[14likd1]

As it may seem obvious I am pretty new to building my own Audiophile system. One trend I seem to see is that a lot of people like to listen to music on their computers on with FLAC files. While I know it's lossless and is the best way to listen to music on your computer I can't really afford to just buy all the music I listen to, including a few artist who don't even have music I can just purchase. With that being said, I like to listen to my music on youtube. With that being said how much better is FLAC compared to listening to your music online and also does the resolution of the youtube video improve the sound quality?

Thanks

 

[007shark76]

I use YouTube as a way to discover new music. The audio quality of most music is that of 128k mp3. I will usually buy the CD of artists I really like and then rip it to FLAC on my computer. The sound quality is better and you can tell when paying attention to the lows and to cymbal crashes.

 

[14likd1]

but with moderate equipment for me:

1. AMP: Topping A30 with upgraded Burson Audio V5i opamps
2. DAC: Focusrite Scarlett Solo
3. Headphones: HD 598 with plans to get the HD 6XX or 650
4. Speakers: Audioengine A2+

Will I even notice the difference for me to commit to purchasing music and also add onto the fact that some artist I genuinely like are just hard to purchase. i.e this rapper called "therealak".
Or is a problem like this something I should start tackling as I start pursuing my endgame system?

 

[WallofHooligans]

Lossless isn't always the best way to listen, especially if you can't tell the difference between the two. Expect anything higher than 192k to be hard to differentiate.

 

[cossix]

I'm not saying that you should torrent all your flac files but...you know. Anyway, I wouldn't bother spending money on the 650 if you're sticking to YouTube and Pandora. I have both 598 for gaming and 650 running balanced for music, and they're great. But I feed them flac and DSD because Pandora and YouTube sound like trash to me now. It's all preference really, if you honestly can't tell the difference between lossless and mp3 then you're better off keeping the 598. It's a great headphone and doesn't punish you for playing low quality files, it's quite forgiving.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

As it may seem obvious I am pretty new to building my own Audiophile system. One trend I seem to see is that a lot of people like to listen to music on their computers on with FLAC files. While I know it's lossless and is the best way to listen to music on your computer I can't really afford to just buy all the music I listen to, including a few artist who don't even have music I can just purchase. With that being said, I like to listen to my music on youtube. With that being said how much better is FLAC compared to listening to your music online and also does the resolution of the youtube video improve the sound quality?

Thanks

Assuming you're listening at the best quality rip and YouTube streaming, for casual listening, the other distractions will make any differences very difficult to hear.

Personally I use YouTube to discover new music or watch the music I like with music vids or live performances, and for casual listening at work. I can use Spotify for the latter but sometimes I'd jump from music vid or live performance to something that isn't even related to music, kind of like how TV provides background noise that you don't really pay attention to.