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kendallcp
Guttenberg's lossless article seems rather lossy to me. I don't doubt that he ...
robert.rich
Well then, suppose I should pay a little closer attention next time before ...
MCU symphony, extreme mics, car tape decks, lossless audio
Rich Pell
2/23/2011 12:23 PM EST
Here are a few audio-related news items that recently caught my eye:
Microcontroller symphony: 1-Bit Symphony is a microcontroller-based electronic composition on a chip - an Atmel Tiny85 AVR to be exact - that's purchased as a complete circuit (including battery, power switch, headphone jack and volume control) housed within a jewel case. Turn on the switch and the programmed five movements of music are "performed" in real time (hear music excerpts). (The source code is included with the liner notes.)
No more car cassette decks: To my surprise, you could buy a new car factory equipped with one of these vestiges of 1970's automotive audio as recently as last year. Sadly, for audio nostalgics, the last car to be available with an in-dashboard cassette deck - a 2010 Lexus - has now rolled off the assembly line.
Extreme microphones: Here's a look inside a company that makes high-end condenser microphones for studio, stage and field sound pickup, and audio instrumentation. If you're looking for some of the most expensive mics in the industry, look no further.
Lossless vs. compressed audio: Yet another incomprehensible article from a certain CNET high-end audio blogger who seems intent on proving that "audiophile = illogical." The author appears to be trying to make one point (lossless files can't undo dynamic range compression) but then - apparently not content with that obvious, but true, observation - goes on to conclude that "lossless [files] sound perfectly fine, just not on par with a CD, when played on a high-end audio system."
Comments, questions or suggestions? Email me at rich.pell@verizon.net.
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robert.rich
2/24/2011 12:36 PM EST
Can you post a link to the CNET blog you're referring to? I'm curious about this view of audiophiles.
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rpell2
2/24/2011 1:07 PM EST
The link to the CNET blog post is hyperlinked in the article. Just click on "Lossless vs. compressed audio."
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robert.rich
2/24/2011 1:57 PM EST
Well then, suppose I should pay a little closer attention next time before asking silly questions. :)
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kendallcp
3/18/2011 2:22 PM EDT
Guttenberg's lossless article seems rather lossy to me. I don't doubt that he heard what he heard, but (a) "to my ears" isn't an objective assesment and (b) I'm certain that no apples were compared to nominally identical apples in that test, whatever Guttenberg thinks.
Lossless audio compression gives you back exactly the bits you had to start with, just like other forms of data compression you use every day on your PC and on the internet. A file compare will return no difference (unless the process failed, and that doesn't count). Those files will be as identical as electrons. And if you burn two CDs, one with a file that wasn't processed, and one with a file that was processed, there is no machine and no ear/brain/soul combination that can tell the difference _on average_ (two CDs burned with the_same_ file can sound and measure different, but this is nothing to do with the data).
Now, if the hardware that's doing the work causes system-level changes in clocking structure, spurious signals or whatever, when you execute the lossless decompression then for sure an experienced listener can pick that up. But it is not the fault of the compression scheme, only of the inadequately robust implementation of the sample replay mechanism.
All Guttenberg's introductory comments about the rotten quality of over-processed modern material are spot on, but this doesn't excuse the lapse at the end.
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