.s went in to making that 128 kbps work well and sound well. Schoenmoser, the globetrotting Californian, agrees. "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," he said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." I find it difficult to understand why you would find these musings of Mr. Mass Man about his soul-mates worth republishing. Hi-Fi has been dying a thousand deaths ever since its birth. There was audio-cassette, cheap tape-decks , car audio systems, MP3 and who knows what next. "Classical" music has been dying for centuries. Who goes to a symphony concert when they watch Miss Lavigne display her cleavage? So has "classical" poetry, "classica" painting, any "classical" art- form. All of them are and will remain minority choices ..The mass man used to live in awe of the few setting quality standards fo9r him. Now that he has a decent standard of living and free public school education he follows boldly what appeals to him. And long may he flourish. As long as he stays content to share his preferences with his pals he is welcome to the sports page.. Ludovic Mirabel. |
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#23
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
On Apr 23, 4:37Β*pm, Jenn wrote:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability POSTED: 1:50 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007 Story Highlights ¬ MP3 players now preferred means of listening to music ¬ Stereo system, CD sales way down ¬ Some audiophiles unhappy, but most people like MP3 devices SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Music lovers remember a familiar advertising image from the past: a man reclined in a chair, head back, blown away by music from his high-fidelity sound system. Like the Marlboro Man before him, Maxell's pitchman is now a relic. With their ability to store vast libraries of music in your pocket, sleek digital music players have replaced bulky home stereo systems as the music gear of choice. But the sound quality of digital audio files is noticeably inferior to that of compact discs and even vinyl. Are these the final days of hi-fi sound? Judging by the 2 billion songs downloaded from Apple Inc.'s iTunes service, the ubiquity of white iPod "ear buds," and the hundreds of thousands of folks file-sharing for free, the answer is yes. "In many ways, good enough (sound quality) is fine," said Paul Connolly, an art installation specialist and longtime audiophile from Sugar Land, Texas, who's now in the process of digitizing his 2,400 CD collection in Apple's lossless digital audio format. "The warmth and the nice distortion that the album had was beautiful," he said. "But do I long for the days of albums? No. Do I long for the days of CDs now that we've gone digital? No. It's a medium." Justin Schoenmoser, of San Francisco, also traded in his rack system for an iPod. Currently working abroad and toting along his iPod, the convenience of carrying thousands of songs in a gadget smaller than a pack of cigarettes outweighs the sacrifice of quality. "The last time I had a full-blown home stereo system was in the mid-90s, and it was a gift from my parents," Schoenmoser said. "As I converted most of my stuff to digital over the last 5 years, I finally got rid of all my old equipment." A song ripped from a CD at 128 kilobits per second -- the default setting for most software -- retains only a fraction of the audio data contained on the originally mastered disc. Whether you downloaded the track from iTunes or copped it off LimeWire, the song remains the same. The small digital music file is a highly compressed shadow of the originally mastered recording. And regardless of how advanced your home audio setup is, if you're pumping a low-rate MP3 or iTunes file into it, you're getting a low-rate rendition of the original song out of it. It's listenable, but still lacking the luster of a CD played on the same system. 'It doesn't compare' Some experts say the sound quality lost in the process is undetectable to most untrained ears. But Michael Silver can hear the difference. Audio High, his high-end stereo shop in Mountain View, sells things like a $5,000 needle for your turntable and stereo cable at $2,700 a meter. "It doesn't compare," Silver said of the sound quality offered by today's portable digital music players and their compressed audio files. If his high-end gear is like a Ferrari for sound, and run-of-the-mill stereo equipment is a Honda, an iPod is "a moped," Silver said. That difference in sound quality, perceptible or not, hasn't saved some of the bigger traditional stereo and music sellers. Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc., a Canton, Massachusetts-based retailer of mid-to-high end audio equipment, is closing 49 of its 153 stores nationwide. Slumping sales at Sacramento, California-based Tower Records led that former industry juggernaut to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August. And Circuit City, the nation's No. 2 electronics retailer, is laying off 3,400 of its most experienced clerks. Year-to-date data from a recent Nielsen SoundScan report shows sales of prerecorded CDs in the United States down 20 percent from last year. "Everybody has a certain amount of money to spend. It's not that they're choosing not to spend it on the old-style audio. It's that something new came along," said James McQuivey, principle analyst for media technology at Forrester Research Inc. "The MP3 player integrated the collection of the music with the playback of the music," he said. "Now all of it's seamlessly hidden away on a hard drive somewhere." With the networked household ready to fill the void left by the demise of rack stereo systems, McQuivey sees a steady stream of new devices on the horizon that will erase any lingering drawbacks to going all-MP3. Santa Barbara-based Sonos, Inc., for example, sells a system that allows you to use a handheld device to navigate streamed music from your PC to an existing amp and speaker or home theater setup, sort of a hybrid between the old guard and the new. "A CD is not relevant to me anymore," said John MacFarlane, founder and chief executive of Sonos. "The iPod and that type of portable music player has even accelerated that trend." Even when consumers do buy CDs these days, "the first thing you do is rip your CDs and put them on your iPods," MacFarlane said. MacFarlane isn't even convinced that casual listeners can hear the difference between CD-quality sounds and the dumbed-down MP3 files, which he calls "good quality, not perfect." "When Philips and Sony first made the CD, they didn't cut any corners because they were careful to preserve everything that was there, even if you couldn't hear it," MacFarlane said. "That 128 is pretty darn good. A lot of Ph.D.s went in to making that 128 kbps work well and sound well. Schoenmoser, the globetrotting Californian, agrees. "I honestly can't really tell the difference between CD, tape and digital," he said. "I'd even accept a lower quality as long as it's digital and portable." I find it difficult to understand why you would find these musings of Mr. Mass Man about his soul-mates worth republishing. Hi-Fi has been dying a thousand deaths ever since its birth. There was audio-cassette, cheap tape-decks , car audio systems, MP3 and who knows what next. "Classical" music has been dying for centuries. Who goes to a symphony concert when they watch Miss Lavigne display her cleavage? So has "classical" poetry, "classica" painting, any "classical" art- form. All of them are and will remain minority choices ..The mass man used to live in awe of the few setting quality standards fo9r him. Now that he has a decent standard of living and free public school education he follows boldly what appeals to him. And long may he flourish. As long as he stays content to share his preferences with his pals he is welcome to the sports page.. Ludovic Mirabel. P.S This is the fourth attempt to send this. Three times today Google said: "Your post w3as successful" and then lost and buried it. Enough to get either paranoid or obstinate.. |
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#24
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
" wrote: Hi-Fi has been dying a thousand deaths ever since its birth. There was audio-cassette, cheap tape-decks , car audio systems, MP3 and who knows what next. The compact cassette was designed as a dictation medium and should be seen in that light. Real hi-fi nuts always preferred reel to reel. Car audio can actually be tolerably good too, especially given the constraints on it. Graham |
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#25
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
" wrote: This is the fourth attempt to send this. And the third successful one. Three times today Google said: "Your post w3as successful" and then lost and buried it. Enough to get either paranoid or obstinate.. Get a real news server. news.individual.net is cheap. Graham |
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#26
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
Eeyore wrote:
Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. Me too, I guess. I like music well-enough to have a FAR above-average home sound-system, but having ear-buds going all the time during normal life? I just don't get it. |
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#27
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
dizzy wrote: Eeyore wrote: Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. Me too, I guess. I like music well-enough to have a FAR above-average home sound-system, but having ear-buds going all the time during normal life? I just don't get it. The ear buds would simply just annoy me. Besides I have naturally very waxy ears (need regular cleaning) and they would be mega yucky to use. Graham |
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#28
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
"Eeyore" wrote in message ... dizzy wrote: Eeyore wrote: Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. Me too, I guess. I like music well-enough to have a FAR above-average home sound-system, but having ear-buds going all the time during normal life? I just don't get it. The ear buds would simply just annoy me. Besides I have naturally very waxy ears (need regular cleaning) and they would be mega yucky to use. Graham And I thought I was the only person left who never bought a walkman, a discman, or an IPod. :-) |
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#29
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article
et, Jenn wrote: Volvo. "They're boxy, but they're good" Anyone else know that quote? ;-) Yes! Stephen |
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#30
Posted to rec.audio.opinion
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article . com,
" wrote: I find it difficult to understand why you would find these musings of Mr. Mass Man about his soul-mates worth republishing. snip This is the fourth attempt to send this. Three times today Google said: "Your post w3as successful" and then lost and buried it. Enough to get either paranoid or obstinate.. Ironic that you "republished" these musings three times while complaining about Jenn's single posting. Stephen |
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#31
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
"Harry Lavo" wrote in message
"Eeyore" wrote in message ... dizzy wrote: Eeyore wrote: Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability Just more real-world evidence that the plain old audio CD format is technical performance overkill for a great many people - probably the vast majority. I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. Hold that thought. Me too, I guess. I like music well-enough to have a FAR above-average home sound-system, but having ear-buds going all the time during normal life? I just don't get it. In current times it seems like way too many people have either a portable stereo, or a cell phone grafted onto the side(s) of their head. Now they are merging the two. OTOH, if you can adjust to them, there are some very fine-sounding IEMs out there. And, of course a lot of trash. The ear buds would simply just annoy me. Besides I have naturally very waxy ears (need regular cleaning) and they would be mega yucky to use. Unless the wax is dripping out of your ear canal, there would be no problem with ear buds. Perhaps you meant IEMs? And I thought I was the only person left who never bought a walkman, a discman, or an IPod. :-) Contrary to Harry's apparent beliefs, portable audio devices work can well with ordinary headphones, and can even be hooked up to traditional stereo systems. |
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#32
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
"MiNe 109" wrote in message
In article . com, " wrote: I find it difficult to understand why you would find these musings of Mr. Mass Man about his soul-mates worth republishing. snip This is the fourth attempt to send this. Three times today Google said: "Your post w3as successful" and then lost and buried it. Enough to get either paranoid or obstinate.. Ironic that you "republished" these musings three times while complaining about Jenn's single posting. Nahh, typical of Ludo's lack of self-awareness. |
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#33
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
Harry Lavo wrote: "Eeyore" wrote in message dizzy wrote: Eeyore wrote: Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. Me too, I guess. I like music well-enough to have a FAR above-average home sound-system, but having ear-buds going all the time during normal life? I just don't get it. The ear buds would simply just annoy me. Besides I have naturally very waxy ears (need regular cleaning) and they would be mega yucky to use. And I thought I was the only person left who never bought a walkman, a discman, or an IPod. :-) I *won* a portable mini-disc in a competition once but it's barely been used. Graham |
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#34
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
"Eeyore" wrote in
message Harry Lavo wrote: "Eeyore" wrote in message dizzy wrote: Eeyore wrote: Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. Me too, I guess. I like music well-enough to have a FAR above-average home sound-system, but having ear-buds going all the time during normal life? I just don't get it. The ear buds would simply just annoy me. Besides I have naturally very waxy ears (need regular cleaning) and they would be mega yucky to use. And I thought I was the only person left who never bought a walkman, a discman, or an IPod. :-) I *won* a portable mini-disc in a competition once but it's barely been used. I hear that the MD made a far bigger splash in Europe than in the US. I have a MD recorder/player in storage that I intentionally bought. You've probably used yours more. |
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#35
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
Eeyore said:
Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. I'm with you. I have no need for portable audio, at home I listen to one of my stereo systems (a Roku Soundbridge is a meaningful addition, however). In the car, I listen to my car stereo system. At work, there's either silence or a Pandora stream on a small stereo system. I'm not a fan of headphones either (despite the superb quality of my Stax). -- - Maggies are an addiction for life. - |
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
ScottW said:
I drove my seventies Volvo to work the other day and you'd have thought I pulled up in a Model T given the reaction. That wasn't it. A Model T is collectors item. Nothing collectible about your car. You'd get the same response from a 70's era suitcase cell phone. People were just shocked you bothered to maintain an absolute POS like a 70's era Volvo. Preference bashing, Scott? -- - Maggies are an addiction for life. - |
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
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#38
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
Harry Lavo said: And I thought I was the only person left who never bought a walkman, a discman, or an IPod. :-) Thank's Harrey for, admittong Hairry that you're afraid to go *modern* where, it count's Haryy. -- Krooscience: The antidote to education, experience, and excellence. |
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#39
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
dizzy wrote: Eeyore wrote: Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. Me too, I guess. I do really like it for the car. AM/FM radio has generally become so bad IMO and so much the same all over the country, having so much music to choose from is really nice. Other than driving and for the classroom, I don't use mine much other than once in awhile walking on the beach or long airport layovers. I like music well-enough to have a FAR above-average home sound-system, but having ear-buds going all the time during normal life? I just don't get it. It seems to be another way of isolating oneself and having to communicate with people, and from really encountering and dealing with one's thoughts and environment with real concentration. Too bad, IMO. |
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#40
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Hi-Fi a thing of the past?
In article ,
Jenn wrote: In article , dizzy wrote: Eeyore wrote: Jenn wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html High fidelity takes backseat to portability I have no interest in portable music (other than in-car). I must be an old fuddy-duddly. Me too, I guess. I do really like it for the car. AM/FM radio has generally become so bad IMO and so much the same all over the country, having so much music to choose from is really nice. Other than driving and for the classroom, I don't use mine much other than once in awhile walking on the beach or long airport layovers. I've never been able to handle recorded music at the beach or in the mountains. I do enjoy my son's violin playing outdoors at the park. A friend visited Mahler at his mountain retreat one summer. Upon looking out at the view, the friend was ecstatic. Mahler supposedly responded something like, "Oh that, I've already composed it!" Somehow, I seem to have enough sound stimulus from the birds and the wind, in order to keep me busy. I like music well-enough to have a FAR above-average home sound-system, but having ear-buds going all the time during normal life? I just don't get it. It seems to be another way of isolating oneself and having to communicate with people, and from really encountering and dealing with one's thoughts and environment with real concentration. Too bad, IMO. Good point. I have retreated into activity and seldom am drawn to my audio system these days. I enjoy creating much more now than ever and passive enjoyment is waning. Joe |
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