[Low Fidelity]

found this linky today on Digg / All News, Videos, & Images

mp3 or not - Don't you hear it?

i'm at work, but i'm going to fire up my echo indigo into my laptop, slip in the livewires and listen very carefully.

IF i can get the phones to stop ringing!

 

[Punnisher]

I took the test and failed it. They sounded the same to me. Maybe they are?

They should have used music with more dynamics, then it would have been a more meaningful test.

 

[BigSurSpoon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Punnisher /img/forum/go_quote.gif I took the test and failed it. They sounded the same to me. Maybe they are? They should have used music with more dynamics, then it would have been a more meaningful test.

Exactly. They could use music with better recording and/or production quality and it would be a better test.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

How is this considered a debate? Either you can hear it or you can't.

 

[mark_h]

Should be obvious because of the download/loading time, A takes longer than B, but no I can hear no real difference.

 

[janruzinsky]

Well I succeeded. I listened to both pieces 3 times with my UE super fi 3 on my lousy Dell computer at work and the difference was obvious to me.
I am using now mp3's at 320 (or FLAC) for some time only as lower rates do not satisfy mi listening needs.

 

[TSi]

when i encode my cds to 128, 192 and the 320, i can tell night and day differences between them.

 

[shigzeo]

usually i cannot tell a difference on well encoded files but the test was very obvious to me - strange. i have one multiple lossless and various quality tests on my own and only had one work in favour of higher quality files: but that was back in md land with lp2 versus sp recording. in the more modern recent times, i have been unable to tell a max encoded 128kbps aac versus the alac or aiff file of the same track reliably.

 

[pez]

I can't tell a big difference at all b/w 256, 320 and lossless, but I can tell a big difference b/w 128, 192, and 256.

 

[Logistics]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSi /img/forum/go_quote.gif when i encode my cds to 128, 192 and the 320, i can tell night and day differences between them.

Me too! I was going to say, I don't need some online test, I can do this at home. But I do have to say that there are some CD's I have ripped where the tracks sound so cruddy that there really wasn't much discernable difference between bit-rates. This leads me to believe that the cause of so many failing this test is cruddy recordings to begin with.

 

[pez]

I agree they should have used something more dynamic, but the cymbal (?) was the obvious thing to me. I used ER-6i through a cMoy.

 

[Low Fidelity]

Quote:

I can't tell a big difference at all b/w 256, 320 and lossless, but I can tell a big difference b/w 128, 192, and 256.

I have to have an ideal listening environment to really split the hears over 256.

Of course the choice of music is a significant factor.

 

[xnothingpoetic]

I haven't taken this test yet because I am away from my rig for the week.

But last year at my dad's house, he played me two versions of the same song: Def Leopard- Rock On

One version was the original CD and the other was an itunes file burned onto CD.

Probably not the best recording ever, but almost immediately the differences were known. First the itunes version had less bass definition, and on the original, the vocals were just plain better in every way. I can't explain it in audiophile terms but the difference was obvious. I also did not know which was which when he played them.

I will try this one when I can though- or make my own version of this test.


EDIT: By the way- the difference in my test was obvious but not drastic. 128 sounded good, but the CD sounded better in comparison.

 

[En_R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif How is this considered a debate? Either you can hear it or you can't.

Some clips are less likely to produce artifacts when encoded with lossy audio.

That is why hydrogenaudio has "killer" clips that will allow people to distinguish artifacts right away if on a lower setting

 

[Assorted]

What the heck? That was the easiest online 128 or 320 test I've ever encountered. The biggest difference was in how big and fast the bass bloomed, and how congested the 128 sounded.

Try to not pay attention to the melody.