# question about digital music



## usingpc (Aug 29, 2015)

What's the deal with digital music now? Last I checked, CDs were way superior in sound quality to mp3s. Is this still the case? Can you even buy CDs anymore? Sorry but I wasn't sure where to post this question.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Connoisseurs are returning to actual records. I find best quality is on Reel to Reel tape.


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## etaf (Dec 28, 2008)

yes CDs are available 
quality will depend on the playback equipment quality 

vinyl was always better quality than CDs - but you needed the kit to hear the difference 
on an MP3 player through cheap earbuds will not be the same 
as via a hifi setup with reference speakers and quality kit inbetween 

lossless recorded MP3s can be very high quality

what are you playing back on


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## usingpc (Aug 29, 2015)

etaf said:


> yes CDs are available
> quality will depend on the playback equipment quality
> 
> vinyl was always better quality than CDs - but you needed the kit to hear the difference
> ...


Playing cds on a system that was high-end in the late 80s when I bought it. Heard they don't make them like that anymore. By the way, they are "cabinet" speakers. Does anyone have those anymore?

And what's with those big-*** headphones you see some kids wearing? Isnt that supposed to be for a stereo system, not an mp3 player?

I thought vinyl superiority was a myth perpetrated in the 80s when people didn't want to switch to cds.

I read something about even Itunes going out of business. How could that be?


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## etaf (Dec 28, 2008)

no not a myth - i had very high end hifi in the 80s £1000s worth, cabinet speakers and you could hear a difference - a lot at the top end 

Also worked in a hifi shop at the time , and you could hear the difference when switching different amps and speakers.



> Heard they don't make them like that anymore.


 depends on how its all recorded 
you need the quality - start to finish 

playing compressed MP3s through cheap earbud headphones , never going to be good

But the way people listen to music these days, is very different


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## usingpc (Aug 29, 2015)

Anyone else have any answers? And what about itunes?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

I think etaf has covered your questions. MP3s can be very high quality, depending on the settings used.



usingpc said:


> Can you even buy CDs anymore?


Yes, they are still available.



usingpc said:


> And what's with those big-*** headphones you see some kids wearing? Isnt that supposed to be for a stereo system, not an mp3 player?


They can be used with any music device. It's a matter of personal preference. Some people don't like sticking those little buds in their ears.



usingpc said:


> "cabinet" speakers. Does anyone have those anymore?


Yes, lots of people use them.



usingpc said:


> I read something about even Itunes going out of business. How could that be?


Where are you getting your information from? Revenue from iTunes has been increasing steadily over the last couple of years.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

.MP3 tracks are mainly designed for portability, a small 32GB memory-card can hold several hundred CD albums, a lot easier on your pockets when you're out than CDs are.... :wink:

Audio reproduction improves with size, the itsy little earbuds that are presently popular often sound tinny and 'thin' compared to headphones, which then sound thin and tinny compared to 'proper' speakers. Even then there's a huge difference between the small plastic speakers for PCs, MP3-players etc. and a wooden cabinet with a 6" (or larger) bass-speaker and a tweeter.

As for music-storage, vinyl cannot be beaten, personally. magnetic-tape is just as good, but can be prone to stretching, though vinyl is prone to scratches and dust..... Swings and roundabouts realloy.... :grin: - .MP3 is generally OK for 'background' listening or parties, where quality isn't so important, but unless its recorded at a very high sample-rate it sounds 'empty' and loses all the subtle nuances from vinyl or magnetic-tape.

Oh, yes I've still got my entire vinyl album collection (5000+) and a Goodmans record-deck (needs a new drive-belt sometime soon :lol, that's fed into a Kenwood stereo-amp and 'Heybrook' studio-speakers, my PC's audio also goes through the same amp too - I've got less than 12 CDs..... :grin:


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## usingpc (Aug 29, 2015)

WereBo said:


> Audio reproduction improves with size, the itsy little earbuds that are presently popular often sound tinny and 'thin' compared to headphones, which then sound thin and tinny compared to 'proper' speakers.


You mean those big mickey mouse headphones that us adults used to use plugged directly to our receivers?



WereBo said:


> Even then there's a huge difference between the small plastic speakers for PCs, MP3-players etc. and a wooden cabinet with a 6" (or larger) bass-speaker and a tweeter.


So my Klipsch cabinet speakers are still superior to most other things??



WereBo said:


> As for music-storage, vinyl cannot be beaten, personally. magnetic-tape is just as good, but can be prone to stretching, though vinyl is prone to scratches and dust..... Swings and roundabouts realloy.... :grin: - .MP3 is generally OK for 'background' listening or parties, where quality isn't so important, but unless its recorded at a very high sample-rate it sounds 'empty' and loses all the subtle nuances from vinyl or magnetic-tape.


Yes, I use mp3 for pop music, since its lower quality and doesnt have the importance of art music. But I think it was never clearly determined whether vinyl had superior sound to cds, and I'm no romantic about vinyl. Who would use magnetic tape (reel to reel) unless youre in a recording studio???




WereBo said:


> Oh, yes I've still got my entire vinyl album collection (5000+) and a Goodmans record-deck (needs a new drive-belt sometime soon :lol, that's fed into a Kenwood stereo-amp and 'Heybrook' studio-speakers, my PC's audio also goes through the same amp too - I've got less than 12 CDs.....


Whats a record deck? you mean a turn table?


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Vinyl is definitely better than CDs for reproduction, vinyl is an analogue recording wheras CDs are digital, and digital-sampling loses detail and subtlety, even at very high sampling-rates (not to mention the idiotic recording companies that split long songs into 2~4 minute tracks, for 'easier listening' i.e. Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells').

Magnetic-tape was also used in the old audio-casettes too, not just in the studios :wink:

Yep, record-deck (old UK name)=turntable :lol:


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## ahmed36 (Feb 15, 2016)

Actually i think CDs are best in sound quality than MP3.


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## etaf (Dec 28, 2008)

CD vs MP3 Sound Quality

MP3 vs. CD Audio Quality Tests


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

I started converting my vinyl collection (approx 5000) back in 1997-98(ish), when hard-drives were small, so I ripped them at 128Kb/s. There's a definite loss of quality between those and my later MP3s at 320Kb/s, no matter what I use to play them back (my phone's music-player, PC connected to home stereo-system and my car's DAB radio stereo-system).

I'd like to use .flac (lossless) or MP4 but my car-stereo can't play them, plus I just don't fancy having to rip all those albums again though, 5000ish albums (approx 30 minutes/side) takes a VERY long time to rip


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## Confounded Also (Aug 19, 2015)

Vinyl will always be considered best by some since you can actually 'feel' it in the sense of the needle running across the grooves and picking up the vibrations. The whole stereo system from the needle to the speakers just amplify those grooves; there is no conversion anywhere.

Yes, I have the big headphones and cabinet speakers, turntable, tape deck, equalizer, amplifier, etc. It's having problems though due to age and I can't really afford to have it all serviced. Everything was mid-level consumer products at the time (late 70s, early 80s), Jensen, Teac, Technics, etc.

I've gone all digital since for a variety of reasons, but I was never really an 'audiophile' to begin with.

There are higher level digital formats (.flac )and players, but the equipment can be expensive.


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