Battleangel

Did people fall for the allure of Napster and not care so much about quality? They sure did. But people, at least the audiophiles, have learned a lot since. And now they are not falling for low quality music stores.

Wired - Old Rips: May They Rest in Peace - In the days when the original Napster was terrorizing the record industry with free, unlimited downloads of Eminem and other chart-topping artists, digital audiophiles were so excited to be on the receiving end of that bounty that they rarely paid attention to more esoteric concerns like sound quality. The MP3 format was, for the most part, the only one that shrank files to a size that could be downloaded and played on any one of a dozen or so computer jukebox programs.

Since then, a dizzying array of competing formats have evolved, offering improvements like surround sound and better compression, which allows a file to take up less space on a hard drive without compromising sound quality. Improved computer speakers and the advent of the iPod and other mobile music players mean more audiophiles are listening to their collections through headphones or speakers with higher fidelity. The changes have caused audio enthusiasts to re-evaluate the sound quality of their libraries — and, for many, to go back to the ripping board.

Bottom line: Use Lame. Unbeatable for quality at 160kbit+ and unequaled compatibility.

And for the record, even when I jumped on Napster all those years ago, I never once downloaded music with such low quality, say 128 kilobits per second, that I can’t keep it in my collection still. I remember people used to ridicule the choice of high quality VBR when 128kbit was “enough.” Look who’s laughing now.