Astell & Kern SR25: The next A&norma player
May 27, 2020 at 12:17 PM Post #241 of 2,743
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Qobuz doesn’t tell you when it streams hi-res files?
Yes, it does. It tells you the bitrate for the files it streams and the highest quality they have is 24bit 192khz but there is no way to know what’s happening with Android SRC as the file is processed by the player. On the Hiby R6 Pro, SRC is bypassed and the device reports what the DAC sees in the notification bar to verify bit-perfect playback.
 
May 27, 2020 at 12:49 PM Post #242 of 2,743
I

Yes, it does. It tells you the bitrate for the files it streams and the highest quality they have is 24bit 192khz but there is no way to know what’s happening with Android SRC as the file is processed by the player. On the Hiby R6 Pro, SRC is bypassed and the device reports what the DAC sees in the notification bar to verify bit-perfect playback.

Well, I see two things at play here:

1. One’s trust in what the manufacturer says;
2. The fact the Hi-Res music playback is close to insignificant and the proof is that we need a visual reminder that what we are indeed listening to a Hi-Res file.

Don’t get me wrong, do I hear the difference in-between Hi-Res and CD quality tracks? Sometimes I do, yes — but sometimes, most of the time, not at all if I’m honest. Do I favor buying Hi-Res music file over CD-quality music files? Yes, but I don’t mind buying a CD-quality track that I specifically want instead of being forced to buy the entire Hi-Res album to get a that specific track.
 
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May 27, 2020 at 12:55 PM Post #243 of 2,743
Well, I see two things at play here:

1. One’s trust in what the manufacturer says;
2. The fact the Hi-Res music playback is close to insignificant and the proof is that we need a visual reminder that what we are indeed listening to a Hi-Res file.

Don’t get me wrong, do I hear the difference in-between Hi-Res and CD quality tracks? Sometimes I do, yes — but sometimes, most of the time, not at all if I’m honest. Do I favor buying Hi-Res music file over CD-quality music files? Yes, but I don’t mind buying a CD-quality track that I specifically want instead of being forced to buy the entire Hi-Res album to get a particular track.

I absolutely agree with you on those 2 points. I also feel that the reason to buy a DAP is primarily to play locally stored files. Getting to stream audio is simply an added bonus in the case of the A&K players.
 
May 27, 2020 at 1:15 PM Post #246 of 2,743
Well, I see two things at play here:

1. One’s trust in what the manufacturer says;
2. The fact the Hi-Res music playback is close to insignificant and the proof is that we need a visual reminder that what we are indeed listening to a Hi-Res file.

Don’t get me wrong, do I hear the difference in-between Hi-Res and CD quality tracks? Sometimes I do, yes — but sometimes, most of the time, not at all if I’m honest. Do I favor buying Hi-Res music file over CD-quality music files? Yes, but I don’t mind buying a CD-quality track that I specifically want instead of being forced to buy the entire Hi-Res album to get a that specific track.

It's not a matter of not being able to hear the difference. It's a matter of not wanting to listen to re-sampled audio.
 
May 27, 2020 at 2:27 PM Post #250 of 2,743
Well, I see two things at play here:

1. One’s trust in what the manufacturer says;
2. The fact the Hi-Res music playback is close to insignificant and the proof is that we need a visual reminder that what we are indeed listening to a Hi-Res file.

Don’t get me wrong, do I hear the difference in-between Hi-Res and CD quality tracks? Sometimes I do, yes — but sometimes, most of the time, not at all if I’m honest. Do I favor buying Hi-Res music file over CD-quality music files? Yes, but I don’t mind buying a CD-quality track that I specifically want instead of being forced to buy the entire Hi-Res album to get a that specific track.

Roon?

:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
 
May 27, 2020 at 3:00 PM Post #253 of 2,743
I really do love the sound of the SR15 and probably will purchase the SR25. However, if this device bypasses Android SRC, then why does Amazon music report the device’s capability as a max 24bit 48khz even when the track quality is reported to be 24bit 96khz? The Hiby R6Pro reports its device capability as 24bit 192khz and it definitely bypasses SRC. This particular song is from Iggy Pop’s The Idiot album which is 24bit 96khz on Amazon Music HD.
41CE39C6-643A-4A94-905A-800360DB6763.jpeg
From what I was told by both our teams and other manufacturers, it is an Amazon app issue not recognizing the device capability correctly. The majority of manufacturers with Android-based devices that support 24/192 all have the app saying they only support 24/48. I know with Hiby, they also had the same issue, then released a "fix" and now it shows 24/192 capable.
 
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May 27, 2020 at 3:01 PM Post #254 of 2,743
is the issue linked to Amazon Music HD... OR is Amazon Music HD the only app that actually tells you what the effective output is. Tidal and Qobuz do not reveal that. I have a feeling that the player is not bypassing Android SRC. now I have two (2) DAPS (ZX-507) that do this :frowning2:
Tidal does output the correct bit-rate based on the track provided. This is part of the testing and certification process by the MQA team before the device can be MQA certified that it is passing the correct bit rate and playing back at the full resolution.
 
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May 27, 2020 at 3:03 PM Post #255 of 2,743
Tidal does output the correct bit-rate based on the track provided. This is part of the testing and certification process by the MQA team before the device can be MQA certified that it is passing the correct bit rate and playing back at the full resolution.

Hi Jason,

Does this include for the side loaded Tidal APK app? Or only the Tidal app pre-installed? I'm talking about the Cube in this instance but I'm sure this will be the same across the product range.

Cheers.
 

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