On Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:26:32 -0700, Arny Krueger wrote
(in article <fuj4ao025k4@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>):
> "Sonnova" <sonnova@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:fugeuk05uq@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>> There are several aspects to this question. First of all,
>> I have read in a number of sources that using a lossless
>> compression scheme (such as Apple Lossless in iTunes) can
>> theoretically result in BETTER sound than one can get
>> playing back the CD on a CD player. Apparently, the
>> reason for this is that the lossless algorithms, when
>> "ripping" a CD will try a digital word with errors over
>> and over again until it gets the word error free (most
>> errors on CD playback are random rather than hard, I'm
>> told).
>
> One big inherent problem with CD players is that as a rule, they lack
the
> ability to retry tracks that don't read right the first time. This
contrasts
> with the better CD ripping programs that can read and reread a track,
until
> reliable data is obtained.
>
> I've been benefitting from this advantage for over a decade. It
primarily
> applies to damaged CDs. If you're playing a disc in good condition,
there's
> no possible advantage.
>
> Most frequently, one of my kids simply loved a CD to death - often
> scratching it heavily while using it in a ****table player. The problem
> wasn't the ****table player, but the casual usage environment that tends
to
> surround them.
>
>> This means that the compressed file is error free
>> when finished.
>
> Doesn't matter whether your finished product is compressed or not. I
> generally produce a corrected .wav file, and simply burn another CD.
>
>> If it's true that the playback sound
>> quality of a CD is determined by the number of
>> interpolated errors incurred on playback (which I do not
>> know as a fact **), then, all else being equal, the
>> uncompressed lossless file should, again, theoretically,
>> be better than CD.
>
> Interpolation is not as accurate as what one obtains when retries are
used
> to extract exact information.
>
That's theory, as I understand it, anyway. But the question is: can one
really hear the difference or is it another one of these examples where a
difference that makes no difference is no difference at all?
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