04-07-2012, 12:48 PM
I wouldn't be quite so quick to write off the MP3 player as a source. But obviously it varies - some generations of iPod skimped on the output capacitor, so were bass-light when driving low-impedance loads. I have a Sony which sounds very nice indeed, and as a source for an amplifier, it's even better.
There is a rising awareness of the importance of bit-rates, and with storage increasing in these portable devices the need to heavily compress is less and less. But, it's very subjective, and some people aren't all that bothered by low bit rates. Certainly, I'm not. I'm much more upset by "analogue" distortions like wow and flutter, FM multipath distortion, HF distortion caused by slightly worn records (that's all of them, in my experience), which obviously gets worse towards the disc end. When I listen to DAB, I rarely hear genuine MP2 artefacts - what I hear is "bubbling mud" caused by the error detection and correction scheme, coupled with the awful dynamic-range processing that nearly all stations employ. The last time I heard an MP2 artefact, it was on R3 at 192 kb/s, and that's because they don't crush the dynamic range from their output - if you compress such that there's only 6dB of dynamic range, then MP2 sounds fine at 128kb/s and below! I don't know if I've ever heard such a thing on DTT, which obviously uses MP2 - although I've noticed that they use Joint Stereo, which does affect the stereo image when you listen properly with your eyes shut (best way to watch modern TV IMHO!).
I wore large-ish headphones 20 years ago with a cassette walkman. I don't recall the older generation looking at me with disdain, but would I have noticed? Probably not. I certainly don't object to youngsters listening to music, providing they're keeping it to themselves. Even a little bit of "spill" from their headphones doesn't really bother me, beyond making me worry for the health of their hearing. Of course, playing from their mobile phones ("sod-casting") really upsets me - at least I had the decency to carry around a boom-box. But, I appreciate the importance of music for the well-being of the mind and soul, and would much rather our younger generation was playing music - even if I don't understand or like it - than watching Jeremy Kyle or whatever mindless drivel passes for TV these days.
I'm getting old!
Mark
There is a rising awareness of the importance of bit-rates, and with storage increasing in these portable devices the need to heavily compress is less and less. But, it's very subjective, and some people aren't all that bothered by low bit rates. Certainly, I'm not. I'm much more upset by "analogue" distortions like wow and flutter, FM multipath distortion, HF distortion caused by slightly worn records (that's all of them, in my experience), which obviously gets worse towards the disc end. When I listen to DAB, I rarely hear genuine MP2 artefacts - what I hear is "bubbling mud" caused by the error detection and correction scheme, coupled with the awful dynamic-range processing that nearly all stations employ. The last time I heard an MP2 artefact, it was on R3 at 192 kb/s, and that's because they don't crush the dynamic range from their output - if you compress such that there's only 6dB of dynamic range, then MP2 sounds fine at 128kb/s and below! I don't know if I've ever heard such a thing on DTT, which obviously uses MP2 - although I've noticed that they use Joint Stereo, which does affect the stereo image when you listen properly with your eyes shut (best way to watch modern TV IMHO!).
I wore large-ish headphones 20 years ago with a cassette walkman. I don't recall the older generation looking at me with disdain, but would I have noticed? Probably not. I certainly don't object to youngsters listening to music, providing they're keeping it to themselves. Even a little bit of "spill" from their headphones doesn't really bother me, beyond making me worry for the health of their hearing. Of course, playing from their mobile phones ("sod-casting") really upsets me - at least I had the decency to carry around a boom-box. But, I appreciate the importance of music for the well-being of the mind and soul, and would much rather our younger generation was playing music - even if I don't understand or like it - than watching Jeremy Kyle or whatever mindless drivel passes for TV these days.
I'm getting old!
Mark
