2. digital
  3. 151521-101338

Unintended Consequences? Digital Streaming

My system has become more revealing through gear upgrades over the past year.  This is a good thing right?  Well perhaps yes and no.  I've begun noticing that even while streaming 24 or 32 bit/44khz files over Qobuz that many albums now sound compressed to me and that I don't lose that "compressed" sound until I move up into the 32 bit/96 kHz files and above.  This certainly adds to the magic I realize while playing through my vinyl front end which sounds humongous, open, and vibrant but much of my streaming digital experience has become less than satisfying. 

Am I imagining this compression while streaming supposedly lossless files?  Can anyone else relate or have similar experiences?
128x128three_easy_payments

Showing 2 responses by lalitk

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,082 posts
 
I think you’re pretty much imagining things here....Qobuz 16bit/44.1kHz or 24bit/192kHz files are superb and IME, don’t have any hint of compression.

I hope this is not another attempt to affirm vinyl so called ‘superiority’ over digital. Comparing Vinyl with Digital is like comparing apple and oranges. They are different sounding formats and both have their strengths and weaknesses.

I didn’t know any files currently available in 32bit over streaming? If you seen or heard with Qobuz, please forward some titles.

Thank you!
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,082 posts
 
t_e_p, 

Thanks for the track info, strangely on my device the file shows up as 24bit/44.1kHz. Does your device or app allows upsampling? 
Theoretically, with added bits you get better dynamic range. Some recordings (depending on the original master) benefits from high resolution and dynamic range but the results are not consistent across the board. 
More to discover