Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler MP3's preferred?

I thought my fellow Axiomites would enjoy this.

http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/03/the-sizzling-sound-of-music.html

Or if you prefer not to read it...
A professor of music at Stanford likes to test his incoming students every year on sound quality. He tests them to choose between lower-quality MP3's vs. higher quality recordings. Much to his shock, each year more and more of his students prefer the sound of the low-quality MP3's to higher quality sound.

This may be proof that our civilization is doomed.

Discuss.

Stupid Kids.

That's bad parenting right there.

That's it. I'm going to start teaching classes at the local community college on audio fidelity.

I would suggest they prefer the sound of the lower quality MP3s because that is what they have become accustomed to or possibly the system he is playing them on is also of poor quality so the higher res sounds too harsh while the lower res is simply dull, way too many factors going on there.

I think that at least a part of the problem is that music programs are disappearing from many public schools around the country.

And not just for band geeks. Even when the exposure is limited to a pep rally for the homecoming football game, it is at least a reference point to what real, live music sounds like.

It would be interesting to take some of these kids to a live Symphony Orchestra and hear them complain about how it just doesn't sound real.

paul

I have some people that come by my room and see my tube/headphone setup and ask the silly question "Does it sound different?" Then I'll play Tchaikovsky for them...and they stop asking questions. Polonaise from Eugene Onegin, Op. 24 is a breathtaking recording.

It blows my mind how people cannot recognize high quality audio. From really crappy car systems (with horrible boomy bass) to really "hot" theater systems that sizzle your ears off, I'm usually alone in the "Wow, this sound really sucks" realization category.

I'm convinced having an ear for good sound is as much a curse as it is a blessing.

Very true.