Klarinet Archive - Posting 000304.txt from 2001/12

From: "Benjamin Maas" <benmaas@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] MP3 vs CD audio
Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2001 15:57:12 -0500

Stan:

I hope I'm not the one that you are referring to as indignant... If I am, I
send my apologies.

I feel I must explain my response a bit... I spend a very large portion of
my professional life as a sound engineer trying to correct misconceptions
dealing with issues concerning a wide range of topics from microphone
technique to mastering to issues concerning fidelity of recordings.

As an engineer, I work very hard to maintain a certain quality of product.
To see that final product get [IMO] ruined by an uninformed client, I get
frustrated. Just this week, I had a client not realize that MP3s are a
decrease in quality and if not burned to an audio CD, people won't be able
to listen to it (she burned *data* discs). This client is a student here in
LA and is applying for teaching positions around the country. I'm re-doing
her CDs so that she can re-submit them so people can listen to them.

Right now, I'm also dealing with a film score that I recorded that is being
printed to 16mm film and being summed to mono. I've had to work long hours
with the film-makers to make sure they don't do something that will cause
major harm to the final sound of the music (as it is already getting
destroyed by the very nature of the deliver format). I have also had to
work with them with a secondary score that will be used when the film is
issued on DVD (a format that is capable of much more fidelity--both in
picture and sound).

There is a lot of misinformation floating around out there. Just when we
[meaning sound engineers] think we are making headway in the battle to keep
recordings sounding good, we get an article in Time magazine (like the
recent review of the I-Pod) that has many statements that are just plain
wrong. When I see statements that are incorrect by a respected member of
the community, it means that more time must be spent re-educating members of
that community. That is why I went into some detail (hopefully that most
could understand) about various other music compression codecs that are out
there.

If anybody out there in Klarinet world is unclear as to what I've been
talking about, please let me know... I'd rather spend some of my time
explaining again than have misinformation floating around.

Once again, if I came across a bit harsh, I apologize.

--Ben

Benjamin Maas
Fifth Circle Audio
Los Angeles, CA
benmaas@-----.com
http://www.fifthcircle.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stan Geidel [mailto:sgeidel@-----.net]
>
> Thanks to all who wrote to me, both publicly and privately, to correct my
> mistaken impression that MP3 and CD audio were identical in quality after
> producing an MP3 from the CD. Another case of a little knowledge being a
> dangerous thing, and I stand corrected.
>
> I found the character of the responses to be interesting and wanted to
> comment on them. Some were matter-of fact, some were kind and diplomatic,
> while others were indignant. Yes, indignant! Strange to see that some
> folks can get so worked up over something like my misinformed
> statements on
> MP3 files. Hmmm... guess I will leave it at that.
>
> With good will toward all,
> Stan Geidel

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