Best digital format (non streaming)


So if you take 'bandwidth' (I assume to stream music) and/or file size issues out of the picture: what is the best available digital format of music I can buy (stored on a cd, dvd, chip, usb stick, downloaded to hard drive, etc)? 

kraftwerkturbo

Showing 1 response by fair

Assuming context of a high-quality studio master.

It depends on genres of music you are listening to.

For "simple" music, e.g. "a girl and an acoustic guitar", majority of pop songs, 16/44.1 CD format is more than sufficient.

To cover "complex", e.g. prog rock, classical, PCM 24/192 or DSD128 would be better.

For "extreme", such as symphonies requiring 120+ players, PCM 32/384 or DSD256 may be called for.

For storage efficiency, losslessly compress with FLAC or ALAC.