@designsfx the easiest way is create a basic Plex account which is free and I can share my library. Sharing libraries is another neat Plex feature.
Qobuz Hi-Rez Not Necessarily the Best Sound
Hello:
I stream Qobuz using Roon into a Bricasti M1SE DAC/Streamer into a Benchmark HPA4 headphone amp and then into various Kennerton or RAAL headphones.
Lately I have been comparing different versions of recordings on Qobuz. For instance, lately it has been Depeche Mode but also Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and Supertramp. Oftentimes there are several versions of titles, usually Hi-rez files of 24/192 or similar, versus the standard 16/44.1 resolution versions. Sometimes there are remastered versions in various resolutions.
Quite by accident I have found that the highest resolution versions are not necessarily the best-sounding versions, often preferring the remastered and/or standard resolution recordings. Today, for instance, I was listening to DM's A Broken Frame. The 24/192 sounded a little sharper with perhaps a little more detail and spaciousness but was amazingly dynamically compressed. The difference was not subtle. Going from the 24/192 to the 16/44.1 remastered version was going from a bland recording to one that came alive. I guess it goes to show that higher rez files are not necessarily superior sonically.
Anyone else found this to be the case in their streaming? Thanks.
Showing 8 responses by mapman
@lowrider57 yes source is still Linn axis with Denon dl103r and Electrcompaniet step up x former to phono stage then out to a2d converter. I use the Rega mini phono for that now with Cambridge evo 150. I know the sound of the dynamically normalized output is different because you can see it in the waveform in audacity. There is surely an audible difference but nothing. I could clearly identify just listening. If I bothered to do a good quality A/b test I probably would hear the difference. The dynamic normalization is essentially a custom digital mastering that I choose to apply in order to get better dynamics compared to otherwise in many cases. Hope that helps. |
@designsfx I still buy records but usually only when I find good quality interesting releases on the cheap. I already have way more albums than I will ever be able to listen to. The conversion process to digital is time consuming to do right compared to ripping but I do it occasionally when I have some spare time. But my large digital music library alone can keep me busy for years. I’m very spoiled and blessed with so much to listen to. Then there is Spotify which I use mainly to audition new things and maybe buy. Music lovers should thank the heavens. It’s all at your disposal and most of it can sound really good. Best time ever to be a music lover/hifi kook.
When I convert vinyl to cd res digital the results are hard if even possible to distinguish from the original. If anything is lost it is of no real consequence. I do apply a noise and click filter in audacity so that is a difference. Also I often apply dynamic range normalization which helps make best use of the bits available. |
There are a few high res internet radio stations I can stream via my Cambridge evo 150. The intent of these stations is to provide good sound quality via higher than cd resolution and in general these sound very good, maybe better than cd res in general. Have not compared enough yet to say for sure or how much it matters. |
I’ve ripped all my CDs to cd res files using dbpoweramp. Thousands in my music library now. Nothing to fear sound wise as long as the rip and playback is done right. Cd quality in and cd quality out. I use mostly Plex and Plexamp app to stream. Plexamp in particular provides a greatly enriched environment for streaming including ability to suggest similar sounding artists, albums, and tracks. So many ways to find and enjoy all that music.
It’s all good but much less problematic to stream from a file than to play a cd. Cd physical media quality varies widely. Try ripping with dbpoweramp and you can directly see how it can take much much longer to accurately rip a poor quality cd than a good quality one and the poor quality ones are way more common than one might expect. Hint: you can’t tell the good quality CDs from the poor quality ones just by looking at them. However a good quality ripping software like dbpoweramp rereads the disk as many times as needed to get the data off the disk accurately which is why poor quality CDs may take 10 minutes or more to rip whereas comparable length good quality CDs can rip in less than 5 minutes. |
@designsfx yup me too. I buy CDs, rip them to disk then store them away. Have not played a cd in years. I use a small desktop pc to rip and store and use Plex and Plexamp to stream. Good stuff! I also do same with vinyl ie play once, convert to digital and store on pc, then use audacity to do some basic processing and separate tracks, then Picard to auto tag the files. Also dbpoweramp tag editor if manual tagging needed. |
Hi res format on no way assures best sound. A music file can start at low res and be resampled to higher resolution format. In that case the higher res format may sound lesser. It all depends. But it can be similar to starting with a low resolution video and then presenting it on a large hi quality hdtv. Say like an mtv Video from the 80s. Putting a digital version of that poor quality video to start with on a big high res tv is not necessarily going to make it look better. If it is digitally remastered well to hi res video somewhere first then maybe. So bottom line is high res format does not necessarily = better sound. |