Hi folks,
I've spent a lot of time listening to 192kbps Mp3s vs CD. What I've
found is that if you listen to the audio content, a particular sound
or musical instrument, it is difficult to tell a difference, not
impossible, but not immediately obvious. The big difference is in
what I would call the 'grain' of the audio. The audio data that gets
dropped in the mp3 algorithm is often the fine grain detail and
transients. Its what makes the recording sharper, 'grittier' (I'm
searching for words to describe what it sounds like here...) and more
full bodied.
I agree with Bernie, I don't like CD 16bit particularly, but in my
experience this often has more to do with the playback technology.
Most domestic CD players sound thin and weedy. They are often
adequate at extracting the data, but then it gets scrambled in the D/
A process. The result is hard, sharp, sometimes brittle audio, with
little warmth or depth to it. It takes a considerable investment to
get a player that will do justice to the available data on a CD. I
have a Naim CD player, and it does a lovely job at smooth playback of
a well-mastered CD, but its not a cheap unit. So for my ears, 16 bit
is not the best. Even listening back to 16bit playback of the raw
computer mixdown has the same aesthetic limitations.
An mp3, by dropping a lot of that sharp, gritty detail, actually ends
up sounding quite nice. It is softer on the ear compared to a CD,
less 'peaky'. Personally I enjoy the listening experience through
headphones, although an mp3 definitely shows its limitations over a
hi-resolution speaker system.
I always encode our mp3s using 'variable bit rate'; it sharpens up
the audio very nicely without adding to the overall file size
considerably. Without it, mp3s can sound slushy, particularly on
transients such as bill-snaps. Using iTunes, with VBR on its highest
setting, the audio is still smooth, but the transients don't
disintegrate, so a best of both worlds.
Like Bernie, we have been selling CDs of our nature recordings for a
long time, and the change over to self publishing via our own online
shop is, well, a huge relief. Unless you have dealt with distributors
and retailers, it is difficult to communicate how frustrating it is
for any artist. The pressure to publish 'best sellers' is paramount,
and it skews one's entire endeavour towards quantity sales over any
artistic consideration.
So for us, having our own online shop allows us to publish without,
as Bernie points out, the inefficiencies and environmental footprint
of tangible product manufacturing and distribution. Some of these
recordings would not be viable in the retail environment, and never
be published. So we are excited by the possibilities. It is nice for
us to be running a more intimate business, communicating directly
with our customers (one phoned at 4.30am this morning...), and have
the freedom to publish important recordings without being obliged to
sell them out.
To see how we've set things up, our website is: http://
www.listeningearth.com.au
and the direct link to our shop: http://www.listeningearth.com.au/
nature_shop/
Finally, I don't post often here, but appreciate the accumulated
wisdom and experience you folks contribute to this forum. I wish you
all a wonderful Christmas!
Andrew
...and pray our new government seriously shifts the playing field on
global warming negotiations in the coming year!
Listening Earth P/L
Andrew Skeoch and Sarah Koschak
Nature Sound Recordings
www.listeningearth.com.au
Tel: 61 3 5476 2609
P.O. Box 188
Castlemaine
Victoria 3450
Australia
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause
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