since Alan Davey has been brought up

Tue Aug 27 10:01:27 EDT 2013

On 27 Aug 2013, at 08:23 , Jonathan Smith <smithjm77x7 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> I agree with you. I will buy digital if I can. Mp3s are fine
> on portable players but not as good as you really want.

My phone carries a subset of my music in a compressed format of course. Limitations of current technology. Sounds "good enough" in many circumstances. It's not like I have an audiophile system, but I like to start with a HQ source, at least. :)

Sure, I've bought 256kbps AACs from iTunes on occasion. They sound fine. But I'd be happier having CD quality files -- especially since a physical CD often costs the same! I recognize that Apple wants to deliver "one-size fits all" audio, and that 256kbps files are more practical on contemporary phones. But, still ....

> I gave up LPs two decades ago. They probably sound better  than CDs if you
> have a good  enough system and don't  scratch  them but I am not at all
> convinced they are better than SACD/ 24-96/192 quality.

Yeah, I haven't seriously listened to vinyl since I was in high school and using my parents' phonograph! I think there were some issues while people figured out how to master stuff for CDs/digital instead of for vinyl, and that contributed to the idea that "vinyl is better".  I mean, there's nothing inherently magical about vinyl (leaving aside the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia or pseudo-nostalgia). It was just the most practical audio delivery system once upon a time. And, sure, well mastered vinyl on a good system will sound better than a cruddily mastered CD or badly ripped MP3 on a bad system; no surprises there. But well-produced digital audio on an equivalent stereo system will sound as good if not better than well-produced vinyl. I mean, it's just physics.

That said, I haven't bothered to start doing my own home-recordings in "24/96" (though I think GarageBand supports it). It just wouldn't make a lot of difference with the equipment I have, I think (for recording or playback). Nor am I mixing for surround sound or 5.1 or something! :D  Much of the audio that I might capture at "24/96" is likely to be noises I would end up trying mix out anyway! :D

Cheers,
Carl

--
Carl Edlund Anderson
http://www.carlaz.com/