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Comments@gizmodo.com
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
09/03/09
Sure the rule "You should listen to music, not equipment" holds true, but if certain equipment helps you enjoy the music more, then go for it.
If your listening-pleasure already peaks when consuming music through your iPod earbuds, then listen to this Radiohead dude; you won't be able to tell a difference with those buds anyway.
09/03/09
09/03/09
I have to say that, yes: it is almost impossible to tell the difference between music played from vinyl vs. music played from CD or even 320 kbps MP3... through headphones.
BUT!
If the same music was played on a big soundsystem with bassbins and horn tweeters, the difference may not be heard, but it definitely can be FELT. The music played through vinyl rumbles through your body and shakes the floor. Music played from digital has much less of this quality.
But for home listening and headphone listening, digital music is totally fine. I've just noticed on live performances on big soundsystems that analog really shakes air, walls and floors.
09/03/09
So, that makes me think that either something in your signal chain is over-emphasizing the bass (and that the digital chain is probably more correct) OR your turntable was picking up feedback from the vibrating floor.
09/03/09
09/03/09
09/03/09
And I've seen the greatest live performance Radiohead have ever done and are likely to do at Reading '09 last weekend! Was amazing!
09/03/09
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09/03/09
A higher bit-rate or analog signal is not going to turn Ludwig Van into Lil' Wayne, or vice versa. (Lil' Wayne. . .damn you to hell)
Not to mention the damn encoding rate has so little to do with what you are actually hearing. Unless you are dealing with music actually sampled at a higher rate your ears can kiss my ass.
It has nothing to do with standards it has to do with:
"Lost to the world of high fideliy."
Which means, you twats are more obsessed with the damn encoding rate rather than the music itself, as music, not a science experiment.
There are audiophiles out there who are crazy, but at least music is the first motivating factor.
09/03/09
09/03/09
09/03/09
Seriously, man. That's kind of a dumb move.
"Lost to the world of high fidelity."
Yeah, man, I can't tell you what a tragedy it is that there's still people in this world with standards.
09/03/09
09/03/09
Fact is, some (most likely several) big companies have some part in making huge music groups into what they are, through sponsorship deals, contracts, equipment contributions. Those companies have tons of money, in part, due to folks who spend big bucks on gigantic, high-quality speakers and high fidelity playback systems. You think a band gets where they do by CD sales alone, you're missing it big time.
It's that kind of shallow understanding of a complex industry that leads to remarks like this.
09/03/09
If Greenwood had that much insight into the music industry and cared the same way you seem to, he would be more of a businessman, and less of a musician. The result would be crappier music at much higher fidelity.
He doesn't care, because he shouldn't care. It's all about the music, man, not the bits :)
09/03/09
I still say the statement itself is dumb. But I can accept that if he cares more about music than he does about tech, then as a musician, he's doing it right.
09/03/09
09/03/09
"They can even put a helpful crunchiness onto some recordings."
The use of lower bit rate could very well be an artistic choice by the band, not merely a way to thumb their nose at audiophiles. Not everything has to be sterile and sound like a Dave Matthews album. Nebraska is one of my favorite albums, and that thing has feedback in it. They don't want to encode at 256, or whatever, maybe that's because they like what the lower bit rate does to the recording.
And before you start lecturing me on your superior listening skills, I'm an FOH mixer.
09/03/09
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09/04/09
"YEAH, IT CUTS RIGHT THROUGH!"
09/04/09
I have been asked that many times.
09/03/09
I don't usually download FLAC but i do try to get most the MP3s i get at 320kbps anyway. I just don't have the best ears anymore after playing drums for 10 years... just not gonna happen...
Besides, if you want to hear the way the music is suppose to sound... go buy a concert ticket... (And i do realize you can't see some bands because they aren't around anymore... well you either should have seen them while they were... or you were born in the wrong decade...) =p
09/03/09
And I welcome a discussion about listening to the Pixies in high fidelity, or anything recorded before the late 1950s. Live vs Recorded is also crucial to this discussion as the business model for making music changes with its distribution channels (Pirate bay = more live concerts = less concern about lossless recordings?)
Also, I just ate a disgusting piece of biscotti that tasted kind of like pinesol. I might have just eaten a posion cookie.
09/03/09
09/03/09
09/03/09
09/03/09
First, you dupe us into going to your site to get free music, but then, it turns out to only 160kbps. And in FUCKING MP3 format to boot. That is like the shittiest format of all time. I've listening to recordings of whales farting that sound better than a 160kbps mp3.
And then, to top it all off, if we want the CD, we have to wait more time and by the fucking thing. What kind of fucking scam is that?!
You're a goddamn fucktard! I downloaded that shit and - BIG FUCKING SURPRISE - it sounds like crap on my iPod.
I guess you rich bitches don't understand that some of use don't roll around in chauffeur-driven Maybach's eating caviar and Grey FUCKING Poupon and drinking Hennessy and Cristal. Some of us ride the subway and want to hear something that doesn't sound like it was filtered through dogshit on our morning commutes.
Your music was a fucking ripoff! I hope you choke on a horse-dick!
The Obama Government should come down hard on you lying scheming ripoff artists! If you're going to give away free music, it should be at a decent encode rate! I hope they convict you and lock you in a prison cell with Barney Madeoff so that the Ponzi Schemer can fuck you up your ass for the rest of your rotten life.
09/03/09
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09/03/09
The answer is no, man. Shit no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked for saying something like that.
09/03/09
You are deluding yourself if you think you can honestly hear a difference between ANY of the higher bitrates on your ipod going to work. It's not even an opinion, it just is. Unless you're toting around some sort of 20 000 dollar headphone monster, 160 is more than plenty for that hardware.
In fact, let's be honest. For ANY hardware.
09/03/09
@OMG! Ponies!: Hey, you said next rant you would give me notice so I could make popcorn!
09/03/09
09/03/09
on a side note chilax, and billions of dollars says you're wrong, just because you can't doesn't mean others can't
09/03/09
@OMG! Ponies!:
09/03/09
Your bitching because you got to download In Rainbows for free before the official CD release date?
Wow, fucking unappreciative. Like 160kbps ruined your whole life. Like you can even hear full range and fidelity through headphones on a subway. Quit being a cheap ass and support art if you want uncompressed audio.
You don't like Greenwood? Then don't listen to his band's fucking music.
09/03/09
09/03/09
I know you're upset, but don't be like me. My stupid mouth got me in trouble, when I say too much again. And as you can see, these people are offended.
So why don't you take a seat, take your life, and plot it out in black and white. m'kay?
Love
JM
09/03/09
09/03/09
@Mason Bushard: Stop. You just don't get it!
09/03/09
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