Neil Young was working with Steve Jobs to create digital audio perfection
In a recent interview, Neil Young revealed his plan for “perfect” digital audio.
Although the average listener can’t tell the difference between a run-of-the-mill MP3 and a much larger file created using a lossless codec like AAC or FLAC, audiophiles everywhere cringe at their “inferior” sound. One Canadian music industry icon thinks it’s high time to do something about sub-par digital audio — and he had begun working with a tech giant to make his vision a reality.
Winnipeg’s own Neil Young had talks with the late Steve Jobs about creating a new digital file format and a new breed of personal media player that would handle their playback flawlessly. According to Young, today’s MP3 files only reproduce about 5% of the sound that an artist creates during a recording session. What he’s striving for is a twenty-fold improvement — or absolute perfection — when it comes to digital audio.
While the quality and fidelity of the format would be drastically improved, Young admits there would be one small (or rather not-so-small) catch. Files would be massive, and it could take as long as 30 minutes to download a single track. That’s also going to make it hard to carry your entire digital archive around on a player — he figures about 360 songs would fit on a compatible player.
The contention here is that current digital formats just aren’t good enough to deliver truly authentic reproductions. There’s been plenty of debate on that subject over the years, and blind samplings have suggested that people don’t notice enough difference between lossless formats and their MP3-compressed counterparts to say one sounds better than the other.
Over the years, the average listener has been bombarded by compressed, lossy audio files. At this point, most folks don’t realize that they’re missing out on 95% of the genuine article as Young claims. There’s also the issue of variation in what different people’s ears can actually hear. A good number of listeners wouldn’t reap any benefit from this new, more perfect format and player. If you’ve spent a lifetime blasting MP3s through earbuds and attending live rock shows, you’re probably in this group.
That doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. Neil Young is highly respected in the music business, and the fact that Steve Jobs was interested enough to discuss his plans certainly says something. There’s plenty of money to be made producing high-end gear for audiophiles even though they represent a fairly small percentage of the overall market.
If Neil Young can find the right tech company or “some rich guy,” as he put it, to help him bring this near-perfect audio system to consumers, he’ll do it. “My goal is to try to rescue the art form that I’ve been practicing for the past 50 years,” he proclaimed. A noble vision, to be sure.
[Source: Digital Trends]
How is what he is proposing any different then say an uncompressed WAV file? Just curious…
We already had perfect audio in the forms of vinyl and later SACD.
Those went the way of the dinosaurs because people just dont give half a $hit about sound QUALITY.
They`d rather have 25 000 tracks of noise on their Ipods.
End of rant
You’re an idiot Mike – obviously lossless audio exists, Neil Young is trying to make this accessible as a DIGITAL format.
Totally agree with Mike.
But Neil Young? He’s always sounded like crap. Couldn’t carry a tune if it had handles on it.
Writing as the dinosaur that I am, a relic from the past…. someone who considered himself an audiophile, was once an owner of a true quadraphonic sound system. Fisher … Miranz… Pioneer… AIKI .. and all that stuff.
I would welcome new technology… so that I could sit down … have a glass of 40 creek… (Ice, no water) turn on my 20-20 htz surround sound and lose myself in the perfect bliss of of the hi fi audio kiss. To be one with the music as it was composed and delivered seamlessly to a mind lost in the moment….
I guess it all depends on why you listen to music… My Samsung Galaxy S has the ability to play music,,, but there is no Ecstasy of the moment. Sure the music brings back fond memories.. but I don’t need technology to replay songs in the depths of my mind.
While I don’t represent a big percentage of the population, there are those of us who don’t take the word “boomer” to mean the ear drum destroyer boom booms…. of a soon to be deaf, won’t need hi fi later generation.
The hearing aid industry is booming…boom boom… boom…. Ya hear the dollars coming.. they are coming round the bend, and I ain’t heard em coming since I don’t know when….
Johnny C.
Johnny, you are amazing. I can only hope to one day achieve the level of condescension you emanate.
ALL HAIL.
Well Cam… hmmm.
I may unintentionally be condescending, but you are quite obvious in your disdain for the opinions of others such as Mike… and call you feel free to him an idiot. I think I have it figured out. It is just that you think you are much smarter then everyone and consider it your duty to hand out insults.
or…
On the other hand… you may just like to provoke people for fun..
By the way, I think this forum is to discuss the technology, not about the characters who comment herein. You could always look for and find a site… and there are lots… where everyone loves to insult each other. You could consider that. Insulting others does nothing for the readability of various opinions.
So can we agree to disagree and keep the comments about the topic of the article? That would be nice.
Thanks
Johnny
Flac does a great job and does not take ages to convert or upload. Ideally 20 – 20khz would be great. Though our ability to “hear” many of the upper end frequencies is subjective and physiologically questionable, especially after years of exposure to noise and the effects of aging on the hearing mechanisms. Though it is a fact that the upper frequencies and those above human hearing range has an effect on the “actual” range we can assimilate. The effects of comb filtering and cross frequency intermodulation do have a measurable effect on what the entire sonic footprint ends up sounding like. In reality without huge amounts of memory and processing that’s a fantasy for now. Of course taking into consideration that the average listener couldn’t give a rats ass in regards to these nuances and arguments. As in all formats and medium trends capacity and ease of use always win out. Neil Young was also vocally outspoken when the first commercially available “digital” as in CD recordings came out, but then the argument was in favour of the “analogue” “sound” and its associated mystic. A mystic that had same basis in audio science, but ironically the pleasing effects of vinyl were the result of its limitations. Though it is a fact that other than a few exceptions the first crop of Cd’s were trash tech, After all audio on vinyl was filtered and reprocessed (re: RIAA filter) in order to allow lower frequencies the “space” to occupy the actual grooves of the material being cut into. Maybe what we need is sophisticated enough technology and algorithm that can sufficiently interpret the audio to facilitate the tastes of the listener while maintaining a capability of “extreme” fidelity. I have spent the better part of my life listening to music, making it for myself and others in live environments and in studio settings. I can’t bear to listen to Mp3′s but when I must it’s an issue of convenience.
Hi Tuned in.
Excellent view point. I agree totally.
I wish I had written that.
Best Regards
Johnny
I, too, had some reasonable audio equipment (Marantz receiver, Wharfedale speakers, etc.) years ago. Not extreme, like I had a receiver instead of pre-amp and amp, but decent. Try as I might, I could NOT get rid of rumble and static hiss from vinyl. For some reason I always heard the noise as much as I heard the music.
I never found an acceptable copy of Stevie Wonder’s Songs From The Tree Of Life Songs album. They were all filled with thumps and bumps because they were not flat! So I never bought one.
Then I heard a CD being played at the local record store, and I was hooked. The listening experience was just so enjoyable. The quiet portions of music weren’t lost in a background of unwanted noise. Crisp and clear. Could crank the volume up without the floor vibrations causing feedback (yes, it happened a lot). I love digital audio.
Then along came MP3 and other formats that are just so … cheap … sounding. It’s like listening to AM radio through a 1 inch speaker on a 2 transistor radio. Why bother.
So I would be happy if a lossless format was developed that allowed quick downloading and ease of storage. But it’s not that big a deal. I would be just as happy to have to spend a longer time to get a full CD worth of audio data.
Months ago I read somewhere that Joni Mitchell music was available online, but only in a high quality format. Anybody know anything about that?
Hi Gerry,
A while back this site had an article on the Nano HiFi…it has my interest and I may buy one… I am thinking that I can play CD’s via my laptop and plug the Nano in via the USB… and also record from CD to my portable hard drive to collect and play true HiFi that is portable… Your thoughts on that?
Jonny