Why are so many obsessed with high res audio? Don’t get me wrong I was one of them. I read countless reviews on DACs and getting the “best” audio I could. I stream Apple Music/Classical via Airplay 2 to my Wiim Pro Plus. Goes to my Willsenton r8 tube amp then on to my Denton 85th anniversary speakers. Sounds amazing. And yes it’s not high res it’s 16/44.1 cd quality audio. From articles I’ve read cd quality audio covers the entire range of human hearing. Our ears aren’t capable of hearing high res frequencies. 999 people out of a 1000 can’t hear the difference. I still have a Qobuz subscription that doesn’t expire for another week or so. So I did some experimenting with my and my wife’s ears. We switched back and forth from Qobuz and Apple Music playing Pat Metheny’s latest album. Audio quality on Qobuz was 24/96 Apple Music was 16/44.1. She nor I could tell any difference. My wife is no audiophile by any means or am I but she said why pay for something your ears can’t hear. And I kind of agreed with her. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying I’m right or better than anyone at all. Music and audio systems are a wonderful world/hobby to be in. To each their own. Your money your choice. Basically what I’m rambling about is that I’m happy with what my 52 year old ears can actually hear. Thank you for reading. Listen on.
The end of my discovery…. Please read
- Thread starter Bozzz
- Start date
Manny
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Good thread and I’m getting to your stage rapidly. Been thinking along those lines for some time - feeling that my ears aren’t really golden and wonder if they ever have been. I’ve enjoyed every new toy I’ve had, Naim pre/power, Sonus Faber, Rega, dacs and whilst I’m listening to music I’m enjoying it all! So nice to meet others in the same boat. Cheers.
I agree 100%
I record a lot of Vinyl to FLAC.
I recently upgraded my ADC from a cheap and cheerful Behriger UCA202 to its big brother a UMC204HD which is capable of 24/192.
As a rule I am now needledropping to 24/96 FLAC these days and they definitely do sound better than the 16/44.1 versions I did with the UCA202.
However I do not think it is anything to do with the Hi-Res nature of the new FLACs - instead it is simply because the equipment I am using is better. I recently compared a 16/44.1 from the UMC204HD and it actually sounds the same as a 24/96 from this same ADC.
I record a lot of Vinyl to FLAC.
I recently upgraded my ADC from a cheap and cheerful Behriger UCA202 to its big brother a UMC204HD which is capable of 24/192.
As a rule I am now needledropping to 24/96 FLAC these days and they definitely do sound better than the 16/44.1 versions I did with the UCA202.
However I do not think it is anything to do with the Hi-Res nature of the new FLACs - instead it is simply because the equipment I am using is better. I recently compared a 16/44.1 from the UMC204HD and it actually sounds the same as a 24/96 from this same ADC.
They only know what their display tells them!
I agree 100%. As I said to each his own. The music is what it’s all about.
Pcryan5
Senior Member
I went from being 100% deaf to hearing via a cochlear implant. I confess to chasing the perfect sound but like Bozzz have accepted the vastly improved quality I am hearing via my vastly overfunctioning imagination.
For anyone interested - end user experiences are shared via this NYTIMES video
Between Sound and Silence
Manny
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- Jun 21, 2023
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I have a lot of experience in various psychological disciplines, hypnosis being one of them. It can have profound and long lasting beneficial effects and has done for millions of people. One of the founding principles of hypnotic science is suggestibility. As a practitioner who utilises it to help people, I have been fighting it in my hifi personal life. Not much success I hate to admit judging from all my interconnects, cables and equipment. LOL!
Alas I can relate. I upgraded my power cable for my amp and also upgraded some rca cables. Throwing that out there for full disclosure lol
Brantome
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Must admit to a little smile when I checked out the webpage for the excellent VinylStudio software mentioned earlier today in another thread where he has a recommendation for a friend’s business - he runs an ear wax removal service…I just bought a package of 4 for 2k. Can recommend
Brantome
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Can’t get that page to load, plus it’s likely behind a paywall.
This was an interesting article and video I came across a few weeks back - certainly food for thought.
"Listening": a Video Tribute to Art Dudley
Listening, an extraordinary video tribute to the late writer Art Dudley's taste, vision, and devotion to music, premiers this month on Stereophile's YouTube channel. The video follows the unusual path of Art's beloved Altec Lansing Flamenco loudspeakers from their home in Upstate New York to...
Houma
Member
Freunde, genau meine Meinung. Nur die Musik entscheidet. Sie soll so gut klingen wie es nur irgendwie geht. Aber für viele ist nur entscheidend was ein Datenblatt aussagt. Ich konnte zusammen mit Freunden einen kleinen Test zwischen dem Pro, dem Pro+, sowie reinen CD Aufnahmen machen. Gut, wird keinem echten Test standhalten, aber…. wir konnten keinen Unterschied hören. Und jetzt ist CD Qualität doch soooo schlecht. Ich frage mich, wie haben wir denn früher Musik gehört und waren sehr glücklich dabei.
WiimNoob
Active member
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- Mar 1, 2023
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- 104
If we are all of a certain age... we killed our hearing going to clubs, concerts, and decibel testing music loud enough in our rooms to get a response from our parents. My "golden ears" now need a tin horn to direct sound to them. Though i'd be interested in shoxx headphones using bone conduction.
Mr Ee
Major Contributor
There's a reason I only have plain old Tidal hi fi...
Although I too cannot understand becoming obsessed with high res, my view flips the narrative a little: as long as you are not paying more for it (think Apple or Amazon), what’s wrong with having high res? At least you can be more confident that if your hifi spending ever got out of control then the source material should never be the limiting factor in your enjoyment.
I imagine you now feel good after telling the world your opinion about the various quality levels of digital audio.
But… others may disagree. Hi-res audio does not have to do with frequencies beyond human hearing. It has to do do with many other aspects including making recordings easier to fit in the the recording medium.
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