Last Audio-related question

RVCA · 05-08-2011, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conan

It's funny you mention this. I often wonder how much of the supposed quality increase I hear between lower bit rates and 320s is genuine, and how much of it is just a placebo.

Well, tore tried to run an experiment on us in the "Games/Lists/Polls" subforum, but I guess no one participated. He wanted to see if we could tell the difference between lossless and lossy.

s_k · 05-08-2011, 04:11 PM

It also depends quite a bit on your equipment.

Another fun one: The difference between a cheap ass audio interlink and a more expensive one (well, actually it's cheaper, but I made it myself so I could choose the materials myself

). The difference is probably bigger than the one between lossy and lossless. Hearing is believing

Freebase Dali · 05-08-2011, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_k

It also depends quite a bit on your equipment.

Another fun one: The difference between a cheap ass audio interlink and a more expensive one (well, actually it's cheaper, but I made it myself so I could choose the materials myself

). The difference is probably bigger than the one between lossy and lossless. Hearing is believing

Truth. A majority of folks are listening to their music on consumer-quality gear, which doesn't do much in the way of critical listening. Even my setup, which is composed of a quality recording audio interface, and mid-grade studio monitors, doesn't afford me the absolute optimal critical listening experience. And it goes beyond that, to the listening environment, speaker placement (like you were saying, s_k) and down to even cabling and isolation.

Would the majority of consumer-listeners notice a difference? Probably not. And I think that's where critical listeners really stand apart, because even on crap equipment, they will notice discrepancies... whereas most consumer-listeners may just accept what they're hearing as the norm, unless there's a glaring problem.

s_k · 05-08-2011, 05:02 PM

I think they would notice the lack of 'calmness' in the music when playing an mp3. But they probably wouldn't be bothered by it. It's not something you can really hear in a one on one comparison, but you do feel there's something wrong when you sit back and listen for a longer time. I only use mp3 to get to know music and for background purposes

debaserr · 05-09-2011, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_k

I think they would notice the lack of 'calmness' in the music when playing an mp3. But they probably wouldn't be bothered by it. It's not something you can really hear in a one on one comparison, but you do feel there's something wrong when you sit back and listen for a longer time. I only use mp3 to get to know music and for background purposes

I usually grab VBR V0 for new music and later DL a FLAC version for archival purposes. One day, hopefully soon, I will have a setup that utilizes all of the lossless goodness.

s_k · 05-09-2011, 03:20 AM

If I like music so much I store a flac, I usually buy the record

05-08-2011, 04:11 PM	#12 (permalink)
s_k Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,206	It also depends quite a bit on your equipment. Another fun one: The difference between a cheap ass audio interlink and a more expensive one (well, actually it's cheaper, but I made it myself so I could choose the materials myself ). The difference is probably bigger than the one between lossy and lossless. Hearing is believing __________________ Click here to see my collection

05-08-2011, 05:02 PM	#14 (permalink)
s_k Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,206	I think they would notice the lack of 'calmness' in the music when playing an mp3. But they probably wouldn't be bothered by it. It's not something you can really hear in a one on one comparison, but you do feel there's something wrong when you sit back and listen for a longer time. I only use mp3 to get to know music and for background purposes __________________ Click here to see my collection

05-09-2011, 03:20 AM	#16 (permalink)
s_k Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,206	If I like music so much I store a flac, I usually buy the record __________________ Click here to see my collection