Even if Napster hadn't struck a run-for-cover distribution deal with Bertelsmann Music Group recently, I'd be ready to declare MP3 a limited--if not comatose--audio format for one simple reason: It isn't very good.
I've been downloading and listening to MP3s from a variety of sources for about a year now. Intoxicated by the selection and the ease of availability, I've given the format a free ride when it comes to sound quality. But the claims made by MP3 proponents about how the loss of sound quality is imperceptible? Hogwash.
To see what I mean, put an audio CD in your CD-ROM drive and bring its contents up as a file menu. A three-minute track on a store-bought CD should be about 30MB in size. An MP3 file of the same length is about 7MB when encoded at the maximum 320Kb bitrate. At the common 128Kb bitrate--the one often touted as "near-CD quality"--it's a mere 3MB or so. You do the math: The musical information on the MP3 file doesn't measure up, and you don't have to be an audiophile to tell the difference.
Or else, conduct this experiment on your home stereo (don't use your computer; its audio system is probably much more forgiving than your stereo components are). If you can, find a recording of which you have both an MP3 copy and an "official" copy, and compare the two. Your ears won't lie: Even on modest equipment (my middle-of-the-line receiver and CD player were bought in 1985 and 1986, respectively), the difference is indisputable. MP3s compensate for their size by cutting off high and low frequencies and generally robbing recordings of their sonic depth. Some of the difference can be made up with a graphic equalizer, but making an archival recording using an EQ unit is not only a headache, it's also not being true to the original recording.
MP3 most certainly has its place. Recordings of a certain vintage--let's say, prior to the late-'60s introduction of eight-track recording--tend not to suffer nearly as much from the format's shortcomings. Also, some vintage recordings of greater-than-average lengths, such as old radio broadcasts, are served wonderfully by the compression technology that makes MP3 what it is.
Another element that works in MP3's favor is the law of diminished expectations. Computer sound systems are not very discriminating, so the sonic shortcomings outlined above won't be noticed. And again, just as a free meal always tastes a little better, a track grabbed gratis from Napster is going to be forgiven a multitude of sins.
In other words, MP3 is fine if you don't indulge in the expectation of top-notch quality. If you're OK with occasionally getting clicks, skips, and that weird underwater sound that afflicts entirely too many home-ripped MP3s, then keep on downloading. If you start wondering why so many of your tracks sound like they're not quite all there, accept that you've gotten what you paid for.
The Hot List:
The Who's Pete Townshend has always gone out of his way to remain accessible his fans, and his Web site helps accomplish that. Aside from messages and diary entries from Townshend, it has lots of interesting audio files, including home demos of songs like "Behind Blue Eyes" and several exclusive live tracks from The Who's recent U.S. tour. Listen to the version of "5:15," in which Townshend profanely tells off a Madison Square Garden heckler … The oddballs in Ween have launched Weenradio, a storehouse not only for tons of unreleased Ween tracks (live and studio), but also for music by some of the duo's favorite off-the-wall acts.
