The Distortion of Sound (mini documentary)

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The Distortion of Sound (mini documentary)

Postby pmaligaya » Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:12 pm

"The Distortion of Sound is a documentary about the decline of sound quality and how technology has changed the way we listen to music. It will open your ears and inspire you to reach for richer, more soul-stirring musical experiences. Hear it all at http://www.DistortionOfSound.com"

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Re: The Distortion of Sound (mini documentary)

Postby makinao » Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:46 am

.... and spend more money on high end hardware from Harman :-)

I agree with how mp3's sucks so much out of the sound, but the problem isn't that simple. For example. I don't agree with how they demonised mp3s but romanticised cassettes. My first gen Sony Walkman was no better sounding than my first get iPod Nano. The only reason I survived the cassette era was that towards the end of that period I begged for and got a Nakamichi 582 as a college graduation gift. The audio chain has many processes, and there are problems in each one. Here's more discussion on issues Harman has avoided:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/its-masters-damit
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Re: The Distortion of Sound (mini documentary)

Postby the porcupine » Fri Jul 18, 2014 5:15 pm

Aww c'mon. I'm a FLAC/Lossless audio guy but MP3s don't sound that bad. Can't tell the difference between a 320Kbit/s MP3 and FLAC in most cases using Foobar2000 ABX testing component. I have to admit though, I have no idea how streaming audio sounds like now since the last time I tuned into internet radio using Winamp was about a decade ago. Youtube sounds quite bad though but its a great place to find long lost songs/music videos you can't find anywhere else and its better than nothing.

RE: Waveform AB comparisons - I think Harman was using brickwalled 32kbit/s bitrate MP3s so we can see and hear the difference. lol

I remember alot of cassettes I bought from the record bars around town back in the day had terrible sound quality. I suspect the locally released cassettes were duplicated using dirty, worn-out equipment. Still that didn't stop me from enjoying the cassettes in my walkman/Sony Fontopia earphones and stock car stereo at the time. Maybe that's why I'm more accepting/tolerant of MP3s today :D
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Re: The Distortion of Sound (mini documentary)

Postby JackD201 » Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:08 pm

No 320 doesn't sound bad at all. The sins are that of omission. Which is the point the artists interviewed pointed out. They work hard to put something out only for it to be selectively decimated. I can understand that.
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Re: The Distortion of Sound (mini documentary)

Postby the porcupine » Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:46 pm

Well, shouldn't those artists also be complaining about the loudness war?

Harman seems to have their own agenda with this mini docu being focused solely on the consumer end.
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Re: The Distortion of Sound (mini documentary)

Postby JackD201 » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:20 am

The trend in Dynamic Range Compression (DRC) and Normalization is downward already. It has been for a couple of years now. Ironically it is a trend in response to headphones with their better isolation from environmental noise being the dominant mode of listening. No need for us to argue. These are two different albeit interrelated topics. All we can do is vote with our wallets.
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Re: The Distortion of Sound (mini documentary)

Postby zenaudio » Sun Jul 20, 2014 8:20 am

It's part of the continuous march towards portability and accessibility/distribution of music. In the process there will be trade offs, but the technology will eventually improve.
Think of the works of Mozart and Beethoven, before there was recorded music the only way you could hear them was to watch a live performance. Then the phonograph was invented (move towards accessibility) but the first recordings and playback systems truly sucked -- even by the standards of those days! But you didn't have to go to the Vienna Opera house to hear your favourite music. It was "good enough."
Vinyl technology eventually improved but you couldn't play your LPs on the highway, so the 8-track, then the cassettes, made it more portable. Enter the Walkman. It wasn't hifi but you could go jogging with it or shut the rest of the world during your subway ride.
Then the ipods. And digital downloads made it even more accessible (and a god-send for distribution). Again trade offs but it was "good enough."
Maybe high-rez streaming (and DSD DACs) will be within reach of the masses. Or maybe it will be a niche and for most people they will seek what is "good enough." But tomorrow's good enough will be much better than yesterday's.
Would we rather technology remains stagnant?
In the long run and in the bigger scheme of things, this move towards more portability and accessibility is good for music and the musical arts.
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Re: The Distortion of Sound (mini documentary)

Postby Octaver » Sun Jul 20, 2014 2:21 pm

Nice one! This should be shared to the Younger Generation ! People who only knows MP3 and the likes.
I agree, Compressed File Music are not really for a Serious Listening pleasure.............
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