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PUBLISHER’S LETTER
www.siliconchip.com.au
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
Production Manager
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Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc, VK2ZLO
Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK
Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW
Bob Young
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ISSN 1030-2662
MP3 format will change
our music listening
This month we have put a big effort into
producing articles on MP3. The first is the
general article on the MP3 format written by
Jim Rowe and starting on page 6. The second,
written by Greg Swain and starting on page 12,
is more into the nitty-gritty of down-loading
.WAV files and converting them into MP3 format. Finally, the third article by Peter Smith
and starting on page 24, is the first of a series
on building an MP3 player based on an old
computer – not too old mind you, since it needs to be a 133MHz Pentium
or better, with a big hard disk.
In spite of the vast amount of work that we have put into the MP3
articles in this issue, I have mixed feelings about MP3. On the one hand
it is growing enormously in popularity as people use it to download and
copy all sorts of music in a format which is potentially high quality, very
compact and easy to play, although currently available portable MP3
players are an expensive item.
On the other hand, in the form that most people appear to use it,
MP3 is the garbage music medium. In effect, it is the digital equivalent
of the old tape cassette where ease of use won out over sound quality. In
fact, most tape cassettes were recorded without the aid of Dolby noise
reduction which was able to greatly improve the sound quality. And
so it is today. MP3 is a potentially very good sound recording medium
but is mostly used in the more mediocre modes where people get more
recording time and less quality. Partly, people are forced into this situation by the limitations of the hard disk in their computer and the lack
of speed of the internet.
So while some people will accuse me of being elitist, I hate the
idea of a recording medium being used at far less than its optimum. So
in spite of there being rough equivalence between the better modes of
MP3 and CDs, CDs ARE much better than the more compressed forms
of MP3.
We also have the interesting situation where audio manufacturers
are pushing the CD medium to new highs with the development of SACD
(Super Audio Compact Disc) and the DVD manufacturers are pushing
the development of DVD Audio (ie, with six channels of digitally recorded audio). In the meantime, most of the population is supposedly
quite happy to live with much more mediocre sound fare on MP3 and
so on. I suppose there is a parallel here between high definition TV
and the poor quality pictures that most of the population seem quite
happy to watch.
I hope that as time goes on, MP3 will continue to be developed and
that people gradually raise their listening standards to the full potential
of the medium. It can provide a great listening experience – why not
use it to the fullest?
Leo Simpson
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