Monday, January 25, 2010

Leica: Could Be Worse

Leica: Could Be Worse, article where MJ compares the "high prices" of Leica with prices in the high fidelity industry. Good fun. For example, instead of paying $16,000 for a camera with a couple high-end lenses, you could be paying $16,000 for one meter of cable.

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From a featured comment:
... one myth that we deal with all the time at my company is whether MP3 files are significantly inferior to the original audio. When we remove variables like cheap 5 cent D/A converters, 10 cent headphone amplifiers, and $1.00 earbuds most often found on portable MP3 players from the equation, guess what? For all people tested, MP3 audio files achieve transparency against the original material at around 160kbps. Most so-called audio 'experts' refuse to believe this, but we've demonstrated it over and over again in blind ABX testing.
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3 comments:

dave nielsen said...

Most so-called audio 'experts' refuse to believe this, but we've demonstrated it over and over again in blind ABX testing.

I kind of wonder, just because the average joe can't tell the difference...well it's the difference between a wine buff and someone who just drinks the occasional glass. There is a lot of B.S. in wine tasting but some of it is true. I wonder if it's the same here.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

I would imagine, given what they do, that they included quite a few audiophiles.

dave nielsen said...

Probably, but of course anyone can call themself an audiophile. I know I can't tell the difference but I was just allowing for the fact that I'm not an audiophile and am satisfied with mp3 quality.