Not sure if this is lossy or not...

[delay]

Hi there,

I'd like to know if the following shots indicate a lossy source or not; I'm not sure if I'm interpreting the SA properly. The first shot is of a soundcheck, the second the actual gig.

Thanks!

[Ted]

I'm trying to learn this stuff, so don't take my word for it, but I'd say it's lossless, but I think the experts may need a 2 second sample. Let's wait and see what they say...

[Five]

this isn't an obvious lossy source, that's for sure. I'd love to get a closer look. maybe you could post a couple sa shots zoomed in to 2 seconds, one in b&w, one in "classic cool" colour settings. Would also be great if you could send me a 10-second FLAC via rapidshare.de or yousendit.com, me email is five at thetradersden dot org

[delay]

Will snip a 10 second sample in a minute, in the meantime here are the sa shots for the soundcheck.

[delay]

And here are the sa shots for the concert portion.

[Five]

uh-oh!

that's lossy! you can totally see the blocks showing especially in "show zoom 2.gif". I'll still double-check the sample but I'm quite positive now.

[delay]

uh-oh!

that's lossy!

Sucks, given that it's from a pressed bootleg...

Will have to see if I can track down a/the tape source of this Skynyrd set.

[Five]

its a shame. the lossless source is out there somewhere, tho... I hope you can root it up!

[paddington]

just chiming in to agree...

[delay]

While I hunt around for a low-gen tape source, could someone be so kind as to explain (or point me in the direction of an explanation as to) how one can differentiate between a lossy soure like this one & a source that has suffered from an amateur's over zealous use of <cough>"audio restoration"</cough>?

BTW, should anyone be the type to pick up the odd boot at a record show & "liberate" it, be very wary of the Westwood & Punk Vault labels; the former put out this Skynyrd set, the later a sweet set of outtakes from Television's _Adventure_ album. I bought both from a very well known & honest dealer; both were lossy.

[Five]

the easiest way to spot it is a very steep dropoff, often at 16kHz visible in both FA and SA. The real proof comes when you can find little squares visible in spectral view, looks kinda like lego. It is also worthwhile to train your ears, but be warned, once you learn to hear lossy artifacts you will have a lot of trouble ever enjoying mp3 again (heh heh heh). I can really hear it on the drum cymbals, it drives me crazy but I remember a time when I didn't pick up on it. Best thing to do is read some of the old threads here and learn from the many examples posted, there's a wealth of information right here in this forum.