[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by TwistedLefty

....it seems that across age groups from the few responces that 128 is good enough for most. i'm not sure if it was the samples given in the article or not but in the past i have noticed that 128 seemed muddier and on many recordings things like cymbals and 12 strings were partially lost or sounded totally different to me at a higher bitrate...

I think a lot of it has to do with what kind of equipment you're listening through. If you're listening through good headphones or an audiophile-quality system, the difference in bitrate would probably be a lot more noticeable than through PC speakers, car stereo, etc.

[TwistedLefty]

Originally Posted by Stratrat

I think a lot of it has to do with what kind of equipment you're listening through. If you're listening through good headphones or an audiophile-quality system, the difference in bitrate would probably be a lot more noticeable than through PC speakers, car stereo, etc.

right, exactly what i meant.
portables and common type car stereos and the like aside, there is an obvious difference to me in nearly all types of music but especially in classical and jazz.
maybe 162 or so would be good enough i suppose. i was under the impression that cds were recorded at 144.

[Dewy]

I'd like to make the point that there is a time and place for ALL of these.

When you are mastering in the Studio and releasing on CD... 320 or higher should be minimum. That way when I purchase the CD I have the FULL version, quadraphonia or whatever...

192kbs is perfectly acceptable for most music reproduction... average car stereos and such...

and 128 or lower should be used for promotional releases and freely distributed, as "samples" and for educational use.

This would also provide benchmarks for bringing the IP laws into alignment with the current Digital and filesharing revolution taking place around us. Information should be free and widely distributed... not "owned".

Ohh, 39 (until July) and an audiophile since circa 1975. Inna Goda Davida thru headphones will do that to a kid.

[illbleed]

20 I couldn't tell the difference through my speakers but, anybody will mostly likely be able to, through a high end sound system

[Tekker]

I can tell a difference. It's not huge, but it's there. I'm 25. While I could live with 128, I'd rather have the CD.

The best way to do these tests is to do a "blind" test and have someone switch between the files and not tell you which is which. Or do what I did and load them into a recording program and mute one of the tracks, then use the solo button on that track to switch between them. I tested myself by clicking the solo button off/on like mad with my eyes closed so I had no idea what it landed on. Then switch back and forth and try to hear a difference.

I could tell the difference every time for both tracks.

I did the comparison on my studio monitors, but I can try it later on the family computer which has PC speakers. I doubt I'll hear any difference on them as they are junk.

-tkr

[Clancy]

Originally Posted by Tekker

The best way to do these tests is to do a "blind" test and have someone switch between the files and not tell you which is which.

I agree, I'm way too good at lying to myself.

Clancy

[mickyboy100]

sorry lefty coud'nt hear any different must be me 51

[TwistedLefty]

Originally Posted by mickyboy100

sorry lefty coud'nt hear any different must be me 51

Don't apologise Mickyboy, i'm intriqued by the range of responses.
I really thought that Musicians would be pickier about bitrate than they seem to be.
also, i assumed the younger, the higher the prefered bitrate.
although i had not taken into account the sample quality or the range of music types.
I am still pretty convinced tho that with above avg equipment and a more varied sample of tones like in Jazz, or classical elements that the higher bitrates would be prefered because at 48 i can hear the difference clearly between 128 and 192

[Dewy]

I think to some degree the older musicians would "compensate" as we were raised on AM radio... but also we have appreciated the difference, so it may be more noticeable to us.

Its also a very valid point that some "musical styles" would show the lower bitrate obviously, while other styles might benefit... like John Fogerty and AM radio went well together.

Having enjoyed all kinds of music through all kinds of reproduction quality, from in the Studio making the music and hearing it through headphones... to trying to tune a transistor radio... all roads lead to the song as the determining factor.

[X4StringDrive]

48
I play everything thru my monitors and can tell the difference on some, as already mentioned the type of music & equipment decides on the amount actually heard. How about thru different players? notice any change...My creative player has a noticeable difference in quality than Vlc which is different than wmp. Maybe its a driver thing? Gonna try win-amp vs creative next.

[TwistedLefty]

great point X4stringdrive,
i believe the card/player factor will have a significant affect on the quality of sound heard.

i'm just about thru setting up my Homestudio and i'm going to compare 128 vs 128 thru my m-audio 2496 and then my creative audigy.
also i'm a little wary of WMP. Winamp (pre AOL) has tons of plugins as do several of the other players out there. i'd be surprised if there wasn't a noticeable difference.

[eCowboy]

I'm 53 and couldn't even get the tracks to play but I doubt that I could have heard a difference. A sound system is only as good as its weakest link and my Dell speakers just don't have that kind of sound quality.

[slipangle]

27
i felt that the 256 was a bit clearer but not something to write home about

[Stratrat]

When I was using 128 and 256 MB mp3 players, I would often downsample my music to 96 kbps just so I could fit more songs on the player (keeping them in a separate folder from the originals, of course!). I did notice a difference in quality at that bitrate, but it wasn't enough to be objectionable through headphones at low/moderate volume. I gladly accepted it for the tradeoff of being able to fit more music on my mp3 players.

[jackmonroe]

It depends where I'm listening, in the car 128 is fine, but elsewhere I want more.