[X4U] Rip It Up - iTunes Import Settings Survey

[Xavier Noria]

On May 13, 2005, at 9:08, Kirk McElhearn wrote:

>> One day I sat down and compared different bit rates to the  
>> original CD, I took some works from my favourite black musician  
>> Erykah Badu. All of them sound pourish, shades are lost in  
>> different degrees, so you get to take a decission having a 20GB  
>> iPod. The chosen compromise was finally 224 AAC, and 320 AAC for a  
>> few exceptions that deserve it. I would say as well that if I had  
>> an iPod with 20e3 GB then I'd use some loseless codec.
>>
>
> Did you do a blind listening test? If not, this has no value. If  
> you know what you're listening to, then you'll hear things that may  
> not be there. Also, one musician is not enough.

It was not a blind listening test. As the bit rate increases the  
overall perceived quality is good and in some passages and for some  
type of music I can't distinguish 320 AAC from 192 AAC, but even at  
224 AAC for some music I can distinguish the difference in some  
particular points, brilliance in the attack to cymbals, bass  
profoundity, chorus neatness.

That sitting down test was done with Erykah Badu alone, the aim was  
to recode my library with a conscious compromise, but I listen a lot  
of music and always find some missing shades here and there. It could  
be I fool myself, but I'd bet I am objective.

I have to say that since my father was a professional musician I've  
listened to music at home since I had months, and studied it formally  
since I was six years old. I don't claim that comparison gives the  
same to everybody, it's clear people have different hearing resolutions.

-- fxn