Originally posted by Sir HC:
Listen to the cymbals, those are the biggest give-aways for relatively low bit rate MP-3s. The high frequency and hence more concentrated information starts to sound bad. I usually can tell by the either distorted sound of them or the unnatural volume changes (sort of like a tremelo on the cymbals). Then again I often get paid to hear such stuff, and was able to tell in college when the bit rate dropped below 12 bits for a class project.
Which is one of the reasons that many (and possibly most) file sharers STILL BUY CDs. As great and convenient as MP3s are, you are right, they just don't sound as good or complete.
Oh, and it's interesting how the record companies seem to ignore the fact that so many people have lost jobs, have been downsized or lost money in the stock market. You would think that CD buying be one of the very first items of purchase to slow down for so many of these people. (BTW, I'm not using that as an arguement to justify downloading or even trying to reopen that debate. Only pointing out one obvious reason for decline in sales.)
Sonic, finger cymbals are what belly dancers use to add sound to their performance. Though cheap and tinny sounding, they can sound good in the right environment or used in the right way. Go back and look at the picture of the girl and you can see them on her fingers.
