Lossy
Absolutely fascinating article in Stereophile on lossy audio compression* (*Actual results may vary. Your definition of "fascinating" may vary from that of Ward). I've seen the subject explored before, but it's nice to see some actual data.
Of course, the flaw here is that it's only pure data, rather than any subjective reports from actual listening. Although I certainly prefer lossless encoding on my music, particularly when I am using my best gear for playback, lossy encoding is a useful tool for things like sampling new music, listening in the car, or loading a portable device of relatively limited memory (i.e. anything but an 80/160 gb iPod classic). I use it in the car and on the iPhone. I tend to think it's not nearly as bad as most of Stereophile's writers do, but when I really, really want to listen to music, give me the caffeinated version.
Real update coming soon* (*Actual results may vary. Your definition of "soon" may differ from that of Ward).
Of course, the flaw here is that it's only pure data, rather than any subjective reports from actual listening. Although I certainly prefer lossless encoding on my music, particularly when I am using my best gear for playback, lossy encoding is a useful tool for things like sampling new music, listening in the car, or loading a portable device of relatively limited memory (i.e. anything but an 80/160 gb iPod classic). I use it in the car and on the iPhone. I tend to think it's not nearly as bad as most of Stereophile's writers do, but when I really, really want to listen to music, give me the caffeinated version.
Real update coming soon* (*Actual results may vary. Your definition of "soon" may differ from that of Ward).
Labels: hi-fi, music, technology
posted by L. Maxwell Ward at 2:01 PM
