darrenyeats;365058 Wrote: > I thought I'd take some of my own advice and seek out alternative > releases of Blue Train by John Coltrane. I own this on CD already but I > have found two alternative masters of it online (one mono). > > Here's the rub: I'm listening to this mono release which is in MP3 256k > and it sounds way better than my ripped CD. When I say way better I mean > I refuse to listen to my CD anymore! It annoys the hell out of me by > comparison. > > The main reason, as usual, is compression. To compare like with like > visually I 'quick mixed' the stereo CD into mono. Also, did the same > with another stereo master I found online which was worse than my CD. > [image: http://www.yeats.co.uk/public/Audio/coltrane-waveform.jpg] > > Top waveform is the worst master - note the very evident compression > from about 4:00 to 5:00. > > Middle waveform is my CD. > > Bottom waveform is the MP3. Note the lack of compression on every scale > including the quieter passages 6:00 to 7:00 and 9:00 to 10:00. This > translates into a more relaxed and realistic presentation. BTW you > still get a kind of stereo effect even though it's mono. > > This experience has cemented my opinion that formats (MP3, FLAC, > hi-rez) are nowhere near as important as other factors, such as > original recordings and loudspeakers. > Darren > > PS: I live in Europe and I own a legit copy of Blue Train. As soon as I > can find this mono release on CD I'll buy that too. Any pointers?
Without a doubt the recording is far more important than the format within reason (no 64kbps mp3). -- sxr71 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ sxr71's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=18773 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55737 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
