News
iPod vs. high-end audio
Lee Gomes for the Wall Street Journal writes how, while attending CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, he ventured into another smaller venue showcasing the worlds most expensive high-end audio systems. While there, he tests his iPod and the sound qualities of MP3 compression or lack thereof with several high-end systems. His first test was on a $350,000 Wavac SH-833 amplifier connected to $150,000 speakers, and standing nearby was the designer of the amp, Yuzuro Ito .
“I plugged in my iPod and queued up a song by Franz Schubert. Mr. Ito, an elegantly tailored man, closed his eyes and listened intently.
After a minute, he rendered his verdict through an interpreter. Alas, he said, ‘the top of the soprano is not so good. And on the piano, you aren’t getting the natural body of the instrument. Overall, the sound is too clear—all the hues have been stripped away.’
But, he added gamely, ‘it’s really good for digital.’”
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I dont understand it when people say you must have finely tuned ears to tell the difference. The difference is like night and day.
I use my ipod when walking and on the bus, the sound is acceptable for that purpose.
Hook it up to my audio note valve amp and it doesnt come close to a 6 year old £400 arcam cd player and a mile away from a decently pressed lp.
The seperation of instruments and the emotion just isnt there.
Ive tried alsorts of software at the highest of bitrates, vbr and cbr.
It also not as good as the pc with a dal card deluxe sound card either.
The thing is, I don’t expect it to be, it is really for outdoor/travel use and its ideal for that.
Posted by Chris on September 30, 2007 at 10:15 AM (PST)
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