Will MP3's take over CD's in the future?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

It seems as though format MP3 is getting more popular amongst today's
generation with the advent of PC's, I-pods, etc. The big advantages are
smaller files, more storage, size and portability. Will this make the
CD obsolete someday? The average person loves the advantages of MP3's.
They don't really care about the audio quality vs. the storage and
portability.

I'm dreading the day CD's become obsolete and MP3's become the main
format for audio. Will this ever happen? Some people are still burning
CD's. Eventually people may be burning MP3's onto CD's, memory sticks
etc. Yikes! What's going to happen to the quality of the stuff we all
record?

Stan

 

[mark]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

The limiting factor (pun intended) in the technical quality of music
these days is not the CD, not even MP3 compression, its the damn
dynamic range compression that is intentionally used to make it sound
LOUD.

A good recording with decent dynamic range reproduced via an MP3 at a
reasonable bit rate sounds MUCH MUCH better compared to a recording
that has had the dynamics squashed to kingdom come.

I'll take a good recording on an MP3 over a squashed recording on a CD
any day.

Another bad trend is excessive dynamic range compression even during
live performances.

Mark

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

as a peripheral issue, i would note that over the past several months,
our sales of digital downloads from itunes and napster have slowly
started to catch up with sales of actual CDs. IMHO, it will not be
very long now before we are making more money from MP3 DL sales than
from CD sales.

 

[Dan]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 6/23/2005 3:10 PM, skingfong@yahoo.com wrote:
> It seems as though format MP3 is getting more popular amongst today's
> generation with the advent of PC's, I-pods, etc. The big advantages are
> smaller files, more storage, size and portability. Will this make the
> CD obsolete someday? The average person loves the advantages of MP3's.
> They don't really care about the audio quality vs. the storage and
> portability.
>
> I'm dreading the day CD's become obsolete and MP3's become the main
> format for audio. Will this ever happen? Some people are still burning
> CD's. Eventually people may be burning MP3's onto CD's, memory sticks
> etc. Yikes! What's going to happen to the quality of the stuff we all
> record?
>
> Stan
>

I like good audio quality on my home stereo, so MP3 or any other lossy
compression is out for me in this application. Personally, I would like
to see FLAC replace CDs then be able to buy the FLAC files with artwork
and liner notes over the Net. Right now I burn my CDs to FLAC and then
to OGG in batch (for portable use).

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

<skingfong@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1119557455.273279.306530@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> It seems as though format MP3 is getting more popular amongst today's
> generation with the advent of PC's, I-pods, etc. The big advantages are
> smaller files, more storage, size and portability. Will this make the
> CD obsolete someday? The average person loves the advantages of MP3's.
> They don't really care about the audio quality vs. the storage and
> portability.

I do.........and I still buy albums.

young whippersnappers


Poly

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

So are you saying CD's are on the way out? Is it a strong possibility?

Stan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

That's what I was thinking. People are getting more of their music from
MP3 downloads. CD sales have been on a downward trend. If this is the
case, hopefully the MP3 technology gets better.

Stan

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

<skingfong@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1119557455.273279.306530@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> It seems as though format MP3 is getting more popular amongst today's
> generation with the advent of PC's, I-pods, etc. The big advantages are
> smaller files, more storage, size and portability. Will this make the
> CD obsolete someday? The average person loves the advantages of MP3's.
> They don't really care about the audio quality vs. the storage and
> portability.
>
> I'm dreading the day CD's become obsolete and MP3's become the main
> format for audio. Will this ever happen? Some people are still burning
> CD's. Eventually people may be burning MP3's onto CD's, memory sticks
> etc. Yikes! What's going to happen to the quality of the stuff we all
> record?
>
> Stan
>

The only reason MP3 came into existence was because of storage and
transmission limitations of the current technology. We're practically at the
point now where that will be irrelevant (meaning you'll be able to send true
CD-quality and higher files in the blink of an eye). Once all gadgets catch
up there'll be no need for data compression (other than the insatiable
desire for humans to want more than all matter in the universe could
provide). Of course the companies also want to push bigger and higher
formats (so they can sell us the same bits they've already sold us at least
twice already) so some compression may remain. But only if we bite. Just say
no.

 

[julian]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 23 Jun 2005 14:38:34 -0700, "Mark" <makolber@yahoo.com> wrote:


>A good recording with decent dynamic range reproduced via an MP3 at a
>reasonable bit rate sounds MUCH MUCH better compared to a recording
>that has had the dynamics squashed to kingdom come.

Perhaps, but a good CD not squished sounds MUCH better than an MP3
made from the same master. That's the one place where I can
definitely hear what mp3 is cutting out of the original sound. Reverb
tails and quiet sounds loose definition. But since most like it loud
these days, hardly anyone notices.

Julian

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 23 Jun 2005 15:45:40 -0700, jnorman34@comcast.net wrote:

>as a peripheral issue, i would note that over the past several months,
>our sales of digital downloads from itunes and napster have slowly
>started to catch up with sales of actual CDs. IMHO, it will not be
>very long now before we are making more money from MP3 DL sales than
>from CD sales.

Here's a related article, comparing legal to illegal DL's:
"More music consumers using legal downloads"
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=musicNews&storyID=8844425

The above link found here:
"Legal Music Downloads At 35%, Soon To Pass Piracy"
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/21/2238256

-----
http://www.mindspring.com/~benbradley

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

> I'm dreading the day CD's become obsolete and MP3's become the main
> format for audio. Will this ever happen? Some people are still burning
> CD's. Eventually people may be burning MP3's onto CD's, memory sticks
> etc. Yikes! What's going to happen to the quality of the stuff we all
> record?
>
> Stan


The young-uns don't know good sound if it knocked 'em on the head.
I'm going the opposite direction by producing SACDs. 24/96 forever!


--
Best Regards,

Mark A. Weiss, P.E.
www.mwcomms.com
-

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

> A good recording with decent dynamic range reproduced via an MP3 at a
> reasonable bit rate sounds MUCH MUCH better compared to a recording
> that has had the dynamics squashed to kingdom come.

I also do wedding videos, and the clients provide CDs for the soundtrack.
Some of the CDs I ripped were horrendous. I thought something was wrong at
first, because I was hearing classic intermod distortion when the beat/bass
was causing everything to clip. Looking in a waveform editor, I could see
about 12dB of peak clipping on this one CD.
So it's gone beyond compression to out and out clipping and nobody cares.
That is a scary trend! It means our art is dying.


--
Best Regards,

Mark A. Weiss, P.E.
www.mwcomms.com
-

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Wow, did I really use that many (I can't believe it) parenthetical
remarks? How annoying. I apologize.

Mike

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Julian <JulianPAdamsNo@SpamHotmail.Com> wrote in
news:f3bnb19ocudq7lbld06msbou941vfbj5n8@4ax.com:

> Perhaps, but a good CD not squished sounds MUCH better than an MP3
> made from the same master. That's the one place where I can
> definitely hear what mp3 is cutting out of the original sound. Reverb
> tails and quiet sounds loose definition. But since most like it loud
> these days, hardly anyone notices.

Let's qualify that. A good CD sounds better than a high bitrate MP3
assuming you have:

1) Undistorted source
2) Good speakers or headphones for playback
3) Quiet enough environment to hear the difference.

In the world of iPods and music-on-the-go, CD has no advantages, and one
major disadvantage--only 80 minutes per disk.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

> In the world of iPods and music-on-the-go, CD has no advantages, and one
> major disadvantage--only 80 minutes per disk.

My take on it is that MP3 can be thought of as FM-radio-quality sound.
Which is good enough for most practical purposes.

 

[Dan]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 6/24/2005 8:43 AM, Carey Carlan wrote:
> Julian <JulianPAdamsNo@SpamHotmail.Com> wrote in
> news:f3bnb19ocudq7lbld06msbou941vfbj5n8@4ax.com:
>
>
>>Perhaps, but a good CD not squished sounds MUCH better than an MP3
>>made from the same master. That's the one place where I can
>>definitely hear what mp3 is cutting out of the original sound. Reverb
>>tails and quiet sounds loose definition. But since most like it loud
>>these days, hardly anyone notices.
>
>
> Let's qualify that. A good CD sounds better than a high bitrate MP3
> assuming you have:
>
> 1) Undistorted source
> 2) Good speakers or headphones for playback
> 3) Quiet enough environment to hear the difference.
>
> In the world of iPods and music-on-the-go, CD has no advantages, and one
> major disadvantage--only 80 minutes per disk.

And that's why I use FLAC at home and OGG on my portable. I have 400GB
of FLAC on my music server so far, what is the 80 minute limit?

 

[julian]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 13:43:48 GMT, Carey Carlan <gulfjoe@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>Let's qualify that. A good CD sounds better than a high bitrate MP3
>assuming you have:
>
>1) Undistorted source
>2) Good speakers or headphones for playback
>3) Quiet enough environment to hear the difference.
>
>In the world of iPods and music-on-the-go, CD has no advantages, and one
>major disadvantage--only 80 minutes per disk.

I have no argument with that.

Julian

 

[julian]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 24 Jun 2005 05:41:46 -0700, "bsuhorndog" <bsuhorndog@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> I agree with some of the previous posters that compression (of the
>dynamic sort) is a much bigger threat to quality than that of the MPEG
>sort. I have heard some absolutely horrendous pumping in some radio
>tracks in recent months

Lot's of people complain about this, but it is mostly due to the fact
that the majority of radio engineers don't have a lot of studio or
mixing experience and haven't well-developed ears. They hear their
manager saying "loud is good", so they adjust it so the levels look
great and don't have the ears to hear know what harm they are doing.
Maybe people need to complain to the station more often.

Believe me it is possible to process in such a way that helps you hear
the radio over your road noise but doesn't make it sound
objectionable. At least when I adjust the modulation processor it is!

Julian

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

skingfong@yahoo.com wrote:

> So are you saying CD's are on the way out? Is it a strong possibility?
>
> Stan
>

Seems unlikely. But you never know. With broadband, it's
possible to buy the disk image and burn copies locally.
Nobody seems to offer this.

The iPOD is the world's most expensive transistor radio,
with t00ns costing a dollar a pop <*rolls eyes*>. the
Barnum factor is breathtaking.

--
Les Cargill

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Joe Kesselman wrote:

>> In the world of iPods and music-on-the-go, CD has no advantages,
>> and one major disadvantage--only 80 minutes per disk.

> My take on it is that MP3 can be thought of as FM-radio-quality
> sound.

MP3 is way better or FM radio quality is way better, depending on FM
station. To get it really bad: store as mp3 on harddisk, put through
zquesiomagrgahgweg processor and play back on clipped boombox, gets you
the worst of all worlds ....

> Which is good enough for most practical purposes.

I don't think it is about mp3 vs CD, it is about virtual media vs
physical media, there is no sale of full wordlength audio because nobody
tries.

Enough people have enough internet bandwidth to make it a realistic
option.

Yes, it may be a fringe product, quality audio always was, but there is
a big fringe out there with the planet as the market.


Kind regards

Peter Larsen
--
*******************************************
* My site is at: http://www.muyiovatki.dk *
* The Vienna Copyright convention applies *
*******************************************

 

[mark]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Julian wrote:
> On 24 Jun 2005 05:41:46 -0700, "bsuhorndog" <bsuhorndog@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I agree with some of the previous posters that compression (of the
> >dynamic sort) is a much bigger threat to quality than that of the MPEG
> >sort. I have heard some absolutely horrendous pumping in some radio
> >tracks in recent months
>
> Lot's of people complain about this, but it is mostly due to the fact
> that the majority of radio engineers don't have a lot of studio or
> mixing experience and haven't well-developed ears. They hear their
> manager saying "loud is good", so they adjust it so the levels look
> great and don't have the ears to hear know what harm they are doing.
> Maybe people need to complain to the station more often.
>
> Believe me it is possible to process in such a way that helps you hear
> the radio over your road noise but doesn't make it sound
> objectionable. At least when I adjust the modulation processor it is!
>
> Julian

I'm talking about the CD iteslf. Yes its worse on the radio.

And no, its not the fault of the CD as a medium, but rather the fault
of the engineering or the producer.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

"Julian" <JulianPAdamsNo@SpamHotmail.Com> wrote in message
>
> I don't get what you mean. Do you think I disagree? Or are you
> saying you agree with me? I said "quiet sounds" is one place where
> mp3 "looses definition". I meant anything that has lots of dynamic
> range which would include a symphony.

The most noticable MP# ''giveaway' to me is delicate hf sounds with a
masking louder sound ob=ver the top. The delicate bits usually end up sound
as thru a flanger.

geoff
"Shorter of breath, and one day closer to death."