Letters to the Editor
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it makes a difference if you listen closely
Actually, objectively, you can measure the frequency responses of any speaker system to determine how much distortion there is from the pure natural value. When audiophiles say MP3 sounds dead/flat, it can be backed up by measuring the response--I mean, the overtones and such are simply missing from the music when compressed. Subjectively, it probably depends on how good your ears are, what you listen for, and also the genre of music you listen to. If you want to notice a difference, pick a genre of music that makes extensive use of drum/percussion with different textures and volumes: jazz would be a prime example. Hi-hats, brushes that stuff sounds way worse on MP3---all the cool colorations that jazz drummers spend decades perfecting are almost lost. Classical also, things with acoustic instruments; the decades pianist spend perfecting their pedaling and touch don't matter that much, nor do the rich overtones of a full Steinway vs. an upright. When listening to say 80s music, the timbres aren't as noticeable for me, but a lot of little lines and motifs that are buried in the music pop out when I put on my $100 Etymotic headphones. ( Try the Cure---I once played in a Cure tribute band and was shocked to find a bunch of missing textures this way ).
The type of media matters too-vinyl vs. CD, vinyl is a warmer type of sound, CD is sterile. Do you notice a difference between digitially-shot movies and film? Same type of thing.
The emperor does have clothes on, my friend! But whether or not the difference is worth shelling out $$$ is a different matter. Though I am a semi-pro musician, I do not consider myself to be a real audiophile: I can enjoy music even if compressed and played through $30 speakers, but maybe because that is because I am partly translating what I hear into what I should be hearing. I think I am imagining what it would sound like live. The irony is that I find a lot of audiophiles are not pro-level musicians, while most pro-level musicians aren't quite as concerned about fidelity--probably because they too are doing what I'm doing.