The Perception of Audio Quality

davebilsborough · 11-28-2013, 04:53 PM

Hi everyone.

I'm a masters student at the University of Salford researching the perception of quality within recorded audio and wanted to know any opinions you may have on the subject....
How do you feel about the differences between CD quality and MP3/AAC playback formats? Does the loss of quality bother you?

Also if you have a few spare minutes please complete this short survey on listening habits, it would really help me out a lot

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?usp=drive_web&formkey=dHkyQ0FfcEFNRlpoQzN ZejkzNlZpTGc6MA#gid=0

Thanks

Mr. Charlie · 11-29-2013, 12:07 AM

I don't mind putting up with MP3 quality audio on my laptop through the inbuilt speakers and on my portable minidisc player through earphones because neither device is capable of high fidelity playback. But I cannot listen to MP3s on my home stereo system because the quality sounds flat and filtered. The music cannot breathe. So I only play CDs on my stereo system.

It's a subjective topic because everyones hearing is different, but I'm a firm believer in using uncompressed formats and high quality audio equipment to get as close as possible to the orignal sound of the recording. I want to hear the little things like the subtle sound of saliva as singers part their lips, each intake of breath, the sound of hands on instruments - not just the sound of the instruments themselves, and the ambience and atmosphere of the room/studio that the song was recorded in. Play uncompressed formats through good enough equipment and little things like that reveal themselves, and the soundstage generated is so holographic that it sounds like the musicians are there playing in your room. It brings music to life.

Ultimately the difference between 320 kbps and 1411 kbps through good equipment is like the difference between standard definition video and high definition video.

11-28-2013, 04:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
davebilsborough Groupie Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 1	The Perception of Audio Quality Hi everyone. I'm a masters student at the University of Salford researching the perception of quality within recorded audio and wanted to know any opinions you may have on the subject.... How do you feel about the differences between CD quality and MP3/AAC playback formats? Does the loss of quality bother you? Also if you have a few spare minutes please complete this short survey on listening habits, it would really help me out a lot https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?usp=drive_web&formkey=dHkyQ0FfcEFNRlpoQzN ZejkzNlZpTGc6MA#gid=0 Thanks

11-29-2013, 12:07 AM	#2 (permalink)
Mr. Charlie Shoo Thoughts Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: These Mountains Posts: 2,308	I don't mind putting up with MP3 quality audio on my laptop through the inbuilt speakers and on my portable minidisc player through earphones because neither device is capable of high fidelity playback. But I cannot listen to MP3s on my home stereo system because the quality sounds flat and filtered. The music cannot breathe. So I only play CDs on my stereo system. It's a subjective topic because everyones hearing is different, but I'm a firm believer in using uncompressed formats and high quality audio equipment to get as close as possible to the orignal sound of the recording. I want to hear the little things like the subtle sound of saliva as singers part their lips, each intake of breath, the sound of hands on instruments - not just the sound of the instruments themselves, and the ambience and atmosphere of the room/studio that the song was recorded in. Play uncompressed formats through good enough equipment and little things like that reveal themselves, and the soundstage generated is so holographic that it sounds like the musicians are there playing in your room. It brings music to life. Ultimately the difference between 320 kbps and 1411 kbps through good equipment is like the difference between standard definition video and high definition video.