Like most audiophiles, I dream of finding ways to improve the quality of my music reproduction. It is tempting to believe that upgrading to a higher resolution format such as 24/192 will miraculously boost the quality. The only problem is, IT WON'T.
16/44 resolution may not be ideal (i.e. it may be possible, just, to hear the benefit of more resolution in the dynamic range). I suspect that 18/44 would be a better limit (4 times CD resolution) but 24/192 is surely over the top and a waste of hard disk space, at over 1,000 times CD resolution and around 6 times the file size. Equipment used to make the recording simply doesn't have 144dB of dynamic range, or record 95kHz frequencies. For various technical reasons, it does help to use extra resolution in the recording/mixing/mastering process, to reduce various artefacts, but not for the final medium. So I could support a mild step up from CD, e.g. 20-bit, 88kHz, just for peace of mind that the format is beyond the capability of human hearing but anything beyond that is plain silly. The DVD-A format of 24/96 seems to be the closest supported format up from 16/44 so perhaps we are stuck with that. I suspect it is much easier for marketing purposes to push a medium with more impressive numbers, even if it's all emperor's new clothes. No-one wants to upgrade the CD format to 18/44 - it lacks the wow factor.
But enough of numbers, there is a MUCH larger issue - the quality of the recordings themselves. I'm sure many of you have had an experience of listening to an audiophile CD on a very high end system (possibly $50K+) and been gobsmacked by the utter realism and natural sound. Yes, it's a beautiful thing and we all wish our music would sound like that, which I believe is why many people get sucked into HR audio formats. However, the fact that CD can sound so good just proves that the format itself is capable of greatness. The reason your home listening experience isn't as good is not because of the digital format, but the execution at every stage of the recording and reproduction process, from the choice of microphone in the studio all the way to your speakers and room response and background noise. There are so many sources of quality loss, and your sound will only be as good as the weakest link in the chain. And that weakest link is certainly NOT the 16/44 format! Until recording engineers lift their game and produce albums which sound as stunning as some audiophile releases, or until you upgrade your system or change your listening room to a completely silent one with perfect echoic response, then we are all just chasing a dream. Sad but true.
p.s. oh, and next time you hear someone tell you something like using one USB cable to their DAC over another cable gives them "more bass" or a "wider soundstage", PLEASE smack them in the face with a wet fish. Repeatedly.
This kind of ignorance and misinformation isn't helping to solve the genuine issues which music lovers and audiophiles face.
