On 03/12/2014 18:15, Slimer wrote:
...
Thumbdrives allow you to store a crapload of MP3 and M4A files, but CDs
contain AIFF files which have an excellent, uncompressed quality. We're
comparing apples to oranges here.

Pardon?
CDs contain raw uncompressed PCM, as do AIFF files but there are no AIFF
headers or tail ends on a CD.

Thumb drives can also contain files of raw PCM, or say FLAC which is a
bit smaller but has the same quality. Or you can compress using your
favourite audio codec at whatever bit-rate it takes to sound good to you.

Basically thumb drives are flexible and can hold telephone quality audio
files up to beyond CD quality.


...
MP3 and M4A files are not a CD alternative, they are a compressed and
lossy version of the album you would get on a CD in excellent quality.
To a lot of people, the convenience of having lossy files IMMEDIATELY
versus going out and buying a CD makes a sense obsolete. However, many
of us truly enjoy the music we're paying for and therefore want to get
it in the best quality possible with the option of later transferring it
to a lossy codec for convenience.

I haven't been disappointed with the quality of a bought MP3 for many
years and I'm sure I'm not that unusual though I do admit that my
hearing isn't perfect and my playback equipment isn't at all high end
either.

--

Brian Gregory (in the UK).
To email me please remove all the letter vee from my email address.