[eucariote]

Quote:

Originally Posted by beamthegreat /img/forum/go_quote.gif Really? Even if I played it with my IE8 with V-can amp and a decent sound card, it was still very hard for me to tell the difference between the 128 and 320 kbps file.

Sorry, I didn't see your second post where you provided the test tracks.

That was something I did using 'I don't want U' by Blonde Redhead that has cymbals galore and scraping guitar strings which made it very easy to tell the difference.

 

[Cianyx]

My God, spending most of my lifetime listening poorly encoded music really shows.

Not related but I came across this
http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2009/03/...-hearing-test/

A number of the comments were bragging about their ability to hear at 22khz. Isn't that humanly impossible considering the human hearing range only reachers 20khz?

 

[Zathan]

Very discernable to me on my stock Sansa clip+ earbuds. I didn't even hesitate I knew A was the highest quality with my eyes closed

 

[jaycalgary]

Thanks for the hearing test I did not do so well. I could hear to 15khz and no further. Then I went back to try if if was 15khz in both ears and it was not. 15khz in right ear and actually only 14khz in left. Could always be worse.

 

[the search never ends]

Not much trouble, but that is a good recording......I don't do as well with most modern rock and pop. Now some good Queen recordings, and Pink Floyd are pretty easy.
Monster Turbine Pro Gold, Straight out of my x-fi soundcard, into my PA2V2

 

[oohms]

With a large mp3 collection, my biggest concern isn't that most of them are 128k... its that the recording or (most likely) the rip is bad. I have several duplicate songs where the 128k version is fine, and the 320k one is slightly distorted, dull, or off in some way.

 

[TheOtus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oohms /img/forum/go_quote.gif With a large mp3 collection, my biggest concern isn't that most of them are 128k... its that the recording or (most likely) the rip is bad. I have several duplicate songs where the 128k version is fine, and the 320k one is slightly distorted, dull, or off in some way.

128 is more forgiving... Like painting a rusted car without actually fixing anything.

So yeah, many songs will sound smoother and perhaps even more comfortable to listen to as 128 kbps.

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cianyx /img/forum/go_quote.gif My God, spending most of my lifetime listening poorly encoded music really shows. Not related but I came across this Can you hear THIS? Musicians high frequency hearing test | NoiseAddicts music and audio blog A number of the comments were bragging about their ability to hear at 22khz. Isn't that humanly impossible considering the human hearing range only reachers 20khz?

I can't say that I heard any frequency about 16khz unless I pump up the volume, in which case I can hear up to 17Khz. I'm well over 25yrs old anyway, so I guess I'm normal.

 

[gbacic]

I failed...
But, I feel that getting 320kbps or FLAC is better because then you know that it won't be a crappy rip. These files were obviously well ripped.

 

[paulb09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cianyx /img/forum/go_quote.gif A number of the comments were bragging about their ability to hear at 22khz. Isn't that humanly impossible considering the human hearing range only reachers 20khz?

I don't think it is a strict 20kHz, but I am also surprised by the number of people there claiming they can hear 22kHz there. I find it extremely hard to believe the ones claiming they can hear 22kHz when they are over 20 years old though. All ears degrade over time when subject to noise (whether aging processes have anything to do with it either I don't know), so I find it very unlikely that they can actually hear the 22kHz.

Anyhow, there might be something going wrong either with my system or the tones; the 22 tone shows some peaks in the lower register on my Winamp analyzer, though all I can hear when playing the 22 is clicks when it starts. Those clicks come on all the ones I tried when I start/finish playing, and are very annoying to the ear. Anyhow, I'm 21 and could hear 18kHz at a volume a little higher than normal listening level. 19kHz was nothing for me, even turning it up. I hate those tests anyway; such tones bring up tinnitus for me, so they are a nuisance.

 

[errorich]

I guessed it right on the first try. The percussion gave it away, the 320 was more full and open.

 

[Ra97oR]

Done that before with a crappy X-Fi paired with my AD1000PRM. Got it first time through.

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulb09 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think it is a strict 20kHz, but I am also surprised by the number of people there claiming they can hear 22kHz there. I find it extremely hard to believe the ones claiming they can hear 22kHz when they are over 20 years old though. All ears degrade over time when subject to noise (whether aging processes have anything to do with it either I don't know), so I find it very unlikely that they can actually hear the 22kHz. Anyhow, there might be something going wrong either with my system or the tones; the 22 tone shows some peaks in the lower register on my Winamp analyzer, though all I can hear when playing the 22 is clicks when it starts. Those clicks come on all the ones I tried when I start/finish playing, and are very annoying to the ear. Anyhow, I'm 21 and could hear 18kHz at a volume a little higher than normal listening level. 19kHz was nothing for me, even turning it up. I hate those tests anyway; such tones bring up tinnitus for me, so they are a nuisance.

I think another thing to consider is whether or not your gear can even accurately produce tones that high. Sure, maybe you're pumping a 22k signal through, but your headphones might still be stuck at 20.

 

[oohms]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbacic /img/forum/go_quote.gif I failed... But, I feel that getting 320kbps or FLAC is better because then you know that it won't be a crappy rip. These files were obviously well ripped.

There is a small group of people on the net who think that converting a 128k mp3 to FLAC will make it sound better... Then it gets spread around

The only way to really really be sure is to get them from your own CD collection

 

[LeonWho]

Honestly though, I'd rather have a 128kbps vinyl rip than an uncompressed wav cd rip, even if we assume they're the same size.