Many factors at work here.

First off, mp3 at 320 kbps (or 256 for that matter) encoded with modern algorithms will be nearly idrntical to the original source. I defy you to reliably tell it apart from a FLAC in an A/B test. Where it usually fails is in stereo imaging, not obvious distortion or frequency limitations.

Secondly, many people have mentioned normalization (actually compression) in streaming services. When applied after the mix, i.e. exactly what they do, it ruins music. If you can turn off every ‘feature’ in these services that modifies the sound, you’ll find improvements.

Thirdly, you’re not necessarily getting great sound from them anyway. Spotify defaults to 96kbps Vorbis which is comparable to 128kbps mp3. And if your network speeds are low or laggy, it may well drop the quality dynamically to keep playing without glitches.

Fourth, there’s the issue of mastering. You may have a differently-mastered release than what is on the streaming site. This can make a HUGE difference in some cases. If you can, try listening to Dark Side of the Moon releases from 2003 (Doug Sax) vs. the 2023 blu-ray.

And those are only the most likely candidates. There could well be other factors at play.

yes.

Theory, economics, etc., all have something to say about it. But at the end of the day, Netflix (and the rest) want to deliver as little as possible for dollar of revenue.

Nope.

The third party isnt the problem. It’s your SO that cheated, and who should suffer.

Pack up. Leave. Take what you can.

Got one, but it’s in the old house still.

No no no fucking NO!

Do NOT accept this! Do NOT normalize this! DO NOT COMPLY!

Did you really need to see that youtube video? If it was that important, then find another way. Lie. Get a downloader. Get creative. Or walk away, since it was probably not that important

DON’T SELL YOUR IDENTITY FOR CONVENIENCE. DON’T WILLINGLY FEED THE SPIES MORE INFORMATION.

An epoch baby!

I feel like this belongs in shittyasklemmy.

Unfortunately, they have more money for lawyers than probably the entire net worth of LsL.

Let’s see them go up against Yamaha. In fact, I’d be happy to see Yamaha start advertising their guitars as “strat-shaped” just to force Fender’s hand.

Let’s also make sure that Edward “Bud” Cole, the new CEO at Fender, gets full credit for this shitshow.

I’m surprised at this. Companies have been making S-type guitars for over half a century. However, it sounds like the judgement in Germany was a summary settlement because the other side didn’t bother to show up.

One thing is very clear to me: I’ll never buy a new Fender instrument again. Fuck any company that does this. You don’t get to pick up your marbles and go home after giving them all away for FIFTY YEARS.

Nope. Fuck Fender. They’re digging their own grave.

No, because I’m not 12 years old.

neesh for all purposes.

I’ve never heard anyone talk about a “nitch.” Maybe an US dialect?

Yep.

GTAV, Undertale, Elden Ring, and Myst.

Mom is stoned.

Canada has Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID). People can - with medical approval and assistance - choose to go out on their own terms.

Do you mean within the US or trust internationally?

The rest of the world has begrudgingly let the US dominate world commerce, culture, and morality. Now they’re realizing how much of their own identity they’ve given away, and are struggling to recover from it. Critically, even if the US ever gets their shit together again, nobody else wants to go back to the same relationship they had. We’ve been forced out of an abusive relationship, and now we’re free.

Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, Meta, Nvidia, and yes, Apple, are all in the surveilance sales industry. The tech they produce is irrelevant.

Here’s an idea to reinvent.

Make tech, not surveillance gear.

Late to the party, but Musicbee is the best out there for Windows. For ANY platform in fact, but it’s only available on Windows.

VLC is the popular choice, but in some ways, it kinda sucks. Musicbee is beautiful, configurable, has great library management, and…well, it’s just really good.

I’ve been using it for a decade or so. Now that I’ve switched full time to Linux, I’m suffering withdrawal.

Bolton, like so many pundits, is starting from the false premise that the US is falling apart because Trump is doing a bad job.

All of them baked.