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Science Quickly

Human Ears Can Hear Better-Than-CD Quality (Just Barely)

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.2639 Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2016

⏱️ 3 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Listeners can tell the difference between CD-quality music and better-than-CD quality—but only if they train their ears first. Christopher Intagliata reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Understanding the human body is a team effort. That's where the Yachtel group comes in.

0:05.8

Researchers at Yachtolt have been delving into the secrets of probiotics for 90 years.

0:11.0

Yacold also partners with nature portfolio to advance gut microbiome science through the global grants for gut health, an investigator-led research program.

0:19.6

To learn more about Yachtolt, visit yawcult.co.

0:22.7

.jp.j. That's y-A-K-U-Lt.c-O.jp. When it comes to a guide for your gut, count on Yacolt.

0:33.5

This is Scientific American's 60-second science. I'm Christopher in Taliatta.

0:39.4

Jayze's title platform promises listeners CD-quality streaming music

0:43.9

in all of its 44.1 kilohertz 16-bit glory.

0:48.6

Much better, they say, than compressed files, like MP3s.

0:52.2

But why stop there?

0:53.1

Neil Young's Pono Music Store sells music that's

0:56.1

even better than CD quality. In a YouTube video for the service, Young compares MP3 listeners

1:02.3

to scuba divers, muddling around on the seafloor. You know, you're walking around in the murk

1:07.2

and there's big fish down there. That's kind of like listening to an MP3.

1:15.8

CD listeners, they're underwater too. And the only way to rise to the top, he says,

1:21.9

is to dial up sample rate to over four times that of CD to 192 kilohertz.

1:27.8

But when you make it to 192, you actually break through the surface in your breathing air.

1:29.8

And the feeling is different.

1:32.4

Actually is a visceral relief.

1:33.8

You feel good.

1:36.1

But how good?

1:42.1

What researchers, record producers, audio files, sound engineers want to know is... Is CD compact disc enough?

...

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