Ears Get Smarter

QuadraphonicQuad

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Joined
Jul 30, 2022
Messages
21
Location
Northern New Jersey
I don't know where to post this. So please relocate this thread in its correct location.

I would like to get some reactions to this. I know through aging our ears wear out and the frequency range we are able to hear decreases. But, as we age, our minds develop more with control and experience.

I believe we are able to use our minds to discern music better.

We are able to distinguish between an alto saxophone, a baritone saxophone and a tenor. Through experience we are able to almost instantly tell a player by their style when we have not heard the recording before.
Charley Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Stan Getz and Louie Armstrong have distinct sounds. Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page, are all distinct players.
Through experience we are able to differentiate fast musical patterns, that are played in 16th or 32nd notes at a fast beats per minute tempo, because we know what and how to listen for them. We are also able to tell when a musician makes a mistake either the wrong note, skipping notes, or just playing them wrong. We can tell if it is a nylon string guitar, or a steel string acoustic guitar.

Many times, our minds fill in the blanks for what we are unable to hear. When I listen to an analog system, the assumed bit rate, because it is analog is infinite. It is not binary and not some calculated Simpson's or Trapezoidal rule. The sound finds its own rate that is limited by the mechanical needle in the grooves of a record. The sounds happen at a rate that is not any pattern other than what the pattern is of the music itself.

It is good to have a wide frequency range so that instrument harmonics can be heard to expand the distinction between instruments. But, the most important attribute to a good recording is a very high bit rate to approach and simulate what the infinite analog bit rate achieves.

What do I need to do to get as high a bit rate for a digital music system? For recording, play back and stream? It seems to me that most of the choice is in the digital devices.
 
After Playing in Jazz and Rock bands most of my life, I can say that I have learned through experience to pay attention to the different instruments as well as the whole group and my role in the group. I believe I take this skill to my own listening to recorded music and I have learned the ability to pick out individual pieces within the music.

What digital rate is necessary to simulate the analog experience and be able to pick out the individual pieces within the recordings?
 
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