We know the music industry is stuck in a tailspin. We’ve beaten that issue into the ground. But more alarming than the death of records labels, is the continuing degradation of musical mediums. We’ve left behind wax cylinders, records, and magnetic tape to embrace digital conversion, Compact Discs, and MP3s. Quality exchanged for convenience. If this trend continues, we’re going to get to the point where we can upload an entire compilation of all the music that has been made, that is being made, and will be made, directly into our brain stems, Matrix-style. But it’ll sound like crap.
MP3s and other “lossy” audio codecs work by getting rid of data that is considered unimportant. Basic audio theory: Higher frequency = smaller waveforms. Thus, higher pitches have much more waves, meaning more data, than lower pitches. Human hearing doesn’t go higher than 20kHz, and even then, there aren’t any instruments that go anywhere in that range. So the creators of MPEG-1, Layer 3 encoding had a stroke of genius. If you have a range of frequencies that adds tons of data, but people can’t even hear it, why keep it?
iDFX Audio Enhancer is an add-on to iTunes that serves to, “re-encode your current MP3 and AAC files using a patent-pending method that repairs the damage and lost harmonics that occurred during the original encoding process”. Sounds like doublespeak to me for a $40 EQ and extrapolative guesswork. And the demo of iDFX sounds like just that. if you want good sounding audio, stop buying MP3s. And if you want smaller file sizes, start compressing with FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, or any number of lossless codecs.
Firstly I want to clearly identify myself, this is Paul Titchener, the developer of the audio processing in the iDFX product.
I’m surprised in the choice of individual to comment on iDFX, as Jimin clearly has a strong bias against MP3 technology, it was like sending someone who hates a particular band to review their concert, nothing insightful will come of that.
First of all, all you millions of happy iPod users can relax and retrieve your iPods from the dumpster, MP3’s don’t suck. MP3’s use impressive technology that does a pretty good job of representing the original audio, particularly with a portable player like an iPod.
Jimin’s suggested alternative of using a lossless encoder is not practical or desirable, he omitted a few important facts, such as that this would mean being able to store in your iPod and on your PC as little as one tenth the number of songs you can with MP3’s. Also, not to mention that fact that songs with lossless encoding aren’t available to purchase from anyone, other than CD’s, not a convenient option for most music listeners these days. Add on top of it the fact that most typical MP3 users already have thousands of MP3’s in their collections.
So his lossless encoder suggestion is like saying we should all throw away our current cars and buy hydrogen fuel cell based cars because they are clearly better, not a very practical or insightful comment.
The vast majority of our customers, and we have a lot of them, don’t think our DFX MP3 Enhancement sucks either, they really like it. We started in the business developing audio processing for studio recording, and have several Grammy winning producers and engineers as users. We used our best studio technology to create the original DFX MP3 Enhancer for Winamp and the Windows Media Player and have had over 25 million downloads of that product, with a very large base of happy users, you can see some comments from them here: http://www.fxsound.com/dfx/pages/overview/reactions.php .
The reaction from the customers of our new iDFX product for iPods has been very positive also. iDFX does three valuable things for you. It makes MP3’s sound better, it processes the audio to allow much higher undistorted output level on playback systems like iPod speaker docks and it sets all your songs to a standard volume level, eliminating blasted ears and too quiet songs.
Trust your own ears and give it a try, you can download a trial version from: http://www.fxsound.com/mp3-accessories/ipod-accessories-download.html
And allow me to identify myself. I am neither a developer, nor a writing critic. I’m just a ’seasoned citizen’, who has been around the audio scene since the days of tube audio. I find Jimin Brelsford’s remarks to be nothing short of……..interesting.
I agree with Paul Titchener here. I have been using DFX Audio Enhancer for a few years now, and I have few complaints. It’s rediculously easy to use, and greatly helps me listen to my music in places that require less than perfection. Places, such as my Town&Country, which is spacious enough to get great low end with a nice JBL Subwoofer.
Now, let me explain. I am a certified tube head, and have almost a dozen P-P units(receivers/integrated amps), from the 50s-60s, and really enjoy them. I even have a pair of S-E monoblocks that put out seven glorious w/c, and will drive you out of the house, when played through my Father’s old Wharfedale Airedales. So, I know, and appreciate quality sound, even though my ears are not up to spec as they once were. But that helps me identify the difference between valve and IC amplifiers, believe it or not.
What I am seeing here is a form of elitist intellectual snobbery, that is someone’s way of saying that “I am better than thou”, which is certainly not productive. As one, who used to be a regular poster on Parts Express Forum, one of the largest speaker-building sites in the world, I witnessed this elitism first hand, in the form of anti-Bose sentiment. It was almost as though many were establishing a ‘rite of passage’ with Bose bashing, not realizing that M. Bose has done more for the speaker industry than practically anyone out there. Granted, his products are no longer geared to the audiophile, are expensive, and are geared to the ’seasoned citizen’ crowd, such as myself. He has done wonders for economics and audio over the years.
And I don’t really love Bose, just as I don’t really love Microsoft. Yet, I respect their contribution to the economy. The same thing here applies to FXSound. They are not perfect, but they do the job they set out to do, and they do it well. If someone wants perfection, there is always “Audition”, “Audacity”, or some other complex audio manipulation software.
One other thing. Jimin Brelsford bemoans the loss of quality, amongst the masses, but he overlooks the fact that today, almost everyone has access to quality HiFi, whereas during the days of tubes and early discrete audio, these things were beyond the reach of the average citizen. And what has evolved is a very positive thing indeed.
Also, what is happening today is akin to what happened to the beer making industry. When the big boys gobbled up the little fellows, everyone moaned about the loss of quality brewing. But that only opened up the chance for beer lovers to start several thousand micro-breweries, and the rest is history. My guess is that, in the future, the audio industry will be more accessible to the average person, and the quality will only get better.
Soooooo, think positive, enjoy yourself, and get yourself a DFX product. You will be amazed at the ease and results. Unless you are an audio snob, of course.
Now, where can I get a copy of this new “iDFX”? Paul, do you need another Beta Tester? LOL!