Why I Still Use CDs

An article in the May 10 NY Times, "In Mobile Age, Sound Quality Takes a Step Back," reminds me of the reason why I still primarily play music from CDs rather than from mp3s.

The article notes that the music stored on computers and iPods is compressed. The amount of data in the original recording is reduced so as to speed up download times and to allow more songs to be stored on the device. Compression "shrinks the size of the files, eliminating some of the sounds and range contained on a CD."

(For example, a typical 4 minute song on a CD requires 40 MB of data. However, an mp3 file of that same song can be less than 4 MB -- containing less than one-tenth of the audio data on the CD. Even a higher quality mp3 of that same song is only about 6 or 7 MB -- still only about one-sixth of the audio data on the CD.)

As the NY Times reports, "compressed music files produce a crackly, tinnier, and thinner sound than music on CDs."

The reason most listeners don't notice the difference is that today's generation most often listens to music through a pair of iPod earbuds or through their computer speakers. These are adequate for that purpose. It's a trade-off between quality on the one hand and portability and convenience on the other.

But play that same compressed mp3 file through a $5,000 professional sound system like I use and, believe me, you CAN hear the difference between that and the original CD!