We read some market research recently which stated that teenagers are so used to audio recorded in the MP3 format that they prefer this to the quality you find when playing back a CD through a high-end amplifier and speakers. Audiophiles will despair as no-one wants our audio experience to be dominated by poor-quality MP3 recordings. Do not despair though as the latest non-DRM audio tracks from iTunes are far superior to the previous DRM-based revisions. Why? Probably as the tracks are sourced directly from the music publisher and compressed to a higher bitrate (256Kbps) than previously. However, compare the same tracks against those from the equivalent CD and they sound more dynamic, punchy and so on.

iTunes 8.1 is what you'll need to buy and download tracks from the iTunes Store. We'd definitely recommend you give the new non-DRM tracks a go and compare them to your regular CDs.

iTunes link.

27 Mar 2009