[PLUG-TALK] Digitizing Records on a Linux Box

[Rich Shepard]

On Mon, 18 Feb 2008, Richard C. Steffens wrote:

> We tried several settings, when converting from wav to mp3, and found that
> we could not tell the difference between full CD quality (320 kbps) and
> 256 kbps. I've heard folks claim that 192, or 128 kpbs are good enough.
> Your ear mileage will vary, depending on the kind of music you listen to,
> and probably your ears, too. For us, listening primarily to classical
> music, 192 kbps was not as good as 256.

Dick,

   That's a very valid point. We tend to lose the ability to hear higher
frequencies as we age; in fact, over about 25 years of age and the top
frequencies are lost.

   In my case, I made the foolish decision in the mid-1980s to take an
aspirin prophylactally every day for about 3-4 years. Since then, the
recommendation is to use a low-dose aspirin which was not available then.
Not only did I not need to take it (my blood pressure has always been low
despite the family hypertension history -- unless driving into Portland
during morning rush hour), but it stripped off the fine hairs in the ear
canals and I lost the ability to hear sounds above 5 kHz. No one knew then
that aspirin caused hearing loss when the chemical was taken daily for a
period of time. Sigh. Interestingly enough, the original treatment for TB
caused the same hearing loss; my Chemistry Dept. chair at college was one of
the first to undergo that treatment and could not hear sounds higher in
frequency than 5 kHz.

   So, while I still enjoy my jazz, folk, dixieland, bluegrass, and (yes)
classical, equipment that produces sounds I can no longer hear are a waste
of money for me.

Rich

-- 
Richard B. Shepard, Ph.D.               |  Integrity            Credibility
Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc.        |            Innovation
<http://www.appl-ecosys.com>     Voice: 503-667-4517      Fax: 503-667-8863