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HiFi Music: Listening, Sources, Tracks?
By
Duncan
EdinNJ
271
Feb 3, 2019
Want to find out with your own ears whether lossless matters? Go listen to Radio Paradise, through whatever gear you listen through. First, listen to their 128K stream. Then their 192K stream. Then their 320K stream. Then their 16/44 lossless stream. Decide.
Important to blow off all the "nobody can tell the difference" cult since several million people clearly seem to be able to tell. But there are things to consider. Now this gets long.
What you listen through matters. If you're streaming through your iPhone, you won't be able to sort 320K from any lossless. That's not because humans can't tell the difference. It's because iPhone's DAC is a secondary feature, implemented to be good enough with 256K Apple files. If it sounds good enough for YOUR ears with the gear you listen through, why bother with more?
On my three main listening rigs streaming Radio Paradise, I can accurately ID each of the different stream depths. So have many guests who aren't terribly interested in fancy audio gear but who asked me the questions you're asking. You can accurately tell even with an old Logitech Touch as the DAC, if the rest of the sound production gear is high quality.
I always get "wow, this sounds so much better on your gear" when guests are over. People get up in the middle of dinner and look around the corner into the family room because it sounds like the performers are in there. My library's minimum bit depth is 16/44. About a third of my music library is 24/48 or better. I don't have a million dollar rig (I have friends who do, bless them.) My whole family room setup, acquired over the years when I could afford to upgrade this or that, would go for under $10,000 brand new. Five speakers, DAC, AV pre-pro, and amp. On that system, I can (and so have visitors) accurately tell the difference between a 24/96 version of a song and a 16/44 version. Same is true of the system that would, all in, go for less than $6,000 (my art studio). And for the system that all in would go for under $2500 (master bedroom.)
On that lowest end system, I can't hear differences between 24/96 and higher bit depths. I can easily tell 24/192 versus 24/96 on the other two.
Here come the exceptions. Electronica is PRODUCED at 16/44 (or worse, some EDM producers record at Apple Store bit depths) most of the time so anything at higher bit depths is simply reproducing 16/44. Some music gets recorded at 16/44, or on low quality recording gear, or just badly. Higher bit depth files don't fix that.
If your music is Alabama Shakes, MC5, SoundGarden, Metallica - you'll be hard pressed to tell 16/44 from 192K. The music is all compressed up with no dynamic range (search "loudness wars"), and dynamic range is one area where bit depths really matter. If an album's DR is less than 7, don't buy anything over 16/44.
Another factor is complexity of the musical sounds. A vibrating acoustic string puts out huge numbers of harmonics, as do most acoustic instruments, and most sound profiles for electronic jazz guitar or bass. Once you start electronically mashing, twisting, and stretching tones through electronic amps and distortion rigs, the complexity is reduced.
Another area where bit depth matters is presence. You won't ever hear the sound of the hall where a live orchestra or jazz group played below 16/44. A space creates harmonics. That sense of the space improves with bit depth, to a point. Many producers close mic and lose that sense of space. That's why performers seem to materialize in my listening rooms much more on some albums than on others. David Chesky records his label's albums in a handful of acoustically interesting spaces, using a recording mic that looks like a head with ears, and the mics are in the ears. Yes, you can absolutely tell that recording rig from a mass of regular microphones.
Finally, back to hearing. Just like you can learn to tumble, or drive a race car better than others, you can learn to hear better than others. I was a professional musician into my mid-20s, classical, big band, jazz, rock. I can tell if an orchestra is tuned to A at 440 hz or not. (Some orchestras tune slightly brighter, some slightly darker.) I can tell if a trumpet has a brass bell or a silver bell listening live, and on recorded music can only do that at 24/96 and above. All that and more was learned.
Trust your ears. If it doesn't sound different to you, think about all the money you'll save! If it does - why would you deprive yourself of more engagement and joy?
ILikeAcid
285
Feb 14, 2019
EdinNJIt's so nice when people know what they're talking about.
A community member
Apr 16, 2019
ILikeAcidAgreed!
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