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Can't hear the difference between FLAC and 256kbs

post #1 of 82
1/26/10 at 4:49pm
Thread Starter 
Don't get me wrong I am very happy with my current setup. Pretty simple.

Essence St > A5's

After I get to 256kbps music I can't really hear a difference after that. I'm assuming this is because my setup does not have thousands of dollars poured into it and my components just can't bring out the extra fidelity of lossless?
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post #2 of 82
1/26/10 at 4:52pm
Correct.
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post #3 of 82
1/26/10 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by OICWUTUDIDTHAR View Post
Don't get me wrong I am very happy with my current setup. Pretty simple.

Essence St > A5's

After I get to 256kbps music I can't really hear a difference after that. I'm assuming this is because my setup does not have thousands of dollars poured into it and my components just can't bring out the extra fidelity of lossless?
No, it's actually because somewhere around ~200 kbps/v2 more than 90% of music becomes audibly transparent on any equipment. I'm a decent listener - I can detect deviations of frequency response, I have a background in violin, and so on - and I can't ABX high bitrate mp3's on my rig the majority of the time.
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post #4 of 82
1/26/10 at 5:02pm
Thread Starter 
^

I see. Good to know.
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post #5 of 82
1/26/10 at 5:04pm
I have been off work a lot over the past year with ill health. I can listen to 4 to 5 hours of music a day (excellent therapy). At first I struggled to tell the differences between lossless and higher lossy bit rates. I have even posted on this forum stating that and tried a comparison test and could not tell the difference.

Now, after a lot of listening, I find it much easier. My equipment has not been changed to any radical degree during that time.
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post #6 of 82
1/26/10 at 5:06pm
Should the day come when you do have thousands of dollars in equipment, you'll be glad you have those FLAC files. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.
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post #7 of 82
1/26/10 at 5:11pm
ST is only a $200 soundcard and a decent DAC.. it doesn't have the capability to resolve the music that detailed that you would hear the difference... the hifiman 801 does as does the grace 902 and many other high end DACs
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post #8 of 82
1/26/10 at 6:01pm
I don't think the thousands of $$ (or lack thereof) has anything to do with it, well maybe a tiny bit. I think it has more to do with your hearing sensitivity and concentration/focus on the music. Also, mp3 rips have gotten a lot better over the years.

If you're wondering what you should do re your music collection just do what a lot of people do. Rip your music in Flac (or whatever lossless format you choose) to archive and then go portable with the bitrate that gives you the best sound for space.
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post #9 of 82
1/26/10 at 6:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wantmyf1 View Post
I don't think the thousands of $$ (or lack thereof) has anything to do with it, well maybe a tiny bit. I think it has more to do with your hearing sensitivity and concentration/focus on the music. Also, mp3 rips have gotten a lot better over the years.

If you're wondering what you should do re your music collection just do what a lot of people do. Rip your music in Flac (or whatever lossless format you choose) to archive and then go portable with the bitrate that gives you the best sound for space.
Yah but this takes a lot of time, also a waste of hardrive space especially when you have 5000+songs and your getting new ones everyday
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post #10 of 82
1/26/10 at 6:21pm
I find Mp3 to be a waste as why would you want to mess with the audible quality of your music at all?
People can argue that Mp3 had a purpose when HDD were very small and very expensive and still have use for portable players. However, I think for your home system you should stick with FLAC or other lossless format as this way you know you have perfect ocopies of your collection. That being said, it is your system so ultimately your choice.
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post #11 of 82
1/26/10 at 6:41pm
talking about the biggest tool
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post #12 of 82
1/26/10 at 6:45pm
I can easily tell the difference between 256 kbs and FLAC. I actually just bought a CD that I had previously illegally downloaded. I ripped it to FLAC, and took at look at both of them, and the difference was huge. The download was, as I just checked, 256 kbs. And that was from an onboard sound device to my SRH440s.
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post #13 of 82
1/26/10 at 6:57pm
Did you rip your CD to 256kbs as well? it might just be a poor rip. Do some A-B listening and see if the difference is still huge.
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post #14 of 82
1/26/10 at 6:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by OICWUTUDIDTHAR View Post
Yah but this takes a lot of time, also a waste of hardrive space especially when you have 5000+songs and your getting new ones everyday
I don't mean this to sound flippant but...HDD space is cheap! I have a little over 3tb of space and I spent about $250 to get it. If you're going to spend a few (several) hundred dollars on audio equipment and upgrade as time goes on you're cheating yourself and your music SQ if you don't spend $100 on a Terabyte of space It is worth it to have that option!
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post #15 of 82
1/26/10 at 7:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by paara View Post
Did you rip your CD to 256kbs as well? it might just be a poor rip. Do some A-B listening and see if the difference is still huge.
Just did that, and I can tell right from the first hit of the guitar.
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