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.
@hankeson, Does your DAC have upsampling capabilities? If yes, see if it was set to upsample to 176.4 somehow. I stream Qobuz too and my DAC shows 44.1 files playing at 44.1. |
@hankeson, You know computers have a mind of their own at times. It’s hard to explain why they do things sometimes, but they do them, and then they stop. Let us know if your DAC is set up to upsample x4. |
