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Herc, it is not possible for downloaded mp3 songs to sound better than the original CD, just as its not possible for songs copied to a cassette or a minidisc to sound better than the original CD or LP version. It is all perception. The copied music will sound different in these situations since it has either been compressed to a smaller size (in the case of mp3's and minidisc recordings) or it has been copied to a media that has a much smaller audible and dynamic range (cassette). In the case of compression, they throw out sound that they don't think you will notice and probably some other filtering out takes place too. So you are left with something that has much less of the original material. If you can hear a wide audible range or are very familiar with the material, you will notice missing music and possibly flatness or some other different characteristic in the compressed version on mp3 or minidisc. In the case of cassette recordings, the cassette tape can not handle the whole range of the material and may not record sounds lower than 40 - 80db and higher than 18K db. So in either case you are left with less than the original recording. In fact, the same can be said of CDs that were mastered from analog recordings. They don't have quite the original quality of the analog recording due to the analog to digital conversion. And the original analog master is also missing something from the original material. Everything done from the moment the music came out of the instrument or the singers mouth has somehow changed and lessened the original, even including the wiring from the microphones. There are those that are turned off by the sound of CD's compared to the original analog recordings, while many others can't hear or don't notice the difference. The same can be said of mp3's. Many will not be bothered by the loss of material while some may really be irritated by the quality. Another point on mp3's. There are different levels of compression available and therefore, varying levels of mp3 quality. When you go to a download site and see several copies of the same song with different sizes, sometimes several megs different, that is because they are copied at different levels of compression. The larger ones "should" sound better and be "closer" to CD quality. But in the end, its all a matter of perception. If mp3s sound better to you than the original CD, then it may be a problem with the recording, or, you just like the compressed and different sounding version better, and that's whats important to you. Me, I don't have the best hearing in the world but can still hear things that I would classify as funny with many mp3s that I have heard. And even if I couldn't hear the difference, I would still rather have the original version with all its audible and dynamic qualities since I like to make compilation tapes and CDs and you lose something each time to re-record the music. Even in the case of CD to CD recording. |
