_nomad
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2006
- Posts
- 57
- Likes
- 10
First of all, I haven’t been active in this forum for quite some time, as I’m doing most of my listening through speakers ever since owning a house with the space for it. I do still use cans when I’m on the computer and for bedside listening, though.
So forgive me if I’m slightly “out of tune” with what’s going on here. This topic may even have been discussed before, but I did do a search, and didn’t find anything.
Spotify’s recent announcement that they’re introducing «hi-fi» audio has of course caused quite a stir, and I’ve come across quite a few people questioning whether the potential extra cost is worthwhile. Someone on YouTube recommended an ABX test online, in which you can switch between different formats and qualities in real time. There are options to compare several different formats, but the LAME vs. lossless interested me, as most of my music collection consists of FLAC and 320k mp3.
I will confess, I have become less and less obsessed about bitrates over the years, and most of the time I actually listen to Spotify through squeezebox—>DAC—>tube amp, or vinyl. I’ve always figured the lossless obsession to be more of an OCD thing and about peace of mind, rather than actual perceived sound quality. Still, I do consider myself quite a critical listener.
I did take the test, and although I can’t say the result surprised me, it was quite interesting. I started at 96k and worked my way up. The difference was quite noticeable all the way up to 160k. At that bitrate, I had to concentrate quite a bit more than I had anticipated. At 192k, I got it right about 60-75% of the time. Any higher, and I was basically guessing. Even at 192, I was mostly listening for artifacts in difficult to compress sounds like cymbal crashes, etc.
I took the test through a Violectric V200 with the built-in DAC and two different cans, a pair of LCD-2s and a pair of Grado RS-1s. Granted, I completed the test with a full tower PC about 1ft from my ears, and the gear I used wasn’t super hi end. Also, the tracks chosen in the test weren’t ideal, and some were unknown to me. Still, I’m not sure if I’d have done much better under different conditions.
I thought it might be interesting to set up a poll to see at which point everyone is starting to have trouble discerning the difference between lossless and the various bitrates. Let’s say 80% or higher counts as actually being able to hear the difference. I’m curious to see the result, and also some discussion regarding the particular test in question.
Test can be found here.
Cheers!
Edit: typos.
So forgive me if I’m slightly “out of tune” with what’s going on here. This topic may even have been discussed before, but I did do a search, and didn’t find anything.
Spotify’s recent announcement that they’re introducing «hi-fi» audio has of course caused quite a stir, and I’ve come across quite a few people questioning whether the potential extra cost is worthwhile. Someone on YouTube recommended an ABX test online, in which you can switch between different formats and qualities in real time. There are options to compare several different formats, but the LAME vs. lossless interested me, as most of my music collection consists of FLAC and 320k mp3.
I will confess, I have become less and less obsessed about bitrates over the years, and most of the time I actually listen to Spotify through squeezebox—>DAC—>tube amp, or vinyl. I’ve always figured the lossless obsession to be more of an OCD thing and about peace of mind, rather than actual perceived sound quality. Still, I do consider myself quite a critical listener.
I did take the test, and although I can’t say the result surprised me, it was quite interesting. I started at 96k and worked my way up. The difference was quite noticeable all the way up to 160k. At that bitrate, I had to concentrate quite a bit more than I had anticipated. At 192k, I got it right about 60-75% of the time. Any higher, and I was basically guessing. Even at 192, I was mostly listening for artifacts in difficult to compress sounds like cymbal crashes, etc.
I took the test through a Violectric V200 with the built-in DAC and two different cans, a pair of LCD-2s and a pair of Grado RS-1s. Granted, I completed the test with a full tower PC about 1ft from my ears, and the gear I used wasn’t super hi end. Also, the tracks chosen in the test weren’t ideal, and some were unknown to me. Still, I’m not sure if I’d have done much better under different conditions.
I thought it might be interesting to set up a poll to see at which point everyone is starting to have trouble discerning the difference between lossless and the various bitrates. Let’s say 80% or higher counts as actually being able to hear the difference. I’m curious to see the result, and also some discussion regarding the particular test in question.
Test can be found here.
Cheers!
Edit: typos.
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