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Listening difference between MP3 and CD?

flybigjet

flybigjet

Remove Before Flight
Gents--

My wife downloads MP3's from Amazon, et. al.

I still buy cd's (although I'm moving towards vinyl.)

I there a difference between downloaded MP3 and cd? i.e. Is it the same exact thing, or is the MP3 compressed?

Thanks--

Just a niggle that's been bugging me....

R.
 
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Just started listening/using MP3's about two & half years ago .... due to

1. New car w/ Ipod hook up in center council ... no more hauling CDs around.
2. Recommendations about using subscription streaming by other AK members.

Difference ... yes ... MP3 is a simulation of the original ... the higher the bit rate ... the more of the original that is left.

Sound quality ... go & see for yourself ... it's subjective. I prefer a 192kbps rip rate for my CDs for playing MP3's in car or on a portable Digital Audio Player (DAP). Do 192kbps MP3 sound good on my mains rig ... No (subtle difference but enough to prefer full resolution) ... but good enough (for my tastes) for Car Audio (Ipod/head unit/factory car speakers) & DAP.

For streaming online ... I prefer the 320kbps MP3 rate of Spotify Premium as a minimum for my PC audio rig.

Buying MP3's ... I never do it ... my MP3's are ripped from my CDs. Don't mind renting MP3 though through Spotify.

Update: If you are interested in the history of MP3 ... try reading the book "How Music Got Free" ... from chapter 1 ... interesting read

"When the compact disk debuted in 1982, the engineering community celebrated it as one of the most important achievements in the field. Seltzer, practically alone saw it as a ridiculous exercise in overkill. Where the sales literature promised [perfect sound forever]Seltzer saw a maximalist repository of irrelevant information, most of which was ignored by the human ear. He knew that most of the information from the compact disc could be discarded - the human auditory system was already doing it."
Click to expand...
 
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Most of the mp3's I have bought from Amazon have sounded OK, but a few of them have not, which is why I stopped buying them. Peace and goodwill.
 
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