Moderators Travis In Austin Posted November 28, 2017 Moderators Share Posted November 28, 2017 Interesting article, any thoughts? https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/what-exactly-is-hi-res-audio-and-should-i-care-about-it/amp/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 Eh... most of my cds sound pretty darn good as is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebuy Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 We have it right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 My son came over to the house this weekend so I could build him a box that he'll eventually make into a portable stereo. The garage system was on which uses a laptop and external DAC to stream music off the internet. I told him to play whatever he wanted so he pulled up his Spotify account and played some things he enjoyed. I paused it after one particular song and then replayed the exact same song on Tidal and asked him if he could hear a difference. He described Tidal as much cleaner and more detailed. The difference was very obvious to both of us. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YK Thom Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 I am very happy and satisfied with 24 bit remastered CDs. Could there be better? Perhaps. Does the cost benifet ratio make it worth it to me? No. To twist Tommy Lee Jones quote, I don’t want to have to buy the White Album again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 you lost me at Pitchfork.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 For my ears DSD is clearly superior to any other digital format and the only one that delivers that special clarity of the finest analog. Better than the higher PCM levels? Rather doubt I could tell the difference right off, but DSD is still superior to them in being transcodeable transparently to any of them with losses due only to the limitations of the target format rather than from the transcoding process. My current "perfect world" would be one where all downloads were available in DSD. Those wanting condensed versions could easily make them as smushed as desired. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbphoto Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 I'm also in the camp that thinks it is tough to beat a well-mastered CD (or its digital equivalent ALAC/FLAC 44.1/16). The quality of the source and mastering is much more important than the digital container it is packaged in. I've read that most DSD downloads were mastered in PCM format before being converted back to DSD to sell to the consumer. Differences heard between PCM and DSD are real, but most likely due to the consumer's DAC favoring one format over the other (or the consumer playing different sources/masters of the same song). If MQA takes off (taking off means companies with real money get behind it like Apple and Amazon) then you can park your DSD DAC right up there on the shelf next to your Sony DAT player. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 If you want to hear differences just turn your FM tuner on. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedPrince Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 My son came over to the house this weekend so I could build him a box that he'll eventually make into a portable stereo. The garage system was on which uses a laptop and external DAC to stream music off the internet. I told him to play whatever he wanted so he pulled up his Spotify account and played some things he enjoyed. I paused it after one particular song and then replayed the exact same song on Tidal and asked him if he could hear a difference. He described Tidal as much cleaner and more detailed. The difference was very obvious to both of us.I use tidal and I hear a very big difference between the other streaming apps. Other apps sound very muddy through the whole spectrum. I also listen to there Masters and notice very little over the regular hi res but I do notice it. I like listening in pure direct. Also, there library is tiny and there curators are the worse, IMO. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 One thing is for certain, there are a lot of bad cd's out in the market. Whenever I contemplate an older release I always consult the dynamic range data base, and it's never let me down when I pick my version of the CD by its rating. On new CD's you really do not get much of a choice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 Cost is always going to be a factor. I recently did a thread By The Numbers. The article also had a doctor that stated, many people can't hear a difference going from CD quality to studio. The so called golden ear is more base or training than super hearing. I won't jump on the band wagon soon. I have heard tidal and am not willing to pay for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtmudd Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 17 hours ago, dwilawyer said: Interesting article, any thoughts? https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/what-exactly-is-hi-res-audio-and-should-i-care-about-it/amp/ real hi res...is a pair of tickets.. front row center....of your favorite band....also included the wabac machine.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 4 hours ago, derrickdj1 said: The so called golden ear is more base or training than super hearing. Fully agree when it comes to many things. However, the difference between a CD and the best LPs didn't require any training on my part. When I first dropped a needle on an LP after 10 years of CDs I heard it immediately. No training required. Same when I first heard DSD. Granted, first rate CDs are perfectly OK and without an A/B not at all disappointing, but not in a class with media and formats without limits in the audible range. Speaker cord, resisters, interconnects? Fully agree and don't even want to learn to tell the difference. That way lieth insanity... Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 Its night and day for me. I wish everything was available in a DVDA, Bluray audio, etc. Now, I do have a few disappointing titles that aren't bad and a step above a CD, but they just don't have that wow factor like many others. A few faves: Some two channel, some multi and/or both Steely, Gaucho in DVDA is a phenomenal. If you find it cheap, buy it. Donald Fagen, The NightFly might even edge out Gaucho JT, Aqualung Fleetwood, Rumors Allman Bros, Live @ Fillmore Surprisingly awesome for a Live re-hash The Doors, Perception. Best sounding Doors collection I have ever heard. Getz Gilberto Who cares, they sound great on 8-track Queen, A day at the races Rush, Moving Pictures Its all just cleaner. The silent pauses are black, nuances, background instruments, things you missed that were crushed by a hot channel. Its all there with separation and I hate to read that someone hasn't experienced the difference, because it is there and totally audible. Now two speakers sitting in a workshop or a tile floored Den with a $300 AVR hooked up to them, maybe not. Anyone wanting a game changer, buy sound panels and quite a few of them. I have 12, 2'X4' 2 inch thick panels on the walls and ceiling for a 20' X18' room. I would never ever recommend a single brand of equipment over any other, but I would definitely say everyone is missing out if they haven't treated their room with some quality panels. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 1 hour ago, Max2 said: Rush, Moving Pictures I love Rush and Moving Pictures but never thought their albums were recorded well. At least not of the caliber of Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac. 1 hour ago, Max2 said: Allman Bros, Live @ Fillmore Surprisingly awesome for a Live re-hash No joke there. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 1 hour ago, willland said: I love Rush and Moving Pictures but never thought their albums were recorded well. At least not of the caliber of Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac. No joke there. Bill They aren't in my book either, but it is a delight to hear a great improvement with a larger dynamic range and a bit more clarity. "The Camera Eye" is crazy good and the beginning of YYZ has Neil's triangle spinning around the room from speaker to speaker when he is doing the morse code bit in multi channel. Its a tad harsh or spitty at times, but expected in the harder type of rock. The older low level recordings seem to fair better IMO. Rumors is good too, but Gold dust and the chain are more forgetful in SQ than the rest of the songs....frustrating and I paid a pretty penny for that one. Steely and Fagen rule my stack in shear SQ without a doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 58 minutes ago, Max2 said: Rumors is good too, but Gold dust and the chain are more forgetful in SQ than the rest of the songs.. That surprises me. I shut myself up in isolation this last Saturday afternoon with my spare bedroom rig with Rumours on Spotify and thought that Gold Dust Woman and The Chain were off the chain(pun intended) with great imaging and detail. I can add Dreams to that group also. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 17 hours ago, willland said: That surprises me. I shut myself up in isolation this last Saturday afternoon with my spare bedroom rig with Rumours on Spotify and thought that Gold Dust Woman and The Chain were off the chain(pun intended) with great imaging and detail. I can add Dreams to that group also. Bill Was it the DVDA version? Its not bad so to speak, its just that Stevie's voice seems tucked too far back. I just don't hear as much separation in the majority of the album, kind of like they were all singing in one track on the chain. Gold dust has the background too high at times. And then when Stevie fires up the vocals at her peak, you can hear it distort just bit at the end. I know, I am being picky, but when you can hear this at a 90ish db output it never goes away. "Never going back again," probably sounds the best to me on the album. The picking in the beginning defiantly has a high res sound and Lindsay's voice just stands out raw and clean. Wish to song was longer than 2 min, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 The copy of Rumors I have is one of the worst I've ever heard from a highly popular group. It's been so long since I listened to it I can't recall the particulars but it wasn't the pressing so much as production issues. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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