[ClieOS]

  What is ASIO and is there even any music, hell, games, that support 32/384? What about 32/192? Is it really able to do that all through just USB?
 

 
This is ASIO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Stream_Input/Output
 
ASIO is already included within the Bravo driver you need to install for UD120, so it is pretty much all set to go except that you need to use a software player that supports it (Foobar, Jriver, MediaMonkey, etc)
 
Don't really know any games or music that requires 32/384 at the moment, so it is mostly for future proofing. 24/192 music however is getting more and more common.
 
Of course it can do all of them through USB.

 

[SoAmusing777]

   
This is ASIO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Stream_Input/Output
 
ASIO is already included within the Bravo driver you need to install for UD120, so it is pretty much all set to go except that you need to use a software player that supports it (Foobar, Jriver, MediaMonkey, etc)
 
Don't really know any games or music that requires 32/384 at the moment, so it is mostly for future proofing. 24/192 music however is getting more and more common.
 
Of course it can do all of them through USB.

Sweet! I have.. spotify, lol. I don't really download music. Wonder if I could use it with that. Yeah, I read that 24/96 can actually be better though. Don't remember where I read it.

 

[ClieOS]

  Sweet! I have.. spotify, lol. I don't really download music. Wonder if I could use it with that. Yeah, I read that 24/96 can actually be better though. Don't remember where I read it.

 
Spotify won't benefit from 32/384. I'll say 24/96 is more than enough.

 

[SoAmusing777]

   
Spotify won't benefit from 32/384. I'll say 24/96 is more than enough.

I do I even go about getting 24bit/96khz from Spotify? Can I do it by running the web player version or do I need to download the desktop version? I'd just attach my headphones to the amp, which would be connected to the DAC, which are then connected to my lappy.

 

[ClieOS]

I am not a Spotify user, but as far as I know, Spotify is 16/44.1 with lossy compression. Setting the UD120 to 24/96 will oversample the signal by default. Oversample to even higher birdepth/bitdepth won't really improve it further.

 

[SoAmusing777]

  I am not a Spotify user, but as far as I know, Spotify is 16/44.1 with lossy compression. Setting the UD120 to 24/96 will oversample the signal by default. Oversample to even higher birdepth/bitdepth won't really improve it further.

That sounds... not good at all. Where does the premium 320kbps come in here if it's 44.1khz? Confused.

 

[ClieOS]

 
That sounds... not good at all. Where does the premium 320kbps come in here if it's 44.1khz? Confused.

 
With only 320kbps of bandwidth, it is no likely to be lossless. Since it is not lossless, it is not likely to be HiRes either. However, 16/44,1 is more than enough to cover all human's listening need. With 24bit, we get more headroom to adjust for digital volume without affecting the resolution of the signal. Oversampling the signal to 96kHz mainly to push sampling noise higher into the inaudible range, which should give you a cleaner sound. The point is that you want to take advantage on things you can, but you can't take advantage of thing that is not there.

 

[SoAmusing777]

   
With only 320kbps of bandwidth, it is no likely to be lossless. Since it is not lossless, it is not likely to be HiRes either. However, 16/44,1 is more than enough to cover all human's listening need. With 24bit, we get more headroom to adjust for digital volume without affecting the resolution of the signal. Oversampling the signal to 96kHz mainly to push sampling noise higher into the inaudible range, which should give you a cleaner sound. The point is that you want to take advantage on things you can, but you can't take advantage of thing that is not there.

I see, so where do I get quality music then? I guess I'd have to download them individually eh? I really liked the subscription based service like Spotify so I can download unlimited whatever. Much cheaper that way.

 

[ClieOS]

 
I see, so where do I get quality music then? I guess I'd have to download them individually eh? I really liked the subscription based service like Spotify so I can download unlimited whatever. Much cheaper that way.

 
Well, there are a few sites that sell HD music. HDtracks.com for an example, just google for more.

 

[Saoshyant]

Not everyone can hear the difference between lossy & lossless music, so there is a chance that the Spotify you are currently listening to is pretty much perfect as it is without any need to try to find something of higher quality

 

[SoAmusing777]

   
Well, there are a few sites that sell HD music. HDtracks.com for an example, just google for more.

All right. Thank youu.
 

Not everyone can hear the difference between lossy & lossless music, so there is a chance that the Spotify you are currently listening to is pretty much perfect as it is without any need to try to find something of higher quality

Maybe so. Will have to listen to find out though.

 

[money4me247]

Not everyone can hear the difference between lossy & lossless music, so there is a chance that the Spotify you are currently listening to is pretty much perfect as it is without any need to try to find something of higher quality

+1. most ppl cannot tell the difference between 320kbps mp3s vs flac in a blind listening test.

 

[SoAmusing777]

  +1. most ppl cannot tell the difference between 320kbps mp3s vs flac in a blind listening test.

Yeah, but what about 16bit/44.1 vs 24bit/96?

 

[Poimandres]

That sounds... not good at all. Where does the premium 320kbps come in here if it's 44.1khz? Confused.

The 320k is actually the bit rate not the sampling rate ie 44.1 88.2 384 etc., a lot of people get them confused. I doubt a lot of people would be able to tell the difference between a 320k mp3 to a flac or wave. Standard cd's bit rates are around 1100k the sampling rate is 44.1k

 

[Poimandres]

Yeah, but what about 16bit/44.1 vs 24bit/96?

Any differences would be the dac. A lot of dacs handle 24bit better than 16bit. With a good dac I doubt you would hear any difference.