Is it just me who wonders about this? With the hundreds of articles I have been reading on the changes in media distribution (literally hundreds and is this a REALLY big surprise??) I have not read one - not one - that makes any mention of the fact that the quality of the recordings being distributed by download are significantly compressed and poorer then those distributed on media. Of course it does not have to be this way - there is no reason why .wav files could not be being downloaded instead of AAC or MP3 - but no one seems to care - at all.
I figure that if anywhere - the members on this list should care. I don't get it - why aren't people complaining? Has our benchmark for quality become Apple Ipod earbuds? Tell me it isn't so. While people are spending untold thousands on Krell's and esoteric speakers what we are witnessing here is a recording media and quality implosion and I for one am concerned that getting a recording that is of the former relatively high (ok we can debate that but this is not the real point) quality of recordings on CD will become an impossibility in the not too distant future. How come there aren't a bunch of audiophiles - or professionals - or both - speaking up and saying to the downloading public and to the distributors - hey wait a minute - if I am paying the same prices for downloading as I am for physical media - the least you can do is give me the same quality.
All I hear is - silence. To me this is a HUGE threat - even short term - to what you are going to be able to listen to, and the quality of what you will be able to listen to.
So, members of ARSC - I ask you - to discuss this - and - OK I will say it - as an organization - take an actual position on this subject - let the world know that this is a BIG issue. That is right - I am actually advocating for standing up and talking out loud - not to our group but to the rest of the planet. If we are not going to take a stand on this - what will we take a stand on? Get some manufacturers behind you - you know the Krell and "monster cable" kind of folk that have lots of marketing smarts - because there really isn't any point in spending thousands of dollars on esoteric gear when the quality of the recordings will not let you hear it anyhow. They have allot to lose also. What we are talking about here is the dumbing down - the AAC'ing of all distributed music and I for one think this is an issue. Does anyone agree?
Jim Lindner
Email: jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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