Do 320kbps mp3 files really sound better? Take the test!

[lee730]

Quote:

I got it right, with my Hotaudio dac, Shanling amp and DT770pro.
 
To me, the reverb behind the vocals when he says "which way you're going" sounds wider and more detailed, and the bass drum at the end of the clip has more punch.
And if that wasn't it, the cymbals really gave it away, especially around 0:14 in the supposedly wrong clip.

For me the detail was lacking, especially with the background voices. They sounded hollow on the 128 recording.
 

 

[Rossinator]

Yeah, if you listen hard enough it's not too hard to tell the difference. The 128 lacks some of the detail that the 320 in everything. I seemed to be able to tell the difference a lot better with my DT48s than my HD280s.

 

[nicholars]

I got it right and to me there was a big difference eg. 128 sounded horrible.

 

[pshhyeahh]

I got it right. With the headphones I have now, the difference is day and night. 

 

[dude120]

I got it right using an asus laptop and a set of ath-a700s.
Initially, I wasn't quite sure. However, after listening to each clip about three times, focusing more on detail than on the entire clip itself, it immediately became clear which one was which. 

 

[feteru]

I got it right! Even with my humble sr80i+E11, the difference was clear. It took 4-5 listens to be sure, but the 128 sounded emptier, and not as full and clear as the 320. 

 

[nikp]

Picked the right one because I thought the one I chose sounded more lively and has more clarity.

 

[NinjaSquirt]

I got it wrong but I heard a difference between the two.

 

[FunkMasterFlex]

320? What about all the levels above that, I'm at 3500 kbps right now with FLAC, so, you know, test those bro

 

[bowei006]

when u say 3500kbps....do you mean after it's uncompressed from the DAC? cuz i usualy get songs that are 800-1100kbps in it's compressed FLAC or ALAC format.

 

[FunkMasterFlex]

Quote:

when u say 3500kbps....do you mean after it's uncompressed from the DAC? cuz i usualy get songs that are 800-1100kbps in it's compressed FLAC or ALAC format.

 
I really don't know, I'm getting that measurement from the J River Media Ver 16, it tends to jump around a bit anywhere from 1100-4000 kbps. If you haven't used that player it's actually really great, with some seriously nice features.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

when u say 3500kbps....do you mean after it's uncompressed from the DAC? cuz i usualy get songs that are 800-1100kbps in it's compressed FLAC or ALAC format.

If its 24/96 files in flac then of course I'm not surprised by the size as they can get ridiculously large. But I notice a difference on those tracks as well. There is more air and better separation in these tracks.

 

[Saintly]

Just failed using my T1.  The 320kbps had better instrumental detail and decay but the vocals seemed a bit distant to me.

 

[lazyredhead]

the very first thing i listen for when doing these is decay, becuse it's the easiest way to distinguish between different file sizes for me,

 

[Stereodude]

Yes, they sound different.  I successfully identified the 320kbit/sec file using my Lenovo T410's built in audio + Shure E4 IEMs by listening for compression artifacts.  I'm not terribly surprised as I was able to ABX V2 (vbr) LAME MP3's from the FLAC in prior listening tests.  I failed my tests at V1 though, which is why I encode my MP3's V1.
 
Now having said that, the sample clip used is pretty poor quality to be used as listening test material.