Guys, I have a question as the result of an observation I've made.
I've been listening to mp3's and it made me thinking...
Windows Media player version 10 has a feature called "SRS WOW Effects", and is meant to put back dynamics in music that are lacked due to mp3 compression and the compression used in the studio.
While it makes for a strange and unnatural effect on some recordings, in general it gives for a surprisingly warm, lively and easy to listen to sound, making mp3 listening without the effect, sound compressed and harsch in comparison, as if it comes from a litte box.
I haven't compared them side by side, but I even suspect them to be sounding warmer and less-fatiguing then even actual cd's.
I also remember reading on the 'Pioneer' forum on this site, about a hardware component that's meant to put back dynamics in CD's or LP's that were lost as a result of compression.
There's even a tube unit I remember that's meant to be put between your source and amplifier to do the same thing, which also has the SRS WOW effect built in. (sorry I forgot the brand/model)
Now..
My question is 2 fold!!
1/ as I've never heard SACD or DVD-Audio, do these formats allow in practice to preserve more of the dynamics from the actual performance making 'enhancing devices' unnecessary?
2/are these devices really unnecessary gadgets, or should one preferably be using them to make up for the flaws of the recording formats we listen to?
I've been listening to mp3's and it made me thinking...
Windows Media player version 10 has a feature called "SRS WOW Effects", and is meant to put back dynamics in music that are lacked due to mp3 compression and the compression used in the studio.
While it makes for a strange and unnatural effect on some recordings, in general it gives for a surprisingly warm, lively and easy to listen to sound, making mp3 listening without the effect, sound compressed and harsch in comparison, as if it comes from a litte box.
I haven't compared them side by side, but I even suspect them to be sounding warmer and less-fatiguing then even actual cd's.
I also remember reading on the 'Pioneer' forum on this site, about a hardware component that's meant to put back dynamics in CD's or LP's that were lost as a result of compression.
There's even a tube unit I remember that's meant to be put between your source and amplifier to do the same thing, which also has the SRS WOW effect built in. (sorry I forgot the brand/model)
Now..
My question is 2 fold!!
1/ as I've never heard SACD or DVD-Audio, do these formats allow in practice to preserve more of the dynamics from the actual performance making 'enhancing devices' unnecessary?
2/are these devices really unnecessary gadgets, or should one preferably be using them to make up for the flaws of the recording formats we listen to?
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