Ever since computers picked up the handy ability to play decent-sounding music, fans have overwhelmingly defaulted to the MP3 format for audio files because it sounds pretty good, doesn’t take up much space and (perhaps most importantly) works with more devices than any other digital audio format.
It may seem as if the venerable MP3 standard is here to stay, but it faces attack from a number of angles. first, it doesn’t sound as good, byte-for-byte, as files purchased from iTunes Music Store (in the AAC format) or any of the Microsoft-compliant stores.
Second, the CD rippers/encoders that most people use — iTunes and Windows Media Player — have encouraged users to rip to AAC and WMA over the years. third, only one major online music store, eMusic, proffers songs in the MP3 format, and it lacks most major releases. Fourth, geeks who love MP3 for its wide compatibility can now choose from preferable open-source alternatives such as Ogg Vorbis.
Finally, today’s faster connections and more capacious hard drives have audiophiles turning to lossless codecs such as FLAC and those offered by Apple Computer and Microsoft.
Thomson, the entity that licenses the MP3 format to the world (it’s not free or open source, as some suspect), tried to update MP3 for the first time in 2001, to the mp3Pro format. That effort failed. only RCA — owned by Thomson — added mp3Pro support to its MP3 players, and consumers mainly ignored it.
In its second attempt to shepherd the MP3 format into the future, Thomson’s MP3 Licensing Group unveiled a new format last year, a surround-sound version of the MP3 format imaginatively called MP3 Surround.
Reviews
• New Built to Spill Single
Good ol’ Doug Marsch and his jangly cohorts have released a single that purrs like a finely tuned Lamborghini, called “Goin’ Against your Mind” (from the upcoming You in Reverse album). This song has it all, yet doesn’t blare into your ear about it for half the night. Marsch’s timing and restraint here are impeccable, and his results are all the stronger for it.
Free stream on MySpace
• Deerhoof Won’t Jump Shark
After being exposed to Deerhoof, it’d be pretty hard to mistake the group for another band. Searing guitars, off-kilter, angular measures, and some pretty-sounding female vox all sit here on a pop-music couch, discussing the lives of various specific Japanese insects … maybe. It was sort of hard to tell.
Free MP3 download (scroll down)
• New Belle & Sebastian Single
Many love them for their songwriting genius and sensitive, bookish outlook on life, while others hate them for being wimpy and sounding AOR-ish. This band works great for me, but I cannot guarantee those results for you. the new single, called “Another Sunny Day,” from the upcoming The Life Pursuit, spotlights a nice descending guitar line, almost gets country at one specific moment, serves up some harmonies between Isabel and Stuart, and is generally OK, although I don’t think it can compete with the group’s best stuff.
Free MP3 download
• Best Extended Road Trip Song
I drove across the country last week (and the week before that), and heard my iPod cough up what I estimate to be the finest song for that exact moment when road weariness becomes slap-happiness: “Chicken Train” by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. It’s hard to describe, and unfortunately it’s not available online for love or money, but I recommend tracking it down somehow if you’re a fan of awesomeness.
Free lyrics
Preview 30-second sample on Amazon.com
Eliot Van Buskirk will offer his music picks every other Monday.
MP3 Surround files are essentially ordinary MP3s with an additional layer of information that tells compatible players where to place sounds. New devices designed to support the format deliver rich and accurate surround sound — whether through a 5.1-channel system or simulated through a pair of stereo headphones. the format adds minimal overhead, consuming just 15 additional bits per second. And it is backward compatible, so MP3 Surround files will play on any device that supports plain-vanilla MP3, sans surround.
During my tests, MP3 Surround performed well enough to warrant serious consideration among device manufacturers and music fans. the songs sounded more expansive and present than their stereo counterparts, and I didn’t hear any additions to the sound that marred the experience. I used Shure E3c earbuds for testing, so the surround effect is evidently not dependent on having full-size headphones.
In order for you to hear MP3 Surround today, you’ll need a computer with the playback software installed (available on all4mp3.com). But computer playback is no longer enough. If a digital audio format is to succeed these days, it’ll need support on a wide array of home and portable devices.
Several promising avenues for MP3 Surround home playback loom on the horizon. According to Rocky Caldwell, general manager of Thomson’s MP3 Licensing Group, any DVD player could be upgraded with firmware to decode MP3 Surround files and pass the bits through to a 5.1 amplifier using a digital connection. RCA plans to release a player that comes standard with that capability later this year.
Because home theater-in-a-box units already have six channels of amplification, a manufacturer could include MP3 Surround support right out of the box. Caldwell told me Thomson is leveraging the strong relationships it forged with manufacturers to add MP3 Surround support to next year’s devices.
The third possibility could be the most promising: Caldwell said “a major Japanese consumer-electronics manufacturer” will be releasing a device similar to the Xbox that might include MP3 Surround support natively. Needless to say, the integration of MP3 Surround into the Sony PlayStation 3 would be a huge shot in the arm to the new format, especially because so many PS3s will be purchased by tech-savvy types and connected to surround-sound systems.
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