[redavaya-fi]

I downloaded some tracks in both lossless and 256 kbps and listened to them with my itouch/IE8, I honestly can't hear the difference. Would good amping via LOD make a very noticable difference between a lossless and 256kbps tracks?

 

[Sherwood]

Not likely, honestly. The kind of resolution you need to tell the difference is tough to achieve in a portable rig.

Go lossless anyways, though. Storage space is cheap, and if you ever get a balls-to-the-wall setup, you'll be glad you did.

 

[krmathis]

I do not think so. Noticeable maybe, but likely not very noticeable...
Depending on the music, amplifier and headphones of course.

I would go lossless for the sake of mind. Unless storage space is a limitation for you.

 

[redavaya-fi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do not think so. Noticeable maybe, but likely not very noticeable... Depending on the music, amplifier and headphones of course. I would go lossless for the sake of mind. Unless storage space is a limitation for you.

Yes, space is an issue since it's just a 32gb touch, and from what Ive read lossless also consumes more battery but if it benefits SQ then I'd try to manage.

I'm also trying to sum up benefits of buying a good amplifier, cable and sacrificing a bit of portablity. I wonder how much improvement I'd get from a touch/IE8/256 kbps to a touch/lod/amp (pico or mustang)/top-tier IEM /lossless. Is it all worthwhile?

 

[iriverdude]

Lossy on DAP with lossless on your computer.

 

[twylight]

I cant tell on my ipod, but I can easily tell on my deskside rig

Make everything FLAC, rip to m4t (?) or whatever the lossless apple format is or mp3

 

[AtomikPi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lossy on DAP with lossless on your computer.

This is what I do.

Odds of you being able to tell v0 from FLAC, especially with a portable setup are very slim. FLAC is good for archival/peace of mind purposes.

 

[cerbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lossy on DAP with lossless on your computer.

+1. You probably won't end up hearing the difference with better stuff. But once you hear some differences on some songs, if you only have lossy, you'll be bringing out your CDs again. A lossless library takes care of it.

 

[redavaya-fi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lossy on DAP with lossless on your computer.

Do you mean a good computer audio set up could bring out the difference between lossy and lossless or you just meant for storage (for future use) purposes?

 

[iriverdude]

Both. I can easily tell the difference between lossless and lossy on any of my full sized components. And it's for archive, I can make a new lossy copy anytime I want, for example if I buy a 200GB DAP I can use a higher bitrate ogg encode rather than the 192kps I'm using now.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redavaya-fi /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm also trying to sum up benefits of buying a good amplifier, cable and sacrificing a bit of portablity. I wonder how much improvement I'd get from a touch/IE8/256 kbps to a touch/lod/amp (pico or mustang)/top-tier IEM /lossless. Is it all worthwhile?

I say the difference when going lossless, LOD, external amplifier, .. is quite noticeable sound quality wise.
But if the larger size and extra money spent are worth it to you, that is for you to define.

 

[paaj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redavaya-fi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, space is an issue since it's just a 32gb touch, and from what Ive read lossless also consumes more battery but if it benefits SQ then I'd try to manage. I'm also trying to sum up benefits of buying a good amplifier, cable and sacrificing a bit of portablity. I wonder how much improvement I'd get from a touch/IE8/256 kbps to a touch/lod/amp (pico or mustang)/top-tier IEM /lossless. Is it all worthwhile?

With a (generous) 500MB per CD, you can still store 70 discs on that small device, probably closer to 100. I will not use lossy files in my home setup if I have a choice so I use ALAC and I don't want to bother re-encoding stuff for portable use.
No problem with battery power, I use it very often, and if I have to charge one time a week it is much. I have not timed the battery life, but the 30+ hours Apple mentions is a value I can believe.