Is Convenience Killing Great Sound?

Convenience has always killed sound. As we moved from magnetic tape to records to cd’s and now digital, along the way compromise had to be somewhere and it’s generally in the sound. It gets worse as we all start streaming because that adds another element to sound files and bits getting lost in translation from sending and receiving the files.

I like that some streaming services offer HD Audio, but even still we compromise as our choice of headphones or speakers may not be able to fully replicate the true sound.

Give me a decent tube amp, or DAC and some good speakers or headphones and I’ll be set

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I also believe that this is one reason that live concerts will never die. It is impossible to take sound from a multi-thousand (or million) dollar sound system with an expert audio engineer behind the console and replace it with hundreds of dollars (if even that much!) worth of speakers and computers.

Still no possible way to match the studio experience when compared to a concert. I feel concerts are more about the general vibe and the moment.

You’ll almost always get a better, pure audio experience when you’re listening to music in your own way compared to a concert, but you truely can’t beat that moment of seeing an artist perform in person, interacting with the crowd.

But yea, for the best possible experience you’d have to be there in the studio with the producer as they’re mixing/mastering the track, and even then, you’d still not get the best experience. As the studios are built around one specific point in the room getting the perfect sound.

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I love coffee and the coffee angle :coffee::coffee::coffee:

We need to stay alert to enjoy music… so coffee is important

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I’m dedicated to wired… haven’t found wireless to be comparable (don’t own the latest flagship offering, but have a handful).
My preference is wired connection and my favorite headphones/buds are a comfy set of Klipsch buds - even over my Bose QCs. I do think the Spirit X sounds great as a BT option, but not as quality as either of the prior mentioned. I might presume advancements leading up to the Liberty 2 Pro bring those to a near if not the same level, as it should be the goal of any mfg in the business of not just offering cheap, throwaway options.

I hope the jack doesn’t go obsolete, or even a nostalgic (expensive) option for audiophiles as the minority of common preference. The masses deserve choice of either (whether for sound quality or convenience/capability).

One day Bluetooth (or another wireless format) combined with digital will be the highest quality you can get.

Digital and Bluetooth transfer speeds are only getting better. Eventually they will be top notch, and undefeated :+1:

This is my prediction anyway… idk how long it will take… maybe 15-20yrs before it basically perfected :man_shrugging:

Maybe in 15-20 years my hearing will be shot so it’ll be moot in the end.

I need a big coffee shot in the early morning, but later I change to tea.
beer in the evening.
A perfect mixture.
I remember in the university we were having a lot of coffee, even in the afternoon.
So I needed really some beers to kill the caffeine and calm down.
Not good at all! :grinning:

And of course music.
I play DAB+ station “Bayern 4 classic” or RTP (portuguese Radio via internet)
And I have stored a lot here at my laptop.
Never run short of music…

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I grew up with cassette tapes, then CDs, Mini Disk and Digital. I never had the Vinyls that seem to have made a comeback to those audiophiles!

I don’t really think the drop off from previous medias to digital is all that much, or at least not enough to counteract the sake of convenience.

Maybe I’ll have to invest in a record player and some old 45s (is that the right term?)

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45s : 45rpm or better in 33 rpm. (long playing records)
But a good turntable will not make it.
You need more good equipment.
We were talking about.

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I was lucky enough to hear what you speak of. My father had a set of classical records we were only allowed to touch when he was home and even then it was to play them during our meals. It does have a certain quality.

I LOVE to feel my music, so I like it not just loud, but crisp and clear. I don’t think of myself as an audiophile, but I can certainly appreciate quality sound and even get lost in a song played the way its meant to be heard.

While even cars, now a days provide much better sound systems than they used to, there is just a certain something about music played on the right equipment.

I don’t listen to classical very much these days, but I can definitely appreciate it when I get a chance to. I think of it like wine, the best way to enjoy it is whatever way best works for you.

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Nothing to add! :grinning:

I am old enough to have listened to vinyl and remember the days of counter-balancing a Sure stylus.

I agree that some the changes (cassette, CD, MP3, etc.) have definitely caused a “dumbing down” of audio quality in many respects. Let us not forget though that the vinyl album we loved degraded with each playing, and our hearing degraded as we get older, and few of us have 20-20 hearing to start with, etc.

There are ways to mitigate the loss of “character” of music by going with higher resolution, lossless formats. But those take much more space, and effort, and most people don’t want to take the time/effort for that.

And I won’t even start the debate about the “quality” of the auto-tuned music being released today vs. years gone by.

Can I still likely tell the difference between GOOD and GREAT music playback (digital or otherwise), sure… but when I am lifting at the gym does it matter?

How many of us have dedicated listening rooms that are acoustically treated AND have the time to sit and listen to both sides of an album.? I don’t with a 3 year old running around.

I don’t know that convenience is killing great sounds in and of itself.

I think the bigger issue is that most people have grown up in an age where they don’t know better options even existed, haven’t been trained to listen critically (and lets be honest… with most of the “popular” music it wouldn’t matter anyway), and even assuming they can hear the difference don’t have the time/attention span to savor it anyway.

Even if they somehow manage to hang in there long enough for those challenges, they generally won’t spend the time/cost required to “do it right” as they have other priorities that are higher to them.

So is it convenience that is killing great sound or YouTube???

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That is we are talking about in some other threads.:wink:

If you care about your records and use a high a class turn table and a fitting pick up
(Sure is great, I got Orthofon) you will not destroy your records.
But you have to care about “anti skating” and tracking force of course.

Convenience of audio over Bluetooth has killed audio quality but only with people who have a discerning ear as others have commented. I personally love wired and high quality wireless headphones. For the type of music I listen to (House Music, EDM), they sound great on today’s headphones.

Here’s one way to listen to music. Use a wired headphone indoors or at home, where it’s relatively quiet and a wire wouldn’t be in your way. When outdoors or travelling, use a wireless headphone with Bluetooth 5 and either Hi-Res Audio or aptX. No tangled wires, active noise cancelling (if desired). That’s how I do it :headphones:

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I have been listening to music over wired and wireless (BT) headsets, plus the speakers, have not been very keen on the audio quality… whatever I hear, am pleased and enjoy it… saying this, Bluetooth would be the way to go, wires need to be reduced. if the technology can improve to an extent and match the wired quality, it would be the best thing to happen to the audio technology… hopefully we will see Soundcore at the peak reaching this!

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If that point is reached then I would almost agree, but as of now I won’t give up my wired because of the advantages they have, and one big one being that I never have to worry about a dead battery. As good as Soundcore is, I don’t think that is a problem that can be fixed.

anything and everything we use nowadays needs a charging once a day… smartphone, smartwatch, laptops, ipads (to some extent)… why headset be different? Also since I carry at least 2 BT headsets - one primary and a backup, have never faced a time i needed a wired… but as a last last resort, i still have the Anker Verve wired cable and Lightning dongle… been carryign for last 1 year, never got to use it

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I can definitely agree that I would like technology to move forward, but there are some things wireless can’t do yet. For example, whenever I am working on an audio file I use wired headphones exclusively to reduce lag. I have tried to use wireless for it, but it comes out being off in every place I did something. With wired I don’t have to worry about that. As far as actually listening to music I almost always use wireless, but especially when I am resting I usually go wired. I can respect your opinion though, if it works for you then kudos to you, I’m just not ready for fully wireless yet.

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That’s true.
Nobody mentioned the lag of wireless equipment.

I dont work on audio files often.
Sometimes I need to cut off empty parts at the beginning and at the end.
I use audacity, what are you using for those works, Andrew?

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