Why 24-bit/192kHz music downloads make no sense

[xiphmont]

(by Monty and the Xiph.Org community)

Articles last month revealed that musician Neil Young and Apple's Steve Jobs discussed offering digital music downloads of 'uncompromised studio quality'. Much of the press and user commentary was particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of uncompressed 24 bit 192kHz downloads. 24/192 featured prominently in my own conversations with Mr. Young's group several months ago.

Unfortunately, there is no point to distributing music in 24-bit/192kHz format. Its playback fidelity is slightly inferior to 16/44.1 or 16/48, and it takes up 6 times the space.

If you just said 'Whaa?', you may want to read the whole article.

It's fairly long... but hearing, perception and fidelity are complicated topics. Shysters and charlatans exploit that nuance (and misunderstanding) to bilk unsuspecting consumers of their money, all the while convincing them they're paying for 'quality'.

Anyway, happy reading and comments welcome!

Comments

Re: Good Headphones?

[(Anonymous)]

Very few shops have any qualified advices when it comes to headphones.

HeadRoom is one of the few dedicated headphone stores. I bought several headphones from HeadRoom. All of them delivered more or less as described on their site as far as I can tell. I have found no stores at all in my own country.

http://www.headphone.com/selection-guide/ - HeadRoom.

Re: Good Headphones?

[denisekw.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the Headroom link. I looked at their top 20 headphones list, and was surprised to see a $20 pair on there. Then i was utterly shocked when I saw a $2000 pair on there! Jesus. For $2000, it better send the music directly into my brain!

Re: Good Headphones?

[xiphmont.livejournal.com]

I'd expect that would cost a great deal more, and have quite a few takers...

...more than half of whom would then complain about the sound quality.

Re: Good Headphones?

[denisemedevac.livejournal.com]

I agree to this. HeadRoom is the best.

Re: Good Headphones?

[xiphmont.livejournal.com]

They are excellent. They are also relatively expensive.

Personally, I wish they gave more information about their testing methodologies and raw data...