Does sound quality mean anything to you? The truth is it is incredibly subjective. Speak to an audiophile, and they will drone on for hours about how much their home speaker system cost. But to the average person, their laptop speakers or smartphone earplugs do the job just fine.
That said, we do live in a world where sound quality seems to be an issue. And there are several reasons why. We thought we would take some time out to explain why the music you listen to mind not be of the best quality – and what you can do about it. Let’s get started with some of the basics.
The Loudness Wars
Sound engineers have been having little battles with each other over the past fifteen years or so – nicknamed the Loudness Wars. The ins and outs are incredibly technical, but in essence, the loudness war is all about compression. Engineers design their soundstage to be as full as possible on the audio spectrum, which makes the music ‘sound’ louder. It’s OK for listening on a tiny smartphone speaker or on cheap computer monitors. But play back the tunes on a proper system, and everything sounds slightly wrong – overproduced, distorted, and flat. It’s why many people swear by vinyl records – with a perfect quality and a great pressing, you hear close to what the original artist intended.
The Audio File
The vast majority of music consumed these days is through the digital medium. There are streaming services, of course, which you can access at a range of bit rates – the higher, the better with regards to audio quality. And the mp3s you buy and listen to are also different. Again, the lower the bit rate, the less of the range you will hear. The best way to improve audio file quality is to seek out lossless files, rather than standard mp3s. Look into FLAC, WAV, and use mp3s of 320kpbs for the best examples of high-quality digital audio.
The Headphones
Of course, no matter how well an album is produced, or how good your digital files are, it won’t matter a jot without a decent pair of headphones. If you are still using your standard earbuds that came with your current phone, throw them away. They tend to be cheap, poor quality, and you will miss out on enormous frequency ranges. Even some Bluetooth headphones – which were never great in the past – are better than a cheap pair of headphones. Take a look around for some additional information before choosing your ideal pair. However, if you really want to hear music as it should be heard, invest some money in some studio quality headphones. The difference they make can be stunning, and you will hear things in albums you have never heard before.
The system
Finally, is your music system doing your music justice? You might think it is fine, but play your favorite tunes on a fantastic system, and you will never go back. Again, it can cost a fair amount of money to get that high quality you might be after. But if you want eargasm after eargasm, it’s going to be worth it.
What are your thoughts on audio quality? Do you notice the difference or does it not matter? Let us know your opinion in the comments!
