hearing

What does good sound sound like?

Editors' note, October 3, 2012: This is an update of a poll from May 16, 2009.

I recently visited EarsNova, a high-end store in NYC, and heard one of the best-sounding hi-fis in my experience. The store's big Rockport Technologies speakers, Constellation Audio amplifiers, and dCS Digital gear reached beyond merely reproducing music, and with my eyes closed, the music sounded as close to lifelike as I've heard. The sound floated free of the speakers; it was effortlessly clear. The illusion worked best with orchestral music, but a few purely acoustic singer-songwriter CDs were almost as palpably realistic. And that's the goal: blurring the line between hi-fi and real, live music; that's what great sound sounds like to me. Lifelike rock recordings are harder to pull off, mostly because they almost always are so heavily processed and compressed they can't sound realistic.

You don't need to be an audiophile to hear the difference between average-sounding and great-sounding recordings, but you do have to listen. Really listen.

First try this experiment and set a benchmark: Listen to someone playing an acoustic guitar, in your room. Then play a recording of an acoustic guitar. Notice any difference in the sound quality between the two? Yeah, it's not even close. If your real, live guitar player can sing, next compare the sound of that person's voice to the recording's vocal. The recording's singer will most likely sound small, tonally thin, like the voice is coming out of tiny boxes. It might be hard to tell the singer has a flesh-and-blood body connected to that voice. The live guitar sounds big and clear -- very clear -- without any edge or harshness. Few recordings of guitar sound like the real thing.

My point here is to first establish a standard of what good sound sounds like to me. I like recordings that sound realistic. After all, if the musician on the record is playing a Gretsch Synchromatic 400 Acoustic Archtop guitar, I'd like to hear its unique sound. But if the producer and engineer recorded the Gretsch through a pickup instead of a microphone, equalized its sound, compressed its dynamic range, added digital reverb, and processed it to death -- there won't be much left to the Gretsch's sound. Then it's just a generic guitar, which is why I would describe the sound of the recording as "bad." … Read more

Sony adds streaming, lyrics to its artist sites

Free, on-demand streaming music is a rising tide: since the start of 2009, I've covered relatively new services like Spotify and Just Hear It, and there are plenty of established players like MySpace Music, Imeem, and Grooveshark.

Instead of trying to stop the tide, Sony Music has wisely embraced it: starting today, the company will introduce streaming music players on the Web sites of its most popular artists, including popsters like Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Jacko himself. It makes perfect business sense: instead of letting some third party like Imeem sell advertisements against high-demand music, Sony can sell … Read more

iPhone app helps you scan blogs, search for music

Monday, I downloaded a new iPhone app called iHeartNewMusic that helps you track new music via blogs. If you're the type of listener who scours music blogs regularly to find out about and sample new tunes, iHeartNewMusic will let you do that from your iPhone over a Wi-Fi connection.

According to the iHeartNewMusic blog, Apple rejected iHeartNewMusic six times before finally accepting it. The blog doesn't detail why, but the application is pretty simplistic--it's basically a customized version of Safari with a list of bookmarks to dozens of blogs in categories such as Rock, Electro, Indie, and … Read more

More on-demand tunes, playlists from Grooveshark

Count on CNET readers to set me straight: within minutes of my post about Just Hear It, two people had e-mailed me about Grooveshark, which not only offers on-demand playback of millions of songs, but includes album art, fully functional playlists (complete with a very useful "add to queue" feature), and a chart of most popular plays. Equally important, the site displays advertisements, which means that somebody is collecting money, presumably to disburse to the artists whose music is played through the site. This, along with the fact that Grooveshark's been operating for more than two years, … Read more

Find songs, create playlists with Just Hear It

I've been looking for a replacement for playable search engine Songerize, and this morning, I stumbled across Just Hear It, which offers a much better experience than Songerize ever did.

Enter a song title or artist's name, and Just Hear It returns a list of possible matches--including not only audio tracks, but also YouTube videos. (Songerize didn't offer choices, but started playing what it thought was the best match, and it didn't have any video content.)

In my tests so far, Just Hear It has always delivered the song I was looking for somewhere in the … Read more

HearPlanet adds map to audio tour guide iPhone app

As I made my way around Vancouver, B.C., last week on a business trip and admired the futuristic high-rises and sweeping vistas of ocean and mountains I felt curious--and lost. I wanted to know what the buildings and landmarks were and why they were so striking.

My questions could easily have been answered with the HearPlanet Premium iPhone app. The new version of the "talking tour guide" mobile program, released publicly on Thursday, includes an integrated, interactive map and human voices, in addition to the computer-generated audio.

The HearPlanet Premium app, available for download from the App Store … Read more

Able Planet headset goes easy on the ears

Here's something we haven't seen before: a headset designed to lessen the damaging effect loud music and gaming can potentially have on the ears. Able Planet introduced the PS500MM gaming headset back in December of 2008, claiming that the device's onboard "Link Audio" technology will soften the blow to your eardrums.

Basically the technology is supposed to prevent the user from having to raise the volume in order to drown out background noise. Interestingly enough, it was first developed for those with mild to severe hearing loss. AblePlanet claims it's patented Link Audio technology … Read more

Report: MP3 players threaten users' hearing

People who listen to MP3 players for only five hours a week at a high volume may be doing permanent damage to their hearing.

A team of nine experts on the European Union's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks is expected to release that finding in a study Monday, according to a report in the International Herald Tribune.

The EU entity also points out that young people may be doing damage to their hearing that may not surface until years after the exposure, according to the newspaper.

"Regularly listening to personal music players at high-volume … Read more

Hear me now: Songbird disposable hearing aid hits market

With all of us destroying our ears listening to our iPods--and other portable music devices--chances are we're all going to need hearing aids someday. Well, there's some good news for those of you looking ahead to your golden years: Songbird Hearing, Inc. has officially released its new inexpensive disposable hearing aid, the Songbird Flexfit.

According to the company's press release, "Traditional hearing aids can cost as much as $6,000 and involve professional office visits and fittings to be effective." The key development here is that Songbird is selling the Flexfit for $79 and it … Read more

Is Generation Y going deaf?

When I can hear a teenager's headphones through the din of a NYC subway car, I know he's on his way.

If I'm sitting a good 10 feet away from him and can still hear the screech of his headphones, I know the kid is killing his ears. Sure, I'm sometimes tempted to say something, but I never do. He's not really bothering anybody. And if he wants to be stone deaf by the time he's 30, well, it's his life.

But does he know that day by day he's doing irreparable … Read more