OT: Buying an iPod in Toronto: recommendations please

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Tue, Nov 20, 2007 at 08:45:14PM -0500, James Knott wrote:
> Perhaps we're having a language problem, but when have I ever suggested
> using crappy headphones??? My point has always been that good headphones
> are already better than MP3 sound and getting even better headphones
> will not create any benefit, because the sound quality from an MP3 is
> simply not their to begin with. Headphones cannot take a distorted
> signal and make it better. They can only faithfully reproduce what ever
> is presented to them. If that includes significant distortion, as MP3's
> do, then they will reproduce that distortion. Claiming otherwise is to
> ignore reality.

MP3s do not sound distorted necesarily.  They just lack some detail.  I
have a set of decent headphones which when I got them I discovered all
sorts of things I had never noticed in the music on a lot of my CDs.
Same for a lot of MP3s.  Both sounded a lot better because suddenly I
could actually hear all the bits of the music.  MP3s filter out certain
frequencies and types of sound (the stuff that in general should be
least noticeable).  Headphones and speakers in general have very
different characteristics for what they do and do not reproduce, which
means it doesn't matter what is missing from the MP3, your headphone
quality still makes a big (usually much bigger) difference than the
source of your music.

--
Len Sorensen
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