On Sun, 24 Jun 2007 02:04:17 -0400, Earl Kiosterud wrote
(in article BPnfi.1319$s%.148@trnddc02):
Dave,

You can, to some extent, find out what the mp3 process does to the audio for
yourself. You
could get an audio editor, like Cool Edit (now in Adobe's Audition), and do
some recording
yourself. Save the piece as mp3, with different bitrates, reopen it, and
you'll get an idea
of what artifacts the lossy compression introduces. Years ago, when mp3
codecs were newer,
the lower bit rates, like 64K, produced a watery sound. I know that's not
terribly
descriptive, but it's the best way I can describe it. They seem to be better

now. The
low-data-rate streaming internet radio stations have that watery sound.
You'll also notice
high-frequency loss at the lower rates. As the bit rate goes up, all that
diminishes. Just
for grins, I once took a very clean-sounding piece, and compared an mp3 of it

(128K, I think
it was) to the original wav, subtracting one from the other. The result was
a very watery
glub-glub sound, though relatively low in amplitude compared to the original.

Regards from Virginia Beach,

Earl Kiosterud


No, Earl, that's quite a good description. I hear it first in the cymbals and
other HF info, especially if that info has a lot of stereo content.

I was playing around with iTunes a few years back and clicked on their
"stereo enhance" button before importing CSNY's "Carry On" as an mp3. The
playback sounded like it was coming out of a washing machine.

Without the enhancement, the mp3 audio was better; mp3, but better. So it's
somewhat relative.

Regards,

Ty Ford





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