Can compressed music be better?

[SY]

Originally Posted by KatieandDad

Its a real shame that MP3/MP4 may ultimately destroy UNCOMPRESSED music.

Why would it? If people want it, companies will provide it since there's almost no marginal cost in providing a low-volume higher-profit-margin file in addition to the mainstream choice. The old model of music distribution that involved physical media and brick & mortar is over and done with. The body is still twitching, but that happens for a few seconds after the beheading.

The real problem is the other sort of compression, which is intentional on the part of the loudness warriors. That's where we've lost choice.

[OllBoll]

Originally Posted by GregH2

...

Interesting, one thing I wonder though is if you've compressed the file yourself or if it was compressed by others?

If someone else did it it's possible that there might be other hidden mods on the file and it is those mods that you like and not the compression itself. If so it would be interesting if you tested to compress the lossless file yourself and then compare again.

// Olle

[Pano]

I agree with Olle - the file may have been tampered with if you didn't do it yourself. Let us know if that's the case.

Originally Posted by KatieandDad

MP3 compared with CD is just awful.

What bitrate? I'd put money on it that you can't tell the difference with high bitrate MP3s. You might even prefer the MP3s if - you can tell them apart and I lose my bet.

To my ears, high bitrate MP3s sound warmer and more forward than uncompressed. That can be flattering to a singer and some other music. Like Greg, I hear an erasure of the background, either noise or ambiance. That has an immediate appeal, but in the long run "more is better" to me.

I've seen quite a few audiophiles talk about how great something sounds, then found out the source was MP3. Once they know, it's "Awful" "Horrible", "I refuse to listen to MP3". Funny, as it was so wonderful just a few seconds before.

Low bitrate files? Yes, they do sound pretty bad. But not all compressed files are low birate horrors.

[OllBoll]

Exactly, and since the file was 256 kbps and maybe even variable you're already at the limit of at least where I can differentiate between compressed and uncompressed music.

[Chris Daly]

Originally Posted by SY

Massive cost? Really? Software to play MP3 is cheap-to-free, likewise software to convert about any file format to MP3. For most people for most purposes, it's an excellent technology; many in the niche group of audiophiles are unhappy with the small compromises in fidelity and that's OK, it's opinion, but I am surprised that "cost" is used as an argument against it.

Yes Royalty rates for MP3 are here: mp3licensing.com - Royalty Rates
Vs $0.00 for Ogg. Vorbis.com

If you run a radio station, or stream music .. Not so excellent now !!

Cheers / Chris

[KatieandDad]

I've not heard a good MP3 or MP4 recording yet.

[SY]

Originally Posted by Chris Daly

Yes Royalty rates for MP3 are here: mp3licensing.com - Royalty Rates
Vs $0.00 for Ogg. Vorbis.com

If you run a radio station, or stream music .. Not so excellent now !!

Cheers / Chris

Those are quite cheap (remember who pays them and the amortization) and irrelevant to a radio station or anyone streaming, so you're just mystifying me more.

[rob g]

Originally Posted by SY

. The old model of music distribution that involved physical media and brick & mortar is over and done with. The body is still twitching, but that happens for a few seconds after the beheading.

Everything dies or gets destroyed eventually. Physical media still has many years left, it's a generational thing.
Even downloads (quality?? who cares!) will soon enough go the way of the Dodo for the general public, obsessed with ultimate convenience, happy with Napster style streaming.

Regarding the twitching corpse analogy, this is a bit like saying someone over fifty is effectively already dead. Plenty of life left but nature will take its course.

[SY]

Take a look at CD versus download sales trends for the past few years. It's not gradual, it's a tsunami.

[BassAwdyO]

Data compressed music is only better in the regard that is that it takes up less storage space and streams faster.


IF a mix engineer wanted to make the recording completely silent and dead in the background as you say, then he/she could certainly achieve that result without data compression.

Data compression masks detail and removes sounds plain and simple. Subjectively that might sound better to an individual, but if the recording was properly mixed and mastered then those details were meant to be there.

Are you listening through reference monitors or headphones? Are you using professional quality DAC's?