Over the last 10 or so years, vision has taken great steps forward. From standard definition, to high definition, 4K and even virtual reality. While I was trying out the Oculus VR headset the other day, it made me wonder why consumer audio has not improved as dramatically as vision.
TVs these days have tiny little speakers in them, optional extras are available such as a sound bar or surround sound system but quite often these are not used. So while people are sitting there watching their 80 inches televisions with HD footage they are also sitting their listening to MP3 standard audio through speakers almost comparable to that of a laptop or phone.
Another example of this is music streaming services and download services not providing lossless audio. If I was to purchase a movie through iTunes I have the option of HD however if I was to purchase a song through iTunes, there would be no chance of buying a CD quality track, and this is because most music now would be listened to through small buds or on a phone speaker, resulting in the convenience of have 1000’s of songs on your phone far outweighing the want to have higher quality audio.
With internet speeds ever on the increase and streaming and buffering not really an issue anymore, we can only hope that this will have an impact on the quality of audio that is being delivered not only through broadcast but also through online streaming, however it may just be that the majority of people can’t tell the difference between the quality of audio.