Artists Fight for New Hi-Fi Formats - Rolling Stone Article

super j

super j

Active Member
Article here.

This was an article in the last issue of Rolling Stone. I think they are taking it a little over the top with the cd bashing but I may have to pick up the new Mellencamp album just to check out the sound quality. I suspect that even the regular cd will sound nice.

It's good to see somebody standing up for this. Unfortunately, I feel some of the younger bands will have to jump on the bandwagon for anything to get done.
 
Register to hide this ad
Unfortunately, I think that this will stand as much of a chance of succeeding as HDCD, SACD or DVDA - none. I can't see any of the major labels even bothering with this unless they feel that there will be a huge profit to be made. The majority of the music buying public won't want to replace even part of their CD collection with something new that they know won't be around for long. However, I think that Blu-Ray audio could stand a chance, and perhaps even replace CDs in the future. Providing, of course, that the major labels advertise the product so that people know that it exists ( not very likely) and give the consumers a selection that they want instead of what the music companies think we want (even less likely).
 
For any format to be adopted Everybody has to Agree on the format. Nobody wins when formats compete against each other. HD vs Bluray,VHS vs Beta,DVD Audio vs SACD and Mini Disc vs DAT.
 
I gotta say, I've heard some pretty fine sounding redbook CD's and don't really see the need for a new format. I've always said that the redbook standard isn't the limiting factor in a CD's SQ, it's the care put into the recording, mastering and mixing before it's put on the CD.

Well, as long as they do dual-layer releases and/or make the CODE decoders available for free, (like HDCD) then I have no problems with that. Additionaly, in the event of a dual-layer product, I hope they don't hobble the redbook layer in order to make the CODE layer appear better by comparison.
 
That article goes to show that artists should stick to making music rather than attempting to understand technology.

I'm normally a Neil Young fan, but his grasp of technology seems to be lacking...

Love some of the comments...people sadden me.
 
If I read it right, what T. Bone is promoting is a higher standard for recording that can still be played back on existing gear such as DVD players, NOT an entirely new format. Thus, the first release using the new standard (John Mellencamp's) can be played on regular DVD.

It is a step in the right direction.

I think it is a positive thing when more people, especially artists and people in th industry (besides just Neil Young and Bob Dylan) speak up for better sound quality. We all know that many consumers (although not the mass of mostly youngsters who have never heard good sound, and so don't know what they are missing) WANT better sound. That is a major factor pushing the upswing in vinyl sales (even though that remains a small segment of today's market). The more publicity there is about how poor recordings often are these days, and how increasingly fed up many people are about it, the better.

It is a trend in the world, across many industries, that manufacturer's need to make things cheaper and cheaper, much more than consumers' desire for better quality, drives what is available in the marketplace. In part, we as consumers are responsible, because we keep buying the stuff. Some speak of "The Wall Mart Effect": relentless cheapening of goods, because consumers will keep buying cheaper and cheaper stuff. That consumer behavior has made Walmart the largest company that has EVER existed (except ExxonMobil in recent years measured by sales volume only, because of the increased cost of fuel)!

If enough people rush out and start buying T. Bone's CODE disks, then more artists will join in, and it will send a stronger message to the industry decision makers: yes, we DO want better quality recordings.

This is the same guy who has been producing the Robert Plant/Allison Krauss CDs, and some other great artists. I wish him luck in his venture. Yes, I'm sure it is a commercial step that will make him more money, in licensing fees. BUT it is also a step towards better quality sound for the consumer, which is rare in today's music industry. IF a "CODE" indication means getting good-quality sound, I'll not only go back to buying more CDs (alongside the LPs); I'll even pay a few cents more for the assurance of a CODE disk.

Or maybe if Blu-Ray turns out to sound good (I don't even know: I'm so turned off on new digital sounds I haven't even bothered auditioning it yet!), I'll buy those. But until the industry starts offering GOOD sound again, I don't plan to buy much new stuff. :no: Maybe T. Bone's idea will help shift things for the better. A tough task, but someone has to start somewhere. In the meantime, I'll keep looking for those good used vinyl LPs, recording tapes, and even LDs (although not all of those were well-mastered, either)...
 
Arkay said:
If I read it right, what T. Bone is promoting is a higher standard for recording that can still be played back on existing gear such as DVD players, NOT an entirely new format. Thus, the first release using the new standard (John Mellencamp's) can be played on regular DVD.

It is a step in the right direction.
Click to expand...


Amen. Why couldn't SACD (which I like) and DVD-Audio been designed to play on DVD players in the first place I ask foolishly....

I like where this is headed. My ears aren't the best, but I definitely prefer the sparkle of SACD to a standard, even Redbook cd. Still, cd is pretty darn good, although I find myself washing more and more vinyl every day.:yes:
 
We already have good quality labels known for superior recording quality. People aren't flocking to buying them because we audiophiles are a rather fringe sect. I love the idea to push for higher sound quality and if it's focused on the recording process rather than the medium, I'd be 100% behind it. I remain unconvinced that there is really a strong enough call for better quality when most people actually "Like" the affects of the loudness wars.

I think that SACD and DVD-As greatest potential lied with their multichannel format. In 2 channel mode, they often times were inferior to standard CD in certain frequency ranges.
 
I think the only way a physical format (as opposed to a data-format like MP3) will survive is if it offers something like this. I tend to think that we will one day be left only with vinyl and whatever replaces mp3. MP3s exist as they are because of the limitations of computer memory when they became popular. But digital storage is expanding exponentially, and we aren't going to need a compressed audio storage format much longer. Higher fidelity is going to become a selling point in download-formats, because there isn't going to be much else for record companies to tout. We're getting to the point where we can download DVD-sized files fairly quickly...what is going to be the point of having a disc? I welcome the CD's demise, as long as they keep making vinyl. Vinyl is, after all, INFINITE sampling rate.
 
dnewma04 said:
Except for that part where it's very clearly and obviously not.
Click to expand...

I thought that we went though this once......

In theory, vinyl has no sampling rate. It just is an exact reproduction of the music. Now, that is not in practice, but it is close...

and BTW, I made one of the comments, in case you didn't notice...
 
Arkay said:
It is a step in the right direction.

I think it is a positive thing when more people, especially artists and people in th industry (besides just Neil Young and Bob Dylan) speak up for better sound quality. We all know that many consumers (although not the mass of mostly youngsters who have never heard good sound, and so don't know what they are missing) WANT better sound. That is a major factor pushing the upswing in vinyl sales (even though that remains a small segment of today's market). The more publicity there is about how poor recordings often are these days, and how increasingly fed up many people are about it, the better.
Click to expand...

I applaud any efforts to promote better sound by artists to keep the audio dream alive. This way buyers have a major ally to pressure companies to provide a good product.

Artists and even buyers don't have to understand the technology as long as the developers do.

All new technologies evolve progressively. Entrepreneurs throw it out, test it, and if it doesn't work they move on to the next research & development project - hopefully learning more on the way. HDCD, SACD, DVD-A, Blu-Ray whatever. I'm impressed they even tried.
 
vinyldavid said:
I thought that we went though this once......
Click to expand...

Yes, we did. But apparently once isn't enough.

In theory, vinyl has no sampling rate. It just is an exact reproduction of the music. Now, that is not in practice, but it is close...
Click to expand...



No, that is absolutely wrong. In theory and in practice, it doesn't approach the sampling rate of CD unless the molecules of PVC are infinitely small. They aren't...not even close, as a matter of fact.

and BTW, I made one of the comments, in case you didn't notice...
Click to expand...

Yes, I did see your comment. I can't say i've ever encountered a more closed-minded 16 year old and it bothers me. If you were 65, I'd understand but you aren't, so I don't.
 
I believe the DVD-A to be a very good format, but that doesn´t mean that most of today`s recordings will sound better than correspondingly CDs.
The limitations in quality will still be there, depending on that the limitations in sound quality is not the CD media itself. I don´t understand that in the year 2008 with so many prooves of bad CD productions, it is still the CD media that is being attacked. Will Bruce Springsteen sound better with a new format? Will all the bad remastered CDs sound better with a new format? I hope very few will answer yes to these rethorical questions.
/gusten
 
gusten said:
I believe the DVD-A to be a very good format, but that doesn´t mean that most of today`s recordings will sound better than correspondingly CDs.
The limitations in quality will still be there, depending on that the limitations in sound quality is not the CD media itself. I don´t understand that in the year 2008 with so many prooves of bad CD productions, it is still the CD media that is being attacked. Will Bruce Springsteen sound better with a new format? Will all the bad remastered CDs sound better with a new format? I hope very few will answer yes to these rethorical questions.
/gusten
Click to expand...

Right on. The limitation isn't in the media. If someone makes a poorly record record, it's a bad re-mastering job or bad production work. If someone creates a bad CD, it's the fault of the medium. It's obnoxious.
 
onwardjames said:
Amen. Why couldn't SACD (which I like) and DVD-Audio been designed to play on DVD players in the first place I ask foolishly....
Click to expand...

DVDA is designed for DVD players....I guess what you mean is that to get full advantage you have to also have a DD or DTS processor...Am I right?
 
dnewma04 said:
Except for that part where it's very clearly and obviously not.
Click to expand...

Yes, so obvious and clear that it is endlessly debated:D Of course it doesn't pick up everything, but what it does pick up and leave out, especially in regards to ambient noise, etc, is more enjoyable to me than what CDs pick up and leave out. We all enjoy what we enjoy, regardless of the technical reasons.

I'd love a Blu-ray or better quality format, BTW. That is A LOT more information for the ears to chew on than is on a CD.
 
I only took exception to the "Infinite sampling" portion of your post, John. If you prefer vinyl for whatever reason you prefer it for, I'm all for it. I just don't like to see misinformation spread about the technical stuff that isn't up for debate. Vinyl's sampling rate is defined by it's physical properties that make it fall well short of CDs sampling rate.

The claims that Vinyl contains more "music" or "data" are unequivocally wrong.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom