Lee Scoggins

Maybe hirez sound quality does matter...

Look at this interesting study on sound quality preferences among UK consumers....

http://www.highfidelityreview.com/ne...umber=17568480

Maybe we are selling sound quality short as an attribute the buying public actually wants. Perhaps education is the key...

no fears alone at night she's sailing through the crowd
in her ears the phones are tight and the music's playing loud
~skateaway

Phil A

I did not like them referring to me as:

"Listening to music in ‘surround sound’ is a much higher preference among those aged 18-24 (66%) than those aged 45-54 (26%) – a recent Hi-Fi Choice column suggested that those who didn’t like multi-channel music were mostly tired old men, afraid to try something new… and that now appears to be statistically accurate, at least according to this poll!"

I am not tired at all. I take my Geritol every day

Seth--L

Listening to music in ‘surround sound’ is a much higher preference among those aged 18-24 (66%) than those aged 45-54 (26%)

Well - There it is.
My Music Collection

imported_Brian L

While I only skimmed the article, I would like to really understand what those that were surveyed consider good quality sound.

Given that a bazillion people are said to have actually paid $$$ for 128K AAC files at iTunes, I suspect that the answers to that one would be all over the map.

I would wager if you sat them down and played a few of those 128K tracks over a 1/2 decent rig, they would say sure, thats good SQ. Then play an AIX DVD-A or maybe Beck's Sea Change on SACD, and the jaws would hit the floor. Or maybe not?

Oh, and I am 43. Can't I play too???

BGL

Michael St. Clair

Probably anything that isn't vinyl (clicks), tape (hiss), or analog radio (static).

Lee Scoggins

Well I disagree but to blend your post and Seth's I would argue the best survey would be to play a song (in a genre/band the listener is familiar with) first in MP3 and then in Red Book and then in DVDA/SACD on a reasonable but not expensive system and ask them what version they liked most without revealing the format.

I betcha that most would prefer the hirez and some would prefer the Red Book, but very few would choose 128K sampling.

no fears alone at night she's sailing through the crowd
in her ears the phones are tight and the music's playing loud
~skateaway

imported_Brian L

Well my point, perhaps poorly made is that, viewed without a comparison to true hi-rez stuff, many listeners would say that 128K SQ is "good".

Again, the iTunes numbers speak volumes.

Now, listened to in a true head to head, sure, anyone with two ears that work would likely choose the hi-rez. But then, the definition of SQ for 128K AAC would switch from "good" to "good enough".

BGL

Seth--L

Lee,

My point is that with any survey/poll you can produce the results you want through the wording, and with this one, commissioned by Philips, Sony and UMG, they've done that.

What's ironic about this stat:

I would argue the best survey would be to play a song (in a genre/band the listener is familiar with) first in MP3 and then in Red Book and then in DVDA/SACD on a reasonable but not expensive system and ask them what version they liked most without revealing the format.

Well - There it is.
My Music Collection

Marc Colella

Yep, and they're already getting "crystal clear" sound with CD and MP3.

I've heard many people refer to CD and MP3 as having "awesome sound". If it's loud and "pumping" - then it sounds good. Our definition of good sound quality is much different than the average consumer.

Anything above and beyond CD and MP3 is overkill, and people just don't care and many won't even notice.

Lee Scoggins

It speaks volumes about two things: (1) the convenience of downloading and (2) Apple's ability to generate excitement in their marketing and provide robust consumer products.



In my opinion, the results here refute this.

no fears alone at night she's sailing through the crowd
in her ears the phones are tight and the music's playing loud
~skateaway