How much does sound quality matter to you?

I'm just wondering, can the Music Industry effectively bring back analog recording techniques, press records again, and/or create improved overall sound quality for the masses with HI-RES download technology? Will it work? Will people get it?

Will the majority of music consumers be guided to buy music with the best possible fidelity, compared to what is now more familiar and affordable like iTunes? Do most people even care about sound quality anymore? Do we know what we're missing?

 

It's not as important as most think it is. The music is what matters, especially the older I get.

 

In answer to all your questions, "No."

 

yes. i'd rather listen to a great performance in lesser quality than a bad performance in great quality.

 

Depends on what lesser means. Also lesser quality through a revealing system might not be acceptable but fine through computer speakers while on-line. Frankly for serious listening it's Vinyl followed by SACD/DVDA. For casual listening I can put up with Youtube or Spotify. CD is acceptable but second to Vinyl and Hi-res, though I doubt I could live with a CD only set up.

 

People have different listening habits. It's impossible to choose only one.

 

For music I really like, if I learn that there is a better sounding version available I'm willing to go to some length to track it down.

But I don't let the fact that it was poorly recorded keep me from listening to music I otherwise like, unless it is truly atrocious e.g. bad audience bootlegs.

 

The music is what matters most, but I do try my best to get the best sounding (yet affordable) versions of that music.

 

I'm fine with CDs. But I prefer that they sound good.

 

I want the best possible sound I can get without giving myself a brain aneurysm trying to figure out the differences of 7 different music formats.

 

Going on the poll, you're equating SQ with format, which is not accurate. I have MP3's and AAC's that sound significantly better than some records I own.

Mastering trumps a lot of other factors, when it comes to overall SQ.

 

cds are ok by me

 

I picked CD, but I play a lot of vinyl too.

 

I'm fine with CD quality sound, though I also like hi res where possible (DVD-A, SACD, etc.). I also do some streaming/downloading, particularly in cases where that's the only option, but it's not my preference for dedicated listening. My sense is that, outside of the narrow niche of hardcore audiophiles, most music listeners don't get too absorbed in these kinds of questions and strongly value convenience of audio quality. I don't see that trend reversing any time soon.

 

I obviously prefer high sound quality, but it runs a distant second to the music itself. I've bought plenty of lo-fi recordings to have access to quality music; however, I've never bought music I didn't want just because it was recorded well.

 

I can't pick any of them. What does 'CD quality sound' mean? The accompanying description for the selection reveals that CDs never attained the perfect sound forever hype. CD does not have a sound per se; any CD can be extremely good or bad sounding. If the CD world was all about DCC quality; master tapes with appropriate mastering done by engineers with good ears, I could pick that. Thin or bright sounding transfers, or the all too common IN-YOUR-FACE mastering attacks are no fun.

So yes, sound quality does matter.

 

Some CD's sounds great!

Sound quality means more to me these days, as I got access to better equipment, but I'm not an audiophile by any means. That being said, I can separate good sound from bad sound better today. But if there's only one available source and it sucks sound wise, I can still enjoy the hell out of it if the music is good. Lo-fi doesn't always equal bad. Bad music always equals bad.

 

Quality matters to me.

I have a high quality (well it is to me) hifi system (Roksan Caspian cd, pre-amp and mono amps) and recently added a Cambridge CXN media player.
I also have a SRM Arezzo record player, but unless you have a vinyl record that has been made to the highest standards, I don't find vinyl produces the quality I want.
Some cd albums played on the Roksan Caspian cd player sound wonderful, and recently I have be playing some 24 bit tracks through the Cambridge media player and I can hear the difference.
A well mastered cd can sound brilliant.

 

I predominantly listen to CD, though I make sure I keep my LP playback gear up to standard and have 500 LPs. I enjoy both, but I consider the carrier format CD to be "better" than the carrier format vinyl because the problems associated with vinyl are, to me, more frustrating.
I won't vote in this poll however because the responses are flawed and biased towards a certain way of thinking. "I'm OK with CD Quality Sound, so let's not get too picky" doesn't reflect my approach to CD acquisition. I research every CD I purchase and go for the best quality mastering (factoring in cost and availability) whenever possible. Therefore, I'm very picky when it comes to "CD quality sound" (whatever that means).

Mastering is, as with many here, the most important aspect for me. The way I look at it, a collector of anything must have some kind of filter or way to chose what to buy and what to avoid. One can't listen to everything, much like an avid reader can't read everything. Thus, I tend not to buy recordings with poor mastering. This doesn't prevent me from streaming brickwalled recordings, but I won't buy them. Why? Because I've invested a fair chunk of my disposable income into my hi-fi and it reveals the problems with bad mastering techniques. I want to enjoy the music I listen to, not grin and bear something just for the sake of it. There's over 40 years of well mastered, accessible music to listen to. I think I'll treat my ears to that first!

 

Depends on the band. I love the crappy sound of Guided By Voices' Alien Lanes.

 

Agree that the pole is a bit skewed as it is completely possible to have good and bad sound from any format.

High resolution files made from poorly recorded analog source will simply recreate the poorly recorded sound with better fidelity.

That being said, I have at times been seduced by really well recorded music... to the point that I am listening to it because it sounds good, not because I necessarily like the music. Fortunately, it is a short-term affliction and ultimately I get over it and put on some music I like, regardless of the sound quality.

 

It matters a lot, but if it's a live show that I can't get anywhere else, I'm game.

 

+1

 

Quality is paramount to me. I prefer physical formats and use ripped copies or Spotify for when I'm out and about. I have a small amount of vinyl left but the reality that CD and digital has long since equalled and often betters vinyl made handing over about 700 titles to Oxfam Music in Edinburgh an easy task. Vinyl is still fun, there's a nice ritual too that no other medium has, but for SQ alone, it's the mastering and production first and foremost over format type. Tired lines by a small minority of audiophiles about CD or digital just not cutting it when it comes to sound quality are beyond parody in 2015 IMO.

 

"better"is so subjective it renders this thread a dud. Circular argument at its finest.