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Friday Humour: a comparison of iTunes old and new audio formats

Ever wonder what you get for the additional 30 cents?


Gotta love Slate, and their article today “Sound to blow your mind” with a link to an in-depth audio analysis.



“This week, Apple’s iTunes Music Store began selling some songs in a new audio format that the company says has two advantages over its previous offerings: The tracks are free of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions, meaning you can play them on devices other than an iPod, and they have higher audio quality. The new iTunes Plus tracks also come at a premium: $1.29 compared with $0.99 for the old format.


“The excitement of the anti-DRM crowd was dampened when it came out that Apple is embedding personal information about the buyer, including name and e-mail address, in each purchased song. But the question we wanted to consider is this: Can you really hear a difference between tracks encoded at 128 kbps (Apple’s old format) and 256 kbps (the new format)? Watch, and listen to, this video by Scott Blaszak to find out.” 


Here’s a link to the video: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid494808731/bclid490688512/bctid958471694.


Remember to listen closely. Audiophiles will no doubt appreciate the fidelity. 😉