I did some comparison and it seems like i can't hear the difference between 128 kbps mp3 and flac ( i can hear the difference between low bitrate like 32 kbps tho). However, in Jriver Media Center's analyzer, i can see that the higher frequency for the 128 kbps mp3 looks not smooth compare to the flac.
Did you read up on how
file compression in general and
MP3 work? And what music are you listening to? Some music can be more susceptible to audible differences when compressed below 320kbps depending on what's in the recording. A mainly vocal track with a violin on even an audiophile CD has a relatively narrower range of frequencies and can be affected less by lossy compression than, say, classical music with a full symphony, or a metal track with lead vocals, a choir, two guitars and a bass guitar, a synth, drums, and a string quartet (if not a full symphony). Excerpts below with my notes:
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Lossy audio compression algorithms provide higher compression at the cost of fidelity and are used in numerous audio applications. These algorithms almost all rely on psychoacoustics to eliminate less audible or meaningful sounds, thereby reducing the space required to store or transmit them.
It uses psychoacoustic models to discard or reduce precision of components less audible to human hearing, and then records the remaining information in an efficient manner.
The innovation of lossy audio compression was to use psychoacoustics to recognize that not all data in an audio stream can be perceived by the human auditory system. Most lossy compression reduces perceptual redundancy by first identifying perceptually irrelevant sounds, that is, sounds that are very hard to hear. Typical examples include high frequencies or sounds that occur at the same time as louder sounds. Those sounds are coded with decreased accuracy or not at all.
Some audio is hard to compress because of its randomness and sharp attacks. When this type of audio is compressed, artifacts such as ringing or pre-echo are usually heard.
Time resolution can be too low for highly transient signals and may cause smearing of percussive sounds
There is no scale factor band for frequencies above 15.5/15.8
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Notes:
I.
Psychoacoustic presumption
The algorithm for compression assumes that your brain only pays attention to some sounds, the same way that groupies flock to the band members generally in this order: vocalist, lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, drummer, and then maybe the bassist too. Maybe. So basically unless you have a band that puts an emphasis on the loudness of the bass, like the Red Hot Chili Peppers,* Greyhoundz (local band here),* Mudvayne, etc., then most likely the algorithm will assume that since it's recorded too low, you wouldn't notice if it's gone. Kind of like when a band that doesn't have rad bass lines has its bassist getting sick or something and they get one of their crew to play on stage with them, and unless you're missing Flea jumping around on stage, you probably wouldn't notice. On some other types of rock and metal, the synth would be the next to go, if not ahead of the bass guitar (first example above was the more typical band format). It's like not hearing the triangle in a symphony unless they specifically put it "up front" in terms of loudness by putting a microphone next to it.
Now as much as I critique it in practice, there is a reason why it was a viable theory. For example in any given moment you have dozens of sound sources but your brain sorts them out an pays attention to only a few sound sources, kind of like how the NSA is monitoring even this thread or that time I called my brother but they aren't really paying attention until the computer flags a few keywords that I wouldn't even type here, then an agent tunes in to see whether it's actually sleeper agents talking or Democrats and Republicans arguing in the comments section (or I was referring to my brother's classmate's gross zit instead of anything you can park a van filled with fertilizer on). Step into the world's quietest room, and suddenly you can hear your own heartbeat. It's not like your ears couldn't pick up the sound otherwise, considering it's that close, but your brain wisely enough would pay more attention to other people and vehicles to keep you alive because the only time you really need to listen to your heart is when you have a freaking stethoscope. And most likely that will be somebody else - a doctor - doing that for you. Deprive the brain of other stimuli and you'll finally hear it,
and it might even drive you insane, kind of like
the heart of that guy with the weird eye.
II.
Music Genre
On top of the examples already mentioned above regarding bass, synth, vocals and violins, refer to one of the highlighted portions. When you have highly dynamic notes coming in you get a few troubles with compression. What I've noticed with my own music is that the bass drum and the other percussion tend to lose either loudness or lower frequencies, if not both; that's on top of getting even less of the bass guitar. Fast double pedal action can sound a little hollow, more like a school band drummer tapping on a snare with a pillow in it than someone working two pedals. Again, rip an audiophile-standard mastering vocal track, or a relatively simple pop track with drums and a synthesizer backing up Britney, and chances are both won't be noticeably affected.
*Coincidentally, people actually know the name of RHCP's bassist, Flea; and over here the Greyhoundz' bassist is popular with the ladies (not sure about groupies but my friends think he's the cutest bassist ever);
now imagine Jason Newstead leaving after Load, Reload and Garage Inc, and the first thing you noticed about his replacement was his dreadlocks.
I also did some online test from different websites and it seems like the highest frequency i can hear in a blind test is 14-16 khz.
....
BTW what's the highest you can hear?
Assuming the setting of the gain and volume knobs anywhere in the chain remain constant, yes it is harder to hear the extremes of the frequency spectrum. You can pause that when you stop hearing anything, then boost the volume. Chances are you might hear a little bit more.
On my HD600 I can hear fine all the way up to 22khz, but of course that sounds a lot lower than 2khz; still that's an additional 2khz over where people say I shouldn't be able to hear anything ergo some get to say ribbon tweeters are useless. On my Aurisonics ASG-1 I can hear sound only up to 12khz, volume dropping at 10khz, using my regular listening level (obviously this one has a design compromise). If I pause and increase the volume, I can up to 16khz. Take note the Sennheiser is rated for 39khz and Aurisonics is rated for 25khz.
-Does your ability to hear wide ranges of frequencies affect your ability to tell the difference between high and low quality music file?
It can, but that can vary with each genre. Some notes tend to have a very wide range of frequencies in it, and if the lossy algorithm for example essentially disregards say above 16khz, then the same violin, guitar, piano, or cymbal strike may not sound the same as on another. Of course, the headphone/IEM or speaker may not even be playing those frequencies at an audible level to begin with (as in the example above). There is a difference between a manufacturer claiming that their product goes from 20hz to 25khz and one that actually says, more precisely, "-3db at 25khz." The first just says that their microphone picked up sound from it up to 25khz, but for all you know it starts dropping sharply at half of that; the latter specifically says it starts dropping sharply at 25khz.
-Does this mean i should reconsidering getting my music in 320 kbps (or lower) mp3 instead of flac?
If it was just not noticing the difference on music, ie psychoaboustics, then I would say give FLAC a chance. However, if after trying the pause then increase volume test you can't hear anything, I'd say try keeping 320kbps if you have music that still has a lot of instruments in them.
Quote:
DAC/amp: fiio e17 and L7 LOD
IEM: Vsonic VSD1s
speaker: Audioengine A2
have other headphones but didn't test them
For starters, the A2 is rated at 65hz to 20khz, -2db. However just because the bass drops sharply at 65hz doesn't mean it is very flat above that. In terms of psychoacoustics, that either tricks you into thinking it has full bodied bass all the time with successive single pedal drum hits, or that you'd be distracted by how it sounds like a mudslide on Pantera and Mudvayne.
When i introduce my friend to loseless audio, he wasn't able to tell the difference at first. But he said that the loseless version had better bass than the lossy version. He compared it by putting his head and ears between the 2 speaker enclosure. He was using onboard audio w/ itunes and a unknown JVC mini hi-fi system via AUX in.
What should i pay attention when doing these comparisons? I try to listen for better bass, clarity, and distortion.
I'll give you a few sounds cues to listen for and some artists who I can think off the bat would be best for listening critically for each, along with the others I posted above. A few caveats though:
- I won't type down what the sounds should sound like as in Adam West Batman visualized sound effects (like THUD! KAPOW!) as I think it can probably just add to the confusion; although it was easier doing that talking to my friend right in front of me
- I chose these among music I listened to recently, so they aren't necessary the best, just the ones I thought of quickly
- You might not have access to most of these past YouTube, but I'll try anyway
- These are primarily on bass and percussion, which despite my 22khz hearing, are what I easily pick out between gear and file compression level/format - I was a vocalist (although I play guitar and bass) although briefly but I used the beat as cues for when to start singing (again), metal or not (save for a few ballads with just a piano or violin)
1. Tone of the bass drum - does it sound deep, ie, with more lower frequencies? does it have some sense of reverberation (easier with subwoofers and large speakers)?
ex. Deftones'
Digital Bath and
Passenger
2. Tone and detail, location of the other percussions - when they do a drum roll do they pan properly, ie, if the sound is not equal the ones in the center should only be slightly louder? do they sound deep but the sound of each hit doesn't blend into the next?
ex. Nightwish, particularly
Sacrament of Wilderness from Oceanborn (the studio recording)
3. Tone and detail on bass drums with double pedals - do they sound exactly the same? does one sound deeper/fuller, each hit more detailed? is one audio format louder than the other?
ex. Mudvayne, particularly on tracks from
The End of All Things to Come (mostly because that's the one I listen to most often); Pantera; Dream Theater, particularly Metropolis Pt.I;
4. Audibility and detail on bass guitar and other instruments - do you hear the bass guitar while the guitar(s) is/are playing loudly? can you even hear the bass guitar on quiet passages? what about the synth in the background - are they the same loudness relative to the other instruments?
ex. Nightwish, particularly
Sacrament of Wilderness (the studio recording, too many of this live),
Dark Chest of Wonders,
I Wish I Had An Angel
5. General lower frequency - do the notes that carry the beat sound deep and detailed? do the notes fade faster on one file format?
ex. Feist -
One Evening
