Quote:
Originally Posted by Penforhire
BTW, sound quality asymptotes to "good enough," for example in most vehicles I defy you to tell the difference between an original CD and a well-ripped (192 KBPS VBR MP3 or equivalent) track played through the iPod or iPhone into an MP3 optimized head unit. I agree the iPod or iPhone is not the pinnacle of mobile audio quality. Cowan's devices probably are. But it is good enough for me, even listening through my Etymotics ER-4P's (a mid-to-high end canal-phone) or the custom stereo I installed myself in my last car (Alpine CDA-9887 HU properly tuned, JL Audio 10W3v3 sub, Focal KPS separates in the doors, JL Audio 150/2 and 300/1 amps).
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Well of course it all comes down to what the individual cares about. I don't want to get into an audiophile discussion (because most of it is voodoo), but I will briefly address this.
Apple uses the AAC format, which is slightly higher fidelity than the older MP3s. However, you really need to go higher than 192 kbps in order to get transparent quality on compression. I've lost a decent amount of high range hearing, and even I can tell the difference between a mid level MP3 and a CD on a decent sound system, with music I am familiar with. You can hear the clipping, especially at higher levels.
Where most of those blind tests go wrong, is that they limit the listener to two or three listens which could be A:B, B:A, A:A, or B:B, and ask the listener to discern the differences without being familiar with the piece. There are so many variables in recording quality, not to mention playback quality, that unless the listener is intimately familiar with the original piece, of course they can't tell a difference down the road. I'd like to see a comparison of professional/semi-professional musicians playing their own music, kind of like some transistor/tube comparisons.
However, my comment regarding the iPod/iPhone had more to do with their lackluster DAC and incredibly weak amplification through extraordinarily crappy headphones. Flash the firmware, use decent headphones, and all of a sudden it sounds a ton better. Even better, use another device completely and do a pass-through to your receiver if you really insist on hooking a small, portable device up to a stationary system.
As far as cars, there is so much external noise and vibration going on, not to mention lackluster interior acoustics, that there's no need to comment further.
But, the vast majority of the public has no inclination to spend time or energy on this little facet of life. More power to them. There are definitely more important things in life that who has the better sound setup.
EDIT: However, there is no excuse for the "WHAT DID YOU SAY? I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU" of most cell phones, even with full bars.