Part 2 - SSI 2009 Stereophile Debate

[energeez]

I can't tell the difference between a 320 mp3 and a wav.....

[SalamOxford]

3.10, music students like the sound of MP3?

I am a student at the English Bar and my course takes 7 years. in that time i built up a high end system. Amongst students or young people it is very hard for them to find such enthusiasm as high end systems cost a lot. I stopped at £10k. Manufactures in my opinion charge too much even if they are entry level.

[TheCanadianPublic]

@SalamOxford A seller of high end systems explained it best. MP3s are mainly used to provide ambiance music or for listening to music under conditions where critical listening is impossible such as in a bus or tube train. It's only in a properly treated quiet room that the benefits of a high end system can be truly heard.

As for the high cost of high end systems, it's a niche market with very low production runs.The per-unit costs are astronomical!

[SalamOxford]

@TheCanadianPublic But as you have expalined the non critical conditions above, those conditions are regarded as the norm my the majority- however I concede that the high end market is a niche but the 1st stepping stone of the high end'entry level' unit costs are too expensive for those who do wish to enter. prime example, my Arcam 73t cost me £350 when it 1st came out and in 5 years they charged £550.

[TheCanadianPublic]

@SalamOxford Ouch. A bit steep there. Even when taking into consideration the exchange rate with the Canadian dollar, today's price should have been around £450.

[TheiFiStore]

people respond to better sound, you just have to show them, and show them using music they like! There is a ton of good music out there, new music, with sonic integrity, believe it or not

[avp715]

They prefer mp3s because they think they are newer and better, not because they actually think the audio quality is better. (Many people believe that the audio quality MUST be better because it is newer)