In 1982, the music industry fired the first shot in the Perfect Sound Forever digital revolution with the introduction of the compact disc. In the years since, digital technology has taken over every aspect of the record biz, but most audiophiles argue that analog's demise means the end of high fidelity. Digitally recorded, produced, and distributed music suffers sonic degradation at every step, meaning the new wave you listened to in 1981 might actually have sounded better than the né-metal of today. Here's why.
6 Ways Sound Quality Breaks Down:
1. Studios
Legendary rooms like NYC's Hit Factory, Los Angeles' Cello, and Sheffield, Alabama's Muscle Shoals all went out of business this year. The reason? Home studio software has democratized the recording process - low-end versions of Cubase and Pro Tools retail for less than $350. Sure, these apps offer great sound if used properly, but most musicians are no match for a seasoned engineer who understands why things like mike placement matter.
2. Recording Media
Studios used to record onto analog tape, which captures the continuous sonic stream you hear live. Most of today's digital recordings are made at 44.1 kHz, meaning the sound is cut into 44,100 slices per second. That's a narrow slice, but one that can introduce errors detectable by the human ear. Traditionalists record to reels, then dump the contents onto computers, but even this may soon end: The sole US manufacturer of high-end tape, Quantegy, filed for bankruptcy in January.
3. Compact Discs
Sure, CDs have none of the hiss of audiotape or the snap, crackle, and pop of vinyl. But they are still encoded with 16-bit resolution, even though 24-bit, with its wider dynamic range, has been available for years. The-bottom line: We're stuck with overcompressed music that has limited range. DVD-A and SACD offer improved fidelity, but no one's buyingé - in 2004, the formats sold only 1.1 million units combined.
4. MP3s
Most iTunes users never fiddle with their encoder settings, which means they're ripping 1,411-Kbps CD audio into 128-Kbps MP3s - a shadow of a shadow of the music's original self. Think you're safe with Apple's proprietary AAC format? It sounds a bit better than MP3 and uses 30 percent less storage space, but it's not called "lossy compression" for nothing.
5. Sound Cards
These devices convert the digital data from audio files into the analog signals your speakers translate into sound. Unfortunately, the inside of a PC is a loud place; sound cards pick up noise from the mechanical whirs, clicks, and hiccups your computer makes -éand deliver that interference right along with the music.
6. Speakers
You probably already knew this, but those low-wattage Labtecs you've got plugged into your laptop suck. How come? While many high-end speakers use at least three cones to reproduce a wide range of frequencies, most computer speakers have just one or two. Your iPod's earbuds are even worse - they don't cancel external noise effectively and the bass lacks thump.
- Alec Hanley Bemis
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The Digital Devolution
