Part 2: Listening versus Hearing Audio

So how does this rant come full circle and point to my own lost ability to ‘listen’ and found ability to only ‘hear’?  About 2 years ago I purchased a Linn Unidisc player which can play MP3s, SACDs, DVD-As, VCDs, etc…  I immediately pulled out my collection of high resolution audio disc formats and began sampling and smiling, thrilled that I was wise enough not to buy both an SACD and DVD-A stand alone player, opting instead for a Sony DVD player that also played SACDs, until a unified player came along, even if it meant my DVD-As were relegated primarily to digital 2 channel output only.  My new player was all things to all people, and the best of all those at that, so I grabbed my high-resolution discs, along with several of my MP3 CDs lying around from my car use (again, not an environment needing superior audio fidelity, or so I thought until this story broke the other day) and put my ears to the test once again.  The high-resolution formats were clean, sharp, amazing, deep, truly breathtaking, but I suffered from “only 2 to 3 good songs on a CD” syndrome, and this required that I be in constant motion, changing discs and skipping tracks.  The MP3s were vulgar, noisy, shallow, coarse, simple, ubiquitous, easy… In other words, they sounded like a cat being shoved through a tennis racket, but several hours of uninterrupted audio without investing in a multi-room Sonos system costing multiple thousands of dollars became a bit more appealing.  I stopped listening critically for Miles Davis to breathe between transcendent arpeggios, and reverted to my Army barracks room philosophy of “the volume knob at some point negates the noise in the track, the room, and everything” and just started hearing music… LOUD.  I even docked my uPodd (my nickname for my non Apple device with the extra 'd' added for insurance against litigation) into my main system so I could go straight from my earbuds to the stereo with a minimum of interruption.

So is this a redemption song?  Was I once lost only recently to be found?  Has this sheep begun to stray from the flock?  I can say unequivocally, in one strong and clear voice… Sort of!  The simple fact is that I AM a member of the “grunt and nod generation” and I couldn’t live without, in theory, being able to drive from here (South Dakota) to Tokyo and back at 25mph without once hearing the same song repeated.  Convenience, technophilia, knowing more than “the squares”, and just having my musical motivation with me at all times have pervaded my every cell and fiber.  However, I feel as though I just took a sip of an extra spicy Bloody Mary the morning after a long night out with the boys…  The fog is slowly lifting, I can’t help but see the error of my previous night’s endeavors, but the only fix is the hair of the dog that bit me.  A couple weeks ago while moving, I opened my crate of SACDs, DVD-As and even HDCDs, which hadn’t gone ignored, but hadn’t been properly admired over the past 2 years either.  I put that crate at the top of my home theater boxes and began the torturous, yet somehow enjoyable process of first boxing, then opening and reconnecting all my electronics.  As a part of my set-up, I listened to various pieces of music I knew intimately, watched movies that I could transcribe in my sleep, and generally critiqued my setup.  What an opportunity to use my collection!  Out came Quaudiophiliac and Time Will Tell, The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East and Raise Your Spirit Higher.  A chill thrilled down my spine, in 2.0/2.1 and 5.0/5.1 mixes, the detail, resolution, character, heart,  inspiration, and desire in every syllable and instrument was felt and experienced again, as if I were back in that listening room those many years ago!  All those discs have gone from the box in the other room, to positions as honored guests in my home theater system once again.

I mourned the passing of both great formats (even though a few are being made independently on occasion, both formats are essentially dead) and while consumer confusion did, in my opinion, deal the death blow even more so than an upstart computer company trying to make a buck, the fact is that CDs are generally good enough for most people, and the average consumer believes his or her stereo/theater system probably can’t resolve all the detail in those recordings, however untrue that may be.  Is the “CD is good enough” vibe the result of the apathy of the human ear resulting from an inundation of inferior audio quality, or is it more personal than that, from something within each and every one of us, a simple “I don’t need anything more than that” conciliation?  I can’t say for certain, but knowing that the human condition points us toward constant improvement in everything we do, I can’t help but feel that this malaise is the result of marketing savvy and external influences rather than some voice from within.

What are your thoughts?  Do you live and die by the ebb and flow of ones and zeros, or is that pocket maestro only there to tide you over until you can come home to the real deal?  Sound off in the forum and vote your conscience, am I waxing poetic for a time thankfully gone and hopefully soon forgotten, or is there an audio quality reckoning of sorts just over the horizon?

I hope we find out.