under/over

[Jeremy David]

On 6/23/06, j eric townsend <jet at flatline.net> wrote:
> Given the amazingly fantastic sound systems in clubs I suspect you could get away with an iPod and 192 bit MP3s.  I've been to a couple of shows where the DJ had two iPods and a mixer, you wouldn't have known if you hadn't gone and peeked in the booth.

Most people tell me I'm full of it, but I can tell the difference
between a 192bit mp3 and CD-quality audio. A fantastic sound system
can't magically make data that isn't in the source media come back. A
sound system is a chain, and a chain is only a strong as its weakest
link. If you play a shitty, scratchy old Styx record over the greatest
sound system in the world, it will still sound like a shitty, scratchy
old Styx record.

In general, bad sound systems tend to mask low-fidelity issues, since
they bring everything down to a lower fidelity equally. A great sound
system will expose flaws, not fix them.