Contributed Post
As a musician, I’m often accused of being something of a snob. I’m not, however. It’s just that I want to listen to new, more interesting sounds and ideas, rather than the same rehashed chords and melodies. But there is one element of music that will always bring out an element of snobbishness in me – sound quality.
When digital music first came out, I hated it. Sure, it’s kinda cool to have all those songs stored on your iPod or smartphone. But let’s face it, in those early days of digital music, the sound quality sucked. It’s a lot better today, of course, but we still have a long way to go.
With all this in mind, I thought I would point out a few quick fixes for improving the audio quality of your digital files. Take a look and see if they make a difference to every bit of music you play.
Choose better file formats
I’ll avoid getting too technical here, but my main issue with digital audio quality lies with your average 128kbps mp3 file. OK, it might sound acceptable on your earphones. But play it at home over a bigger system and it will sound horrendous. So, your first job is to start buying lossless formats that give you an accurate representation of the recording. Many people rate WAV as the ultimate in sound quality, but you can also get excellent results with FLAC and Ogg Vorbis. And even 320kbps mp3s will make a big difference.
Stream better services
It’s taken a while for streaming services to catch up with the sound quality game. Spotify now allows its subscribers to stream at a higher bitrate, which gives an instant boost to audio quality. According to latimes.com, Apple is also looking into high fidelity streaming formats. It is about time, as Apple have always been one of the worst offenders for offering cheap sounding digital files. You can also check out Deezer’s high fidelity options. However, it’s fair to say it hasn’t necessarily caught on with the mainstream market – yet.
Use better headphones and speakers
Once you have higher quality audiophiles, don’t ruin it by limiting your listening with poor quality headphones. The standard pair you get with your smartphone will be appalling – sorry to be so abrupt, but that’s just the way it is. Upgrade your headphones and you will hear your music in a way you had never thought possible. It’s also worth investing in a better speaker system. According to speakerdigital.com, you don’t have to pay too much to hear a significant improvement. When you’re at home, don’t even bother with the headphones or playing music directly from your device. Connect it to some bookshelf speakers so that you can thoroughly enjoy the music being played. If you don’t have a set of decent speakers, this home page might be able to direct you to some. With a pair of good speakers, your whole music experience will be enhanced.
Invest in a good sound card
Finally, if you are playing your music from a laptop or PC, invest in a good quality sound cards. The sound cards that come with prebuilt lappies and desktops are often of a bare minimum standard. Using a sound card can also give you the ability to convert your digital files into an analog signal. It means you will be able to play your music on a standard amplifier and speaker set.
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