The Distortion Of Sound - The Film

Over the last six or seven years,while we were worrying about whether DSD sounded better than high sampling rate PCM,or if a SPDIF digital interface was superior to USB,an ever expanding majority of the music-consuming public had by listening exclusively to MP3 files off their laptop and phones.

To aid substantially in making a case against lossy audio compression,Harman International Industries,the company behind a number of respected brands including JBL,Infinity,AKG,Mark Levinson,Lexicon and Revel has produced a 22 minute documentary that won  a Golden Dolphin Award at the Corporate Media TV Awards in Cannes in 2014.This film has been posted on Youtube for about 2 years.

The Distortion Of Sound addresses the nosedive that recorded sound - at least as it's experienced by the great majority of popular music consumers - has taken in recent years.More than a dozen music industry professionals including Quincy Jones,guitarist Slash,Sloop Dogg,Film composers Hans Zimmer and A R Rahman comment on this topic.

The musicians reiterate in various ways how disappointing it is for them to devote heart and soul to the creation of a recording and then have their work heard in a significantly compromised fashion.Digital compression can get music down to as much as one tenth of the original.....what's left?As Greg Timbers.....the most famous JBL designer....if you have been to concerts you have heard his work in the bulk stacks of JBL speakers.....said....."vinyl is nirvana".One comment that strikes a chord in the film is....."You can fill your stomach with it (music) but we are not talking about filling your stomach.....we are talking about filling your soul."Another quote is ..."I remember opening up albums and reading who wrote this song and you would appreciate that music so much more based on the passion that artist put into that project".Another comment that is quite profound is....."most people don't actually know that they're missing out".At the very end of the film,before the credits roll,comes a black screen with stark white letters - clearly meant to underscore the message in quasi-apocalyptic terms.

Over 25 billion songs have been downloaded

Over 50 billion hours of music have been streamed

Compression has stripped emotion from every note.

And then

It's possible to bring it all back.

We highly recommend a viewing of this documentary,it is profound,the passion of all those interviewed is palpable.

In terms of changing attitudes,there is a long way to go.But this Harman Industries film should not go unnoticed.Funny that the last 2 years have shown the greatest growth in vinyl sales in 20 years.