Re: [ARSCLIST] The "dumbing down" of Downloaded Recordings

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Your statement does seem to apply to many youngsters, but not all of them. I
know a few kids who are
> involved in music, not dabblers but kids who can really play. Once they learn
enough about an
> instrument to be able to tune to a group by ear and to find individual note
intonation, they
> understand what something real sounds like in a real space. Some of these kids
don't listen to
> recorded music for pleasure because in their iPod-compter speaker world, they
don't find the
> experience pleasant or "real-sounding." Let such a kid listen to just about
ANYTHING in at least CD
> resolution on a decent pair of speakers and suddenly they're very clear on
what's wrong with the
> 128kbps iTunes downloads. Remember, their hearing is better than ours
(theoretically), so they can
> hear the horrible artifacts in the top end. Also, if they've played in an
ensemble and felt the
> vibrations of real bass notes moving real air, they understand how fake the
earbud or computer
> speaker experience is and don't like it.
>
Back in my high-school days (well before I thought I would ever actually
become a working musician...!), I listened to the "Top 20" on AM radio...
usually either AC-DC "five tube special" table radios or else car radios!
I PLAYED 45's (usually pop hits) on an RCA "record player" with a 1-tube
amplifier (plus rectifier) feeding a four-inch speaker. When I bought
a Philco 37-9 console set with a ten-inch speaker, I discovered there
was more that could be heard...! It would be several years before I
(and most folks my age) graduated to "stereo systems" of individual
components and the ubiquitous Dual 1019 turntables...!

Steven C. Barr