Should Sound Quality of Computer Audio be improved
Petty, In computer audio, it is not a big deal to convert formats if needed. A program to do it is all that is needed. ITs not rocket science. That is one reason there are many formats. Some are redundant but some are not and suit specific applications best. For comparison, it is much harder to convert a record into a CD or vice versa. The days of everyone consuming the same flavor of product are over. Take coffee for example. USed to be Folgers and Maxwell House mostly. Now look. Sorry, but thems the facts. Just saying..... Even with records, there were 78s, then 331/3 and 45s. Not a single format. Making a record player play different formats was much harder but it still happened basically because there was a market for it. Maybe if the USSR were still around there would be a single format there. How about in China? Or North Korea? |
Petty, I actually understand your apprehension when it comes to big corporations and their motives, which are no mystery by the way, and there may be some validity to your fears about what lies in store ahead in terms of recording quality, but there is really nothing new there. High quality recordings and high end audio are luxury items. Look at the glass as half full maybe. There are still a lot of very good recordings available for reasonable cost despite the fact that 99.9% of the world probably doesn't care. NEtwork bandwidth is the bottleneck still for most home computer audio technology. That has always been the prime motivation for "acceptable" lossy formats like mp3, etc. However technology will progress and even that bottleneck will fall eventually and provide a more suitable for high res audio, video, and whatever. TEchnology is still the bottleneck more so than any evil corporate aspirations. You have to have the intrastructure to support hi res digital and that comes with a cost. It will get better over time. Until that happens, CDs and other hard storage formats will not go away. PEoples wants and needs will still drive markets. Audiophiles will always have to pay some degree of a premium somewhere in order to satisfy their luxurious wants and needs. |
"Just because you find it relaxing, doesn't mean the Fish feel relaxed as well." That's a great line Petty. Just so I understand, is what you are recommended to battle the tyranny rained upon us that we only play our CDs on CD players and not rip them to computer for playback? And never download any music under any circumstances? I think we get your point. Now tell us the right things to do to battle this oppression. How do we know if we are successful? CD sales per year start going back up maybe? Honestly, I probably already own most of the music I know of that I really care about. I have such a backlog of things to listen to these days (thanks to digital audio and the internet) that I find it hard justifying buying more. There is just so much to soak in...its somewhat overwhelming. SOmetimes I truly wish AL Gore never invented the internet! |
"This thread is train wreck..." Petty is your real identity really Joseph Broady? Better slow down.... |
"Competition among many Formats is the only way to keep sound quality standards high. " There are many downloadable digital formats available at all resolutions, less than, equal to, and greater than CD redbook. FUrthermore, conversion among them as needed is quite straightforward from a technical perspective, though not always very user friendly to date, but that will improve over time and should become totally transparent to the user at some point. VInyl will likely retain a (small) niche as well for those who want to go that way. So I really do not see a problem. Other than that we all know that corporations often worship at the alter of the mighty dollar, yen, gold, or whatever monetary standard is preferred. |
They still sell cheapo record players at Target for about $100. Should those be improved? Or should those who can afford better just look elsewhere? Do you tend to think red or blue on such things? Same with computer audio. There is some really bad lots of mediocre and some very good! Something for everyone! |
"Pettyofficer, I have to say, last post was pretty well written." Well, maybe but formatting and 1 big run on paragraph is still an issue. PO, if you can get the format for your digital posts down better that might help you in the credibility department when demonstrating your expertise in all things computer. o - ^ \___/ |
If PO's argument is based on the general dummying down of America's mass market consumers, then I think he has a valid argument. Luckily, that has been going on forever, and where there is enough market and interest (like hopefully in good sound) there is still quality to be found. I neither expect that market to keep pace with the mass market nor for it to decrease in size itself moving forward. It will likely continue to grow in terms of revenue but become an increasingly small niche market. It will be what it will be. Neither corporate conspiracy theories nor faith in open markets will change anything. |
Good question. Who exactly is my grumpy old grandfather figure PettyOfficer? Not Ernst Stavro Blofeld or Dr. Evil I hope! A good guy I hope. Mr. Bond perhaps? Maybe the Bond girls are fewer and far between these days accounting for the grumpiness. |
Hmm.... Well, for older guys like us that recall 78s, then the advent of lps and stereo, then progress these days in terms of real sound quality improvements might not seem such a big deal. I will say that my digital in my rig today is as much better than the digital sound off my first CD player I purchased back in 85 or so (a Magnavox) as MErcury Living Presence was compared to an Okeh 78 from years prior. I do not know how much better it will or can get, but I do not see a decline overall to date. |
I do not notice any shortage of CDs to buy. You might have to look in places other than traditional store outlets, like Amazon.com, to find them though. Current situtation may be better than ever, assuming buying from Internet sources is not taboo. I can easily buy almost any CD I want at a touch of a button today. USed to be I had to travel all over creation for hard to find titles and success was not a guarantee. |
I think Petty is one of those nostalgia lovers that just yearns for the "good old days". I can understand that to a certain extent and share that fondness to a certain degree. My wife is even more that way. We live in a Victorian styled (but modern) house for God's Sake. But fact is I am better off than ever today both in terms of music selection (of which I already have a backlog to listen to that will probably take years) and sound quality. I can't complain based on anything having to do with reality. Best to embrace the future and move on. That's the best way to help ensure a better tomorrow....I think. |
" "I understand Petty's concerns, but do not share them". I'm not sure what to make of that one. I can't seem to add it together. " In other words i can understand your frustrations with teh complexities of modern computer based audio. I agree it is too complex for many. Not for me though. I work with computers for a living though so I do not consider myself a typical case. |
"Mapman- I am not frustrated with the complexities of Computer Audio. Certainly confused with the Salesman line of "CONVENIENCE" based on that complexity. WOW! What a wake-up call THAT was! I say this because I still do use Computer Audio, and still want to continue using it- as I have stated before. Just don't want to be isolated in the marketplace of using it as my last, and only resort. This is what a single Audio Format would imply." But your thread title was about the sound quality. Mine with computer audio is the best I have ever had. IT will only get better, but I am quite pleased with it these days. We'll have to agree to disagree about the computer audio monopoly concerns. I do not see it at all. Biggest problem is that its harder than ever for companies to make money selling CDs. That's OK with me too for all the reasons already explained. THat's about it for me. Cheers! Go Ravens! |
PEtty, I draw the line between owning my own music, which includes it physically residing on premises with me. I do not trust storing my information, even my music on "the cloud". PEople should be wary of that, especially with important or valuable files they own, unless they do not care about not having access to their things they payed for should an external connection go down. I also want to own physical copies of my source material, CD, lp, whatever format, as well, should my file server or home network not be available for some reason. Of course, if the power goes out, we are all screwed, although one can still enjoy their lp cover art and maybe even CD if their eyes are young and good enough to see it. |
" In fact I would add that many rare 78 recordings have been saved by being digitized!" I can vouch for that. I've recorded all my family's old 78 RPM records from the 20's and 30's to CD and then ripped the CDs to my music server along with all the rest. I picked up an old Admiral ceramic cart table that plays 78s for $10 at a yard sale to do it. Next best thing to having an authentic restored old Victrola to play these on. Maybe someday. I know of several local sources that restore and sell Victrolas. Its all doable. Takes a little will and know how mainly. Tougher for old coots like PEtty and me in general, but I am fairly tech savoy for my age, so not a problem. |
I did some calculations and estimate it would take me 5-7 years or more just to listen to every recording I already own once. Then on top of that there are hundreds of digital music sources externally like internet radio stations and music services that I can go to as well if I get bored. And it all sounds pretty darn good! So at least when the music available dries up I should still be set for life with stuff to listen to. It's my proverbial "bomb shelter" as it were. Petty, if you have not already, better get busy and build up your stash too before the well runs dry! :^) |
In practice, I think it is easier to find out of print material these days than ever. And for reasonable cost. You just gotta go used in many cases via ebay or similar. Out of print is out of print. A lot of old stuff with any current market value does get re-released, in some cases as original package (often extended in some way) or in some totally new package, like "the essential so and so...", etc. Its really not a problem in practice I find so I will not loose any sleep. Most of the old out of print stuff that I must have I already do. In cases otherwise, I have not had problems finding it. Yawn.... |
The main reason CDs are still around and similar or better higher res downloads not common yet is that large files and data volumes are involved and most are not equipped with the technology yet to handle these data volumes on the scale of a large "music library". That's the biggest reason CDs will not go away for quite a while yet, though eventually they will be mostly replaced by downloads. The CD format has proven to be a winner over the years and holds up better than ever these days in regards to sound quality, so I doubt any new physical format will make a major impact in the interim. CDs/downloads are where its at for music and the trend will be towards more downloads. Of course some new records and other one off formats might persist to some extent as well as a niche product, and we will continue to have access to all those records and CDs already out there on teh used market. Lifespan of CDs in particular is quite long, so the ones around today will continue to work just as well for many years into the future until the day when most of our entertainment media sources become virtualized. Older guys like myself and even Petty I imagine will probably not be around to see that. |
