Is the iPod generation missing out? (Say the BBC)

[lotus2035]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8351921.stm

[duncanparsons]

Now, if only they'd played vinyl as well... ah, it'd get my vote (weep weep sob sob)

at least they admitted it wasn't scientific, but it's something worth doing on a bigger scale perhaps.. I doubt it would change any marketing tho

[tetsuneko]

Hmm.. let's see.. a NAD amp + decent (real speakers) vs. a dock sound system? What a fair comparison!

Besides, they didn't run the tests with the real iPodders of today (ie. kids), who prefer a more artifacty sound over linear audio in many other listening tests conducted around the world..

Would've been nice to have an ABC test, with C being an iPod connected to the NAD+. I bet the C would have been preferred over A as well..

But really, isn't the point of the docks the practicality? You only need one electric outlet and no connecting cables, just "prug n pray".. I hardly think anyone expects them to sound like a NAD+speakers

[HauntedWeather]

It's nice to know that the old-fashioned hi-fi scored a 9/10 on clarity from that one guy whilst being played through a cardboard box.

Did they even set them to the same volume? Whilst I don't doubt the hi-fi was better (Nad systems are also great value for money), I detest lazy, pointless journalism like this.

[tropicalontour]

The elephant in the room is that most people don't care about audio quality all that much. They've listened to crappy AM radio and even low quality FM receivers. MP3 sounds "good enough" for most people.

[amiga909]

@tropicalontour: true. the tester in the vid said something like "better audio quality = more emotions". means, people didnt feel anything 100y. ago when listening to schellac records

the comparison is pointless, i agree..
yet i'd second insofar all the I-stuff is overestimated and overpriced.

personally i wouldnt want a Ipod docking station. not primarily cause i also want to play vinyls. iPods have propietary software, ecological problems (short lifetime, repair). i want a product that works independently form Apple's megalomaniac global market strategies.


its stunning we live in times of (proclaimed) individualism: all these people just get I-ware because its common to have it.

[bugbug]

With the rapping and dance crap played with one finger in todays music

WHO NEEDS QUALITY!

I will Tell you now
A good garrard transcription deck and a top quality 1970s set is hard to beat.
A lot more warmth and atmosphere. They had better music then with more invention and fun.
Also I think that music from all walks from the past is far superior than today.
The money moguls are making money by pumping out junk music
Just look at the tv shows.
Dumbed down music for the masses and it works just the same for tv soaps.
People have short concentration spans today.

All music sounds the same today
depressing!!!!!!


WHO NEEDS QUALITY!!!!!

[Redmerkurii]

....No they're just learnin'. f**k it I got young kids, where they gonna be at in 10 years time?...

Dad'll just give 'em summat from the past to listen to in the meantime. Old or young we are the Ipod Gen. It is now...

These new Subteen kids are young and they're growin' up wiv Nintendo DS's and hackin' em at 9 and 10 years old.

5 or 6 years down the line you'll see 'em with their advanced netbooks with the same kind of performance from today's i7's

It's no longer about the warmth of vinyl or the precision of CD's or even amassing a a discerning collection of music. Instant gratification is the key. Online servers have become pretty much the staple source of entertainment since the turn of the millenium. These kids know it. They couldn't give a flying f**k about bitrates or resolution, They wanna be entertained. Long live the kids.....

[HauntedWeather]

With the rapping and dance crap played with one finger in todays music

WHO NEEDS QUALITY!

I will Tell you now
A good garrard transcription deck and a top quality 1970s set is hard to beat.
A lot more warmth and atmosphere. They had better music then with more invention and fun.
Also I think that music from all walks from the past is far superior than today.
The money moguls are making money by pumping out junk music
Just look at the tv shows.
Dumbed down music for the masses and it works just the same for tv soaps.
People have short concentration spans today.

All music sounds the same today
depressing!!!!!!


WHO NEEDS QUALITY!!!!!

The 1970s had just as much bad music as there is today, some good stuff but much more bad. You're blinded by nostalgia.

[ericj23]

With the rapping and dance crap played with one finger in todays music

WHO NEEDS QUALITY!

I will Tell you now
A good garrard transcription deck and a top quality 1970s set is hard to beat.
A lot more warmth and atmosphere. They had better music then with more invention and fun.
Also I think that music from all walks from the past is far superior than today.
The money moguls are making money by pumping out junk music
Just look at the tv shows.
Dumbed down music for the masses and it works just the same for tv soaps.
People have short concentration spans today.

All music sounds the same today
depressing!!!!!!


WHO NEEDS QUALITY!!!!!

The 1970s had just as much bad music as there is today, some good stuff but much more bad. You're blinded by nostalgia.

+1 the 80s was full of the most awful music too - and go and look up the best selling singles of 60s in the UK - youd think it would be all th ebatles and the stones - alas andy williams and englebert humperdink seem to do better than anyone chooses to remember

[kritikon]

Dumbed down music for the masses and it works just the same for tv soaps.
People have short concentration spans today.

I agree with the dumbed down thing, but not sure I agree with the short attention spans though. The TV/film producers etc like to think everyone has a short attention span, but just because they can't be bothered making anything with a decent script that spans more than 2 seconds doesn't mean everyone is actually like that. I know plenty of people who bemoan the pathetic flicking about from camera angle to angle every two seconds. I know plent of people who avoid that sort of crap, and the good films with decent scripts still shine like beacons anbd actually sell well too. It's just that they're in the minority because the majority of films are made by eejits and that's what they push down our throats.

I dunno where they get the idea that we all have no attention spans. Film and TV producers are just trying to force their sloppy techniques on us. Same as reality TV - it's pushed and pushed just because it's cheap and easy to make. But there are still a huge number of people who are horrified by it. Not all of us consumers are as dumb as the marketers try to tell us.

In fact, I know quite a few people at work who generally watch just things like Living Channel, Food channel, films etc on Sky, simply because the regular channels are so incredibly moronic.


And interesting to see the recent popularity of mega talent shows. Apart from the "reality" aspect, it's refreshing to see that overwhelmingly the winners are being voted in because they have talent, not just because they're fuckwits who behave badly.

[kritikon]

And...KvR itself is an example. Maybe it's popular because people here do speak proper language. Not dumb net-speak. In fact dumb net-speakers tend to be censured here and asked to write properly.

[amiga909]

And...KvR itself is an example. Maybe it's popular because people here do speak proper language. Not dumb net-speak. In fact dumb net-speakers tend to be censured here and asked to write properly.

good pro-people point, kritikon.
its attracting to qualify the majority as being morons cause they accept fakes and bad quality. but this is a short-term attitude. to say it in one sentence:
people arent dumb they're just lazy.

most people dont want to bother about the best PA solution, digging out excellent 2nd hand offers. they see the iPod works, loads of mates have it, lets sail with the big ship!

this doesnt mean - at least this my hope - the biggies can go too far. people know they arent treated well, they reflect its about big business, they are not puppets in a masterpiece by Google/Apple&Co. so what, i'll join the club as long i have my benefits. and i'll leave immediately when it gets bad. the majors know this, therefore they always try to make products that urges the user to stick to a certain product group, or he will loose investments.

the point of a sudden-bye-bye will be interesting when Google, Facebook, Twitter and Co. finally make substantial incomes (and not just having massive investor capitilization). how far can Google go with receiving advertisment money while displaying torrent links in the same search query? what happens if Facebook heavily sells advert space and customer data? can Apple really succeed with bashing Adobe (Flash is shit, therefore no iPad support)? Microsoft was for a long time under heavy attacks for their propietary solutions. and i believe Apple only got stronger cause of that bad image of Microsoft.

[druid]

I detest lazy, pointless journalism like this.

That pretty much sums it up for me.

Those docking systems do not have fancy speakers, and anyone who actually cares about sound quality would get a better setup to go with it.

Not that it matters; everyone will want to go back to the "golden era" of whatever it is. Even I'm stupid enough to feel that way often. I guess it's a human thing, like not being able to truly recapture that first romance, or whatever.

Also, bollocks.

[synaesthesia]

With the rapping and dance crap played with one finger in todays music

WHO NEEDS QUALITY!

I will Tell you now
A good garrard transcription deck and a top quality 1970s set is hard to beat.
A lot more warmth and atmosphere. They had better music then with more invention and fun.
Also I think that music from all walks from the past is far superior than today.
The money moguls are making money by pumping out junk music
Just look at the tv shows.
Dumbed down music for the masses and it works just the same for tv soaps.
People have short concentration spans today.

All music sounds the same today
depressing!!!!!!


WHO NEEDS QUALITY!!!!!

It seems concentration spans today are just as short as memories.

Dunno about you but when my iPod shuffles between Anna Ternheim, Aphex Twin and Hans Zimmer, I just can't tell the difference...