High-Resolution Audio Explained, PCMAG, February 1, 2012 Options

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High-Resolution Audio Explained (PCMAG, February 1, 2012)

[Neil Young] was referring specifically to the compressed MP3 and AAC files most people listen to today. Truth is, they just don't sound all that good. […] Even 256Kbps (and yes, 320Kbps) files are still audibly different than what you hear on a CD, although at least those are somewhat closer to the mark. […] Switch to an uncompressed FLAC file, and all of the above flaws go away. […] Stereo sound fields become three dimensional, with a sense of depth and space. It sounds as if a veil has been lifted; everything has more definition and natural sound.

[RobertoDomenico]

My opinion lossless downloads from a major vendor like Apple are far far away. The majority of people don't know what it is and will only complain when it takes up far more space with no audio quality benefits to their ears.

[Kohlrabi]

My opinion lossless downloads from a major vendor like Apple are far far away. The majority of people don't know what it is and will only complain when it takes up far more space with no audio quality benefits to their ears.

People can be coaxed into investing into new hard- and software and audio formats by throwing large numbers at their heads. People believe in numbers. "24 is bigger than 16, so I want the thing with 24 on it". Same what happened in the video sector with 1080p resolutions. "1080p" is a meaningless number if the video is just upscaled from DVD resolution or 720p. Resolution (alone) is no useful metric to assess video quality. The same holds true for audio bit- or sample-rate. Still I expect marketing to focus on exactly that: "Bigger" means "better". Also, placebo and elitism are strong forces, Apple have built a notable portion of their empire based on the latter.

This post has been edited by Kohlrabi: Feb 2 2012, 14:40