[joseph69]

 
Wait, are you saying this isn't real life?

That was a good one!

 

[TheDreamthinker]

Wait, are you saying this isn't real life?

 
Not really....it's Head-Fi after all...
a mythical place where people prefer to spend money on gear rather than eat or drink...

 

[swspiers]

In all seriousness, I think that Head-Fi truly is real life, in a lot of ways.  For better or ill, this forum is a major force in an industry that is making, what, a billion a year?  Manufacturers are tailoring cans specifically to the community- with Grado being one of the earliest, and best examples.
 
Look at the relationship with Mr. Speakers, who went from being a modder into a designer of what is arguable at least in the top 50 headphones with his Alpha Dogs, and almost totally driven by this community. Head-phone centric stores are opening up, and the press even refers to Head-Fi when discussing cans.
 
We don't have the presence to de-throne Beats as the #1 can (at least not yet). But any manufacturer serious about this biz is catering to, participating with, and even sending samples out to members for pre-production reviews.  Which is why Oppo is so frustrating at the moment with their silence on the PM-1.
 
Just sayin'...

 

[HPiper]

I don't want to start a big fight but as everybody on this forum are listening to Grado's which are highly resolving headphones, particularly in the mid-treble area, I would like to see what everyone thought. I downloaded an HD album (24/96) last night. It was one of my favorite albums back in the day so I thought I was real familiar with it. I was astounded at how much more....well everything..there was there to be heard. I have never heard such detail, texture, soundstage, you name it. I was using my SR325is phones which are very resolving phones in and of themselves, but I have never heard them sound this good before. So what I'd like to know is how many of you think high res albums sound better than regular redbook (16/44.1). I think they do and while it isn't a huge difference I think if I were planning on buying a new cd and if that cd were available as a hi-res download, for the 4 or 5 dollars extra I would get the download instead. I for one, will not say anything one way or the other regarding your opinion on this, what you hear is what you hear, simple as that.
 I see a lot of posts and articles saying that it is impossible to hear a difference, which I just find real confusing because I am sure I do. I guess it is possible for my mind to convince itself it is hearing something that just isn't there, I don't know.

 

[swspiers]

  I don't want to start a big fight but as everybody on this forum are listening to Grado's which are highly resolving headphones, particularly in the mid-treble area, I would like to see what everyone thought. I downloaded an HD album (24/96) last night. It was one of my favorite albums back in the day so I thought I was real familiar with it. I was astounded at how much more....well everything..there was there to be heard. I have never heard such detail, texture, soundstage, you name it. I was using my SR325is phones which are very resolving phones in and of themselves, but I have never heard them sound this good before. So what I'd like to know is how many of you think high res albums sound better than regular redbook (16/44.1). I think they do and while it isn't a huge difference I think if I were planning on buying a new cd and if that cd were available as a hi-res download, for the 4 or 5 dollars extra I would get the download instead. I for one, will not say anything one way or the other regarding your opinion on this, what you hear is what you hear, simple as that.
 I see a lot of posts and articles saying that it is impossible to hear a difference, which I just find real confusing because I am sure I do. I guess it is possible for my mind to convince itself it is hearing something that just isn't there, I don't know.

I think there is something to the quality of hi-rez, but it mostly has to do with the mastering.  I have plenty of material, most of the Cowboy Junkies catalogue comes to mind, that rivals anything I've heard in hi-rez, even though it is straight Redbook spec.

 

[j14mp]

I don't want to start a big fight but as everybody on this forum are listening to Grado's which are highly resolving headphones, particularly in the mid-treble area, I would like to see what everyone thought. I downloaded an HD album (24/96) last night. It was one of my favorite albums back in the day so I thought I was real familiar with it. I was astounded at how much more....well everything..there was there to be heard. I have never heard such detail, texture, soundstage, you name it. I was using my SR325is phones which are very resolving phones in and of themselves, but I have never heard them sound this good before. So what I'd like to know is how many of you think high res albums sound better than regular redbook (16/44.1). I think they do and while it isn't a huge difference I think if I were planning on buying a new cd and if that cd were available as a hi-res download, for the 4 or 5 dollars extra I would get the download instead. I for one, will not say anything one way or the other regarding your opinion on this, what you hear is what you hear, simple as that.
 I see a lot of posts and articles saying that it is impossible to hear a difference, which I just find real confusing because I am sure I do. I guess it is possible for my mind to convince itself it is hearing something that just isn't there, I don't know.

I can't even make out the difference between iTunes and hdtracks. YouTube even sounds good to me.

I think sometimes people over think it. Not saying you, but your head might be lying to you. Or maybe not. Some hear better than others.

 

[JoeDoe]

I don't think I've seen anyone say it's impossible to hear difference between CD-quality and Hi res. Usually the consensus is differences between 320 MP3 and FLAC are almost imperceptible. Hi res is is another ballpark. I definitely hear more with my 24-bit recordings - especially when they're well produced/mastered. And in the spirit of this thread, my favorite cans to reveal such differences are the RS1s!

 

[rodweb]

A lot of people in the Sound Science forum would disagree.

 

[j14mp]

A lot of people in the Sound Science forum would disagree.

Would they say there is a difference?

 

[rodweb]

Would they say there is a difference?

No, they'll say there's no audible difference and that 16bit/44khz is enough.

It has been proven scientifically, I just can't seem to find the link here on mobile.

 

[whirlwind]

 
  Here is a can of worms that just got opened up.
 
It involves much more than just being redone in hi rez.......I have heard good hi rez and I have heard lousey hi rez.....I will leave it at that.

 

[TheDreamthinker]

Would they say there is a difference?

 
Probably yes, but not audible.
 
One mustn't forget, that our perception of the world around us is very much based on anticipation, prejudice and other psychological factors.
A cheap wine tastes very good when put in an expensive bottle (common example) - nothing you can do about it, its in our very nature.
 
I personally think that we need to embrace that a lot of the gear we buy, mainly plays with our brain and therefore 'improves the sound'.
 
To get back to the Grado theme of this thread:
 
If I compare my SR325is (which I am using right now) and my SR80i, I can indeed tell a difference. But that difference is simply more air and slightly more clarity (through that).
Comparing them to the SR225i which I borrowed for a while, I need to say that I wasn't really able to discern any (clear) difference.
But looking at their different housing, I really wanted to hear a difference in sound.

 

[JoeDoe]

   
Probably yes, but not audible.
 
One mustn't forget, that our perception of the world around us is very much based on anticipation, prejudice and other psychological factors.
A cheap wine tastes very good when put in an expensive bottle (common example) - nothing you can do about it, its in our very nature.
 
I personally think that we need to embrace that a lot of the gear we buy, mainly plays with our brain and therefore 'improves the sound'.
 
To get back to the Grado theme of this thread:
 
If I compare my SR325is (which I am using right now) and my SR80i, I can indeed tell a difference. But that difference is simply more air and slightly more clarity (through that).
Comparing them to the SR225i which I borrowed for a while, I need to say that I wasn't really able to discern any (clear) difference.
But looking at their different housing, I really wanted to hear a difference in sound.

Valid point. 
 
Either way, there are things I hear more clearly in hi-res. Maybe not things that weren't there on the CD quality recording, but definitely a discernible difference in clarity (IMO obviously).

 

[rodweb]

Probably yes, but not audible.

One mustn't forget, that our perception of the world around us is very much based on anticipation, prejudice and other psychological factors.
A cheap wine tastes very good when put in an expensive bottle (common example) - nothing you can do about it, its in our very nature.

I personally think that we need to embrace that a lot of the gear we buy, mainly plays with our brain and therefore 'improves the sound'.

To get back to the Grado theme of this thread:

If I compare my SR325is (which I am using right now) and my SR80i, I can indeed tell a difference. But that difference is simply more air and slightly more clarity (through that).
Comparing them to the SR225i which I borrowed for a while, I need to say that I wasn't really able to discern any (clear) difference.
But looking at their different housing, I really wanted to hear a difference in sound.

Well written!

 

[rodweb]

Valid point. 

Either way, there are things I hear more clearly in hi-res. Maybe not things that weren't there on the CD quality recording, but definitely a discernible difference in clarity (IMO obviously).

Have you tried a blind test? Such as the ABX plug-in for foobar2000.