#1938270 - 05/06/08 06:22 PM
Earbud Generation
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DrumBum2112
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Registered: 05/04/08
Posts: 23
Loc: Coal City, IL, USA
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I'm sure that most of us have realized by know that engineering is seeming to take a nose dive into what I call the "Earbud effect". Over-Compressing and cranking high end till your ears bleed in attempt to compensate for poor quality sound in Mp3's played through cheap earbuds. I say that quality engineering should be the norm. If your recordings sound good to begin with; if they are well mixed and have dynamic range instead of just cranked out audio than they will work fine in a cheapo MP3 setting. Any thoughts? Go ahead. I guess i'm too new to the forum to post stuff like this and expect anything back; but this is a pretty hot topic anymore
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#1938287 - 05/06/08 07:09 PM
Re: Earbud Generation
[Re: DrumBum2112]
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Kramer Ferrington III.
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 05/12/05
Posts: 9412
Loc: Wellington, NZ
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Well... erm... I can agree on the ONE hand, ie where you say that quality engineering should be the norm. On the other hand, look at where people use their MP3 players... on noisy trains or out on noisy streets. It's a far cry from listening to stuff at home in a quiet neighbourhood.
Personally, I really enjoy classical music on my MP3 player. But I know better than to try to listen to classical when I'm riding a subway. On a subway, I wouldn't hear quality engineering if it bit me. 
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#1938304 - 05/06/08 07:37 PM
Re: Earbud Generation
[Re: Kramer Ferrington III.]
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Joe Muscara
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Registered: 02/21/05
Posts: 2332
Loc: Houston, TX
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search the net for "loudness war" and you should find info.
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#1962169 - 06/24/08 07:05 AM
Re: Earbud Generation
[Re: DrumBum2112]
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mattulator
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Registered: 07/27/04
Posts: 2382
Loc: Fishbum, USA
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My thoughts are that the quality of mp3 leaves much to be desired. I have been using earbuds for 20 years or more and was a diehard Sony user until Bose finally stepped up.
I ride motorcycles and love singing in my helmet. Needless to say high volume is required and that's just the way I like it but I also crave balanced sound and the more bottom end the better.
It seems that the higher the volume of an mp3 file, the less the overall sound quality. So, over the years I have gone from cassette players to CD to mp3 and then back to CD.
I am not fully aware of the technical aspect of file compression (and really don't care) though I imagine this to be the culprit. All I know is what I hear.
It does make me wince when I see these kids blasting cheap earbuds. It makes me want to make them try good ones.
_________________________
Standing in a river, waving a stick.
"Screw it. We're all gonna die in 2012 anyways." Cartman
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#1962878 - 06/25/08 06:45 PM
Re: Earbud Generation
[Re: mattulator]
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DrumBum2112
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Registered: 05/04/08
Posts: 23
Loc: Coal City, IL, USA
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Couldn't agree more, really. If people didn't use cheap earbuds and crank these MP3's that have just been made to sound bad by modern-day engineering practices. We'd have nothing to complain about. To my ears this stuff is huge, but most people probably know very little about engineering practices; so the record companies win again!
I'm rambling on, I'll shut up now.
_________________________
"One day I feel I'm on top of the world
And the next it is falling in on me
I can get back on
I can get back on"-Rush
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#1979689 - 08/12/08 06:19 PM
Re: Earbud Generation
[Re: DrumBum2112]
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Mortal Engines
Senior Member
Registered: 06/11/08
Posts: 147
Loc: Portland, OR
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I avoid earbuds like the plague. I have mild tinnitus (every thing I play is now in the key of "eeeeeeeeeee") and I noticed that using headphones for anything other than tracking was only exacerbating the problem. This is all my fault really....I liked the Sony Walkman, played really loud guitar (badly) in a really loud band, and have been working in construction for the past 13 years (I wear ear plugs now). The current generation of earbud users will be stone deaf soon enough if they aren't careful. I have noticed that alot of current music (mp3s or CDA) is really fatiguing on the ears (whatever happened to dynamics?) causing one to turn up the volume over time. It would also probably help if they figured out how to make earbuds more "noise canceling" for a more reasonable price...people would probably still turn it up too high though.
http://www.myspace.com/mortal_engines
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#1979749 - 08/13/08 04:00 AM
Re: Earbud Generation
[Re: Mortal Engines]
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Joe Muscara
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 02/21/05
Posts: 2332
Loc: Houston, TX
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The problem with noise canceling or noise blocking is safety. I use the cheap iPod earbuds when walking or riding my bike (just around the neighborhood, not busy streets) partially because I'm sweating all over them and partially because the openness lets me hear oncoming traffic and other noises.
I was at an audiologist a few months ago and he told me about an eight year old kid he saw as a patient who had significant hearing loss, due to loud music levels on his portable music player, which the kid was wearing all the time. This eight year old was now going to have to wear hearing aids the rest of his life. The lack of caution some people use is quite bad, and in this case, the parents did not do enough.
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#1981128 - 08/16/08 07:30 PM
Re: Earbud Generation
[Re: Joe Muscara]
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DrumBum2112
Member
Registered: 05/04/08
Posts: 23
Loc: Coal City, IL, USA
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Eight years old! Terrible!
I mean im like 14 and I was worried that i had been bad before I started using plugs all the time and being more or less "volume-conscious" when I play.
But just having that constant, after-huge rock concert ringing in your ears; with the diminished hearing of someone six or seven times your own age is just not the way to live.
_________________________
"One day I feel I'm on top of the world
And the next it is falling in on me
I can get back on
I can get back on"-Rush
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