If there was something better waiting in the wings then the closure of a CD plant would probably help its adoption, but mp3 ain't it. I wonder if they made SACDs there too? That would have kept someone busy for a day a month packing those into boxes...
I'm a CD junkie, but knowing that alternatives like SACD exist but have been so badly marketed and distributed makes me very reluctant to pony up cash for 1970's technology. Why do I care whether my favourite New Order albums have been remastered with the latest technology when they are then munged back into 44.1khz/16bit?
One of my recent blog posts says it all really: 'It’s almost 2011 for fuck’s sake, so why is “CD Quality Sound” still used like it’s a good thing?'
There are plenty of recordings out there that do sound fantastic, including the odd commercial artist. I think there is a general trend to 'loundness' though, and unfortunately as pointed out by the parent this seems to be driven by the available of cheap, crappy music hardware (honestly, do we need a $10 CD player? Just because it can be done is not a reason to do it. Surely the purchaser could ferret around in the couch a find another $5 bucks to get something better?).
The poster's 'sound quality' argument was qualified by the use of 'major labels' though. Plenty of indie musicians do give a damn about their sound quality.
As always, vote with your wallet, however hard that can be sometimes.
Slashdot Mirror
If there was something better waiting in the wings then the closure of a CD plant would probably help its adoption, but mp3 ain't it. I wonder if they made SACDs there too? That would have kept someone busy for a day a month packing those into boxes ...
I'm a CD junkie, but knowing that alternatives like SACD exist but have been so badly marketed and distributed makes me very reluctant to pony up cash for 1970's technology. Why do I care whether my favourite New Order albums have been remastered with the latest technology when they are then munged back into 44.1khz/16bit?
One of my recent blog posts says it all really: 'It’s almost 2011 for fuck’s sake, so why is “CD Quality Sound” still used like it’s a good thing?'
There are plenty of recordings out there that do sound fantastic, including the odd commercial artist. I think there is a general trend to 'loundness' though, and unfortunately as pointed out by the parent this seems to be driven by the available of cheap, crappy music hardware (honestly, do we need a $10 CD player? Just because it can be done is not a reason to do it. Surely the purchaser could ferret around in the couch a find another $5 bucks to get something better?).
The poster's 'sound quality' argument was qualified by the use of 'major labels' though. Plenty of indie musicians do give a damn about their sound quality.
As always, vote with your wallet, however hard that can be sometimes.
Patrick