[Fuzziekiwi]

I converted a FLAC file to 320k, set them up for ABX in foobar2000, couldn't tell a difference. I did the test about 20 times. Those where I got right, I was guessing. So to answer your quesiton - yes, it's worth it.

Almost the same here. It's very hard to tell, it's only in certain songs, and you have to look for a certain part of the song to tell the difference. There was only one song I could tell the difference. Using a lossless file; I converted that to 192kbps, I can tell the difference between that and 320kbps/lossless. BUT your ears have to be trained to hear the difference between 192 and 320 IMO.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Emotions aside, I think it's worth saying no one is ever saying you SHOULD convert your music to lossy formats. That's silly. If you have the space, why not? If you have a big server or a DAP with gigs and gigs of space that you use, I can't think of any good reasons to take all of your lossless music and convert it.
 
The issue is more the notion that you NEED lossless files. If you're using Spotify/Google, or putting music on your phone and converting it to 320 (or even 192 if your space is limited), you are in NO WAY squandering high quality hardware, and at higher bitrates there's no audible difference anyway. That's it. 
 
In an ideal world, ALL of our music would be lossless, but we're not in a world of unlimited bandwidth and storage space (particularly on our mobile devices), so we convert. And our headphones and DAC/Amps are still providing the FULL benefits. 

 

[Canadian411]

I am going with DSD soon

 

[JamesHuntington]

I used 320kbps for a long time on my portable with IEMs. No problem. I had taken those 320 from apple lossless I had burned from cd. In order to save space on the same device I took the same lossless tracks and went to 256. After a few days I just wasn't happy. The life was gone from the music. I wasn't enjoying my music with the same toe-tapping joy. I wet back to 320 and could tell almost instantly and the fire was back. That all through 60$ vmoda IEMs. In my car I hear bass that is unclean and sort of fizzles at higher levels with anything lower than 320 and again less toe tapping. I have to turn down the sound the lower the quality I go.
That said my he5le never leave my home cd/computer system set up that I use with lossless. It's not an expensive setup but I found I get a lot of enjoyment from albums using dsd sacd and super bit mapping. Records are even very enjoyable with my inexpensive gear for the most part.
I have a friend with very nice equipment. He makes his speakers and had a company in the late 90s that did good until he wasn't able to lift the speakers anymore. He's funny to me and plays his music very quietly. He won't use downloaded files either. I think he should try at least with portable devices but he never listens to portable. He is a audiophile and perfectionist who gets very exited when I tell him about my newest sacd purchase. But when I tell him I can put all his music on his phone he cringes. BTW he really likes the super bit mapping stuff I gave him.
As for my home setup I feel like a music engineer at times and can hear goofs and the slightest details in many recordings. I think I have normal ears and wonder if most people around me are deaf. I repeat myself a lot. So for most people it might not be worth paying what I did on playback equipment. As long time home music recorder and Walkman owner from the beginning I know when I hear better or worse. I'm sure a lot of the audiophile public could never get into IEMs due to a belief that they couldn't produce the necessary frequencies to hear the sounds of near reality. And maybe I'm not using the newest converting science availiable. This it a never ending argument and I still like where it's going. I look forward to perfect sounding and small files. I look forward to huge files that are even more realistic.

 

[pp312]

Nice post. However, your first paragraph doesn't proved much as you were aware of the downgrade. Do you think if someone had done it without your knowledge you would have picked it so soon, or at all? I know you'll say yes but...I'm skeptical.

 

[JamesHuntington]

Hey, I went at it with an open mind. What you want me to do pinky sear on my moms grave. Hypotheticaly it's about 25% worse

 

[SomeGuyDude]

There is no way in hell in a CAR you can tell 256 from 320. Sorry. Not gonna happen. It's hard enough to tell that in a controlled environment, let alone dealing with road noise and focusing on driving. I rarely out and out call shenanigans on things, but that's pure malarky. 
 
What you're dealing with is the psychosomatic effect. You know that it's lower quality so you hear differences that aren't there. Your brain tells you "it's a lower bitrate, it can't possibly be as good" so you're convincing yourself that the bass out of your car speakers is "fizzling" and "distorted". 
 
In true ABX tests people couldn't reliably tell 320 from lossless in a laboratory setting, you're claiming to be able to do it in a noisy environment with distractions, or through cheap IEMs, which all by themselves aren't even capable of cleanly playing all the details in the 320 files to begin with. It's like saying you can tell Blu-Ray from DVD on a 13" CRT monitor. Come on. Pinky swear all you want, it doesn't change things. 

 

[JamesHuntington]

I would have kept it 256 if I couldn't tell. It honestly bugged the hell out of me and I'll never go back.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

What I'm saying is the only reason you could "tell" was because you knew it was less. Cheap headphones and car audio are PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE of providing the kind of fidelity that would result in an audible difference. It is truly, honestly, genuinely impossible to tell high bitrates apart on cheap equipment because they can't reproduce the pure sound in the first place.
 
Even if you had very, very high quality car audio (to the tune of thousands of dollars in the installation), the external factors would be masking all the areas where the differences manifest anyway. Maybe if the car was turned off, and you were in a silent place, playing the music loud, and the installation was PERFECT for front seat listening (think SQ contest imaging), then you could CLAIM to hear the difference. 
 
You're speaking in nonsense. But if you doubt it, go ahead. Take an actual ABX test. http://lifehacker.com/5903625/mp3-or-lossless-see-if-you-can-hear-the-difference-with-this-test

 

[JamesHuntington]

Your opinion doesn't mean anything to me. You aren't changing my mind. If I couldn't tell I would not have gone back to 320, plain and simple. I have had some of my CDs for 15 years and I know how they sound on all my setups. I don't want to hear your test or that music. It will not change my mind.

 

[pp312]

"Pinky swear all you want, it doesn't change things."
 
Agree with everything you've said, Dude, but what's pinky swear? 

 

[pp312]

Your opinion doesn't mean anything to me. You aren't changing my mind. If I couldn't tell I would not have gone back to 320, plain and simple. I have had some of my CDs for 15 years and I know how they sound on all my setups. I don't want to hear your test or that music. It will not change my mind.

 
Hmm, I seem to hear the sound of a stamping foot, which unfortunately will probably mean the end of rational debate.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  "Pinky swear all you want, it doesn't change things."
 
Agree with everything you've said, Dude, but what's pinky swear? 

 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinky_swear
 
Silly thing, I remember doing it as a kid. 

 

[JamesHuntington]

Some guy dude should wiki pulling his head out of his ass too, but I doubt it will help.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I did, but the article was in dire need of better citation. Not sure I can trust it. 

 
Anyhoo! For the main point of this? Better headphones even make a huge difference at TERRIBLE bitrates. It might not be super clear, but the sonic difference is pretty immense, even ignoring the whole "can you tell 320 from lossless" debate. FM radio is even markedly better with higher end equipment.