WOW! That's a lot of well organized, concise information packed into less than eight minutes. Eye opening for a novice like myself. Wished I'd discovered you about 10 videos ago. Thanks!
You can definitely hear a difference between lossy formats such as MP3 and M4A compared with lossless such as WAV and AIFF. I can't settle for even 320kbps as I can hear such a degraded sound compared to uncompressed lossless audio which sounds amazing at 1411kbps.
I believe the argument of cd quality vs hi res is, in the grand scheme of things, off target. I have heard cd's that sound better than sacd and sacd's that sound better than cd's. When it comes to sound quality hi res doesn't always sound better. Mastering, source recording, and pressing quality are by far the most important aspects of an audiophile grade recording. I think if all 3 of those elements are spot on and are consistent across formats, then that's when sacd really shines. The hi res formats provide a larger arena for the recording to perform. To me the difference is in the details and the ambient sounds of a recording are more likely to be detected with the larger sound stage. Also, having the equipment to reproduce the detailed sounds in a recording is important. Sounds that are above and below our audible range are being detected by your body in some way. It has been demonstrated that these inaudible frequencies played continuously can cause dizziness, nausea, affect mood, cause sleepiness, irritability, and many other effects. Regardless, the sound waves are being experienced even though they cannot be heard. Not everyone experiences audible sound the same way either. I won't attempt to comment on those who claim to not hear any difference. I find it humorous when someone attempts to explain to me that I am fooling myself into thinking that I am hearing something that's not audibly detectable. Reality is subjective to the one perceiving it. Experience is far from objective.
+synth505 I strongly disagree on your view on out-of-band signal being audible. I know of no clear proof. I rather think that hires is about reduced time smearing.
The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel Perhaps I should have said "experience" instead of "hearing". I was attempting to state that those sounds could be experienced physically without hearing it.
Great to find some support and positive thinking towards 24 bit and 32 bit audio. In the sound floor and spacious effects of audio I definitely can hear the difference between Low-fi and hi-res. Concentration on the higher frequencies as well as the clarity of bass and purity of the mids are all there for the listener, if you'd only care to spend the time and effort. Thank you, great video.
It's good to hear that and Hans was saying the same basic thing. I've been researching audio, very poorly for about a year. I kept buying better and better headphones without considering sampling and bit rate or quality DAC conversion which I'm just starting to understand. So many people say, they can't hear a difference, but if some people really can tell a difference then the decisions I've made in the equipment that I'm going to use to produce a sound I'm happy with will have been good decisions. I'm pretty happy with a good dac and a quality set of phones and a CD sampling rate, but I need to know if I'm capable of discerning a difference. If I can't tell, well at least I've got some good equipment. Thanks for contributing.
Its amazing how CDs are disappearing replaced by downloads. The best CDs i heard the XRCD by JVC. They sounded very analog for CDs. The XRCDs were mastered perfectly
In general all SACD recordings are converted to DXD, which is PCM at 352/32 since editing and other post production is virtually impossible in DSD. Only a limited number of SACD/DSD recordings are pure DSD. Comparing DSD to PCM is very difficult to do since it is impossible to find a recording that has been recorded in DSD for SACD (and not edited/converted) and the same recording made in PCM. In practice both can be very good if the recording is good and your DAC can handle both equally good.
I always like your videos. It is (just) my opinion that limiting file sizes because of the expense of memory is no longer an argument against uncompressed audio file storage. I can now buy a 4 TB solid state hard drive for under 500 American dollars. You can store a lot of music, even uncompressed Hi-Rez files on a 4 TB drive.
Hans I enjoy you're video's. I must say I think you're last sentence is always very important. Whatever you do enjoy the music! I like that a lot. I bump into people more and more who are very occupied with techniques and forget to enjoy the music. I've been listening to some Hi-Res files lately and I agree that it's still a consumer product and by most companies treated as such, i.e. with no respect. I find the old analogue recordings from Blue Note, Verve, Capitol and Bethlehem to be the most enjoyable to my ears. Also already had the "pleasure" to buy an original label Hi-Res file that appeared to be an up sampled CD track. Just for an idea I would like your opinion / test results on 1. multibit DAC versus SD DAC. 2. Room correction software. Maybe you'll find time for it in the near future. Also have a look at the possibilities in Audacity to inspect the quality of the recording and the mixing. Same goes for the very good application MusicScope by XiVero in Germany. Available for Mac and PC Keep up the good work. Regards Jos Wouters
Almost half of my digital music collection (about 7,000 songs) are in Apple Lossless format. I'm very much satisfied with Apple's M4A format 256 kbps variable bitrate as well. But of course, as much as possible I would like to have it in lossless format.
+ForeverBlackCat I am a school dropout and didn't finish my study retail business. My knowledge comes from everywhere: colleagues, Audio Engineering Society and by far the most: reading, lots of reading.
Danke Hans!!! I concur with everything you are presenting. Please continue. BTW Did You know my Old Friend Pieter Bollen of EELA Audio in Eindhoven? I miss him. He was one of my Original MCI Pro Audio Dealers.
I have known Pieter well. In fact, he was the one that suggested to back up add's with letters of credit to get my pro-audio magazine funded back in 1989. He did MCI quite successful over here. 10 Years later his life ended sadly.
The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel Hans, Pieter was a typical very hard working Dutchman!! I was in Eindhoven several times the year the AES was there and the CD was introduced by Philips and Sony. My other dear friend was Ruediger Barth of Hamburg who I last visited in 2013 a year before he died. Did you know Ruediger?
No, it's just the logo that is marketed, net the equipment. I can release high-res equipment, only when I want to use the High-res logo, I need to take part in the Japanese initiative.
i want to buy ifi zen blue hi res bluetooth audio then connect to mixer can i get the benefit of high res audio from youtube using bluetooth from android?
Great video, as are they all! Thank you Hans for all you do. For me, the total of this video begs some quality sourcing questions, such as, where does one buy good food? How can one know what is good food where it's so nicely wrapped and marketed? Sadly, I fear I AM the "public" that can be fooled. Any guidance you can offer is appreciated.
+Your Next Life Tip 1: enjoy the music, the rest is a bonus. Tip 2: expect all people to be bad. Then you won't be disappointed and in some cases pleasantly surprised.
Hi Hans Beekhuyzen, I hope you can help me with som clarifycation. I have asked in HiFi shops and search on the web, but haven't found a compelling answar. Her is the question: If I have a 24 bit/192 kHz fil and put i through a DAC with 24bit/192 kHz, who is connect to active speaker with digital amp (like Dynaudio LYD) with a 24 bit/96 kHz signalway, what comes out for the speaker 24/192 or 24/96 ? Or is the fil/DAC 24/192 and the amps 24/96 two different things?
Out of the speakers comes analogue sound that is limited by the lowest sampling rate in the chain and the double conversion. It would be better if you would connect the digital output to the digital inputs of the active speakers. Some use an interface box that accepts digital.
i love your stuff Hans! you explain the concepts of sampling and what is high-Res-Audio and such, how to distinguish the container with the file in it from the junk (the master/the song/the art) you can put into it! I love everything you said in this video Hans! have one question though if you don’t mind me asking: for us English speakers what is a good approximation to pronounce your last name? perhaps like ‘BE-EHK hoizin’ maybe?
I really want to get a Sony Walkman and plan on buying some very expensive headphones but I want to build up my music library first, can I download DSD files on any laptop now and have them for when I get my Sony Walkman?
The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel thanks so much kind sir! I am now subcribed to your channel. I bought a pair of Sennheiser PXC 550 last year and since then I've been curious about how good audio quality could get, I want a legitimately good music set up by the end of this year
Can you do the work? there is an easy mp3 to Flac and you can do it free MP3 is compressed so you can Archive about 10 times more than you can Flac try HDtracks online they sell some very good sounding Albums ,I love my Sony NW-A35 Hi Res it also upconverts lol mp3 seems to sound better but no doubt Ive saved up to get the 16GB Sony since 2009 now its $149 (amazon)and Hi Res and I can really appreciatte it being in the hospital or Doctors waiting room or waiting for a cab , rsdno
I have this long time question on mind, why same mp3 sounds muddy and some clear on different mp3 player, what component of the device making this happen. 2nd, some downloaded mp3 sounds muddy even showing high rate. thank you
fractalife dac ( digital to analog converter), plays a role in that. every phone, media player, and mother board has one built in. the better the dac the less muddy your output should be
Hello Hans I wonder if you are aware as I have apple devices and own both the chord mojo and the dragonfly red since updating my iPad Pro and iPhone to the latest firmware 10.3.1 just would like to warn other apple user I am no longer able to use my dac's as I plug them in play my music 10 or 20 seconds later I get a message on the screen saying this accessory is not supported Kind regards M hasan
Great video. I can't how many people are being fooled by this so called ''Hi-Res''. Sure the idea might be good but in practice it does not always sounds better.
WOW! That's a lot of well organized, concise information packed into less than eight minutes. Eye opening for a novice like myself. Wished I'd discovered you about 10 videos ago. Thanks!
You can definitely hear a difference between lossy formats such as MP3 and M4A compared with lossless such as WAV and AIFF. I can't settle for even 320kbps as I can hear such a degraded sound compared to uncompressed lossless audio which sounds amazing at 1411kbps.
It depends on all kinds of factors that I describe in ruclips.net/video/EykkzxUstL4/видео.html. Just replace DAC with MP#, AAC, Flac and so on....
I believe the argument of cd quality vs hi res is, in the grand scheme of things, off target. I have heard cd's that sound better than sacd and sacd's that sound better than cd's. When it comes to sound quality hi res doesn't always sound better. Mastering, source recording, and pressing quality are by far the most important aspects of an audiophile grade recording. I think if all 3 of those elements are spot on and are consistent across formats, then that's when sacd really shines. The hi res formats provide a larger arena for the recording to perform. To me the difference is in the details and the ambient sounds of a recording are more likely to be detected with the larger sound stage. Also, having the equipment to reproduce the detailed sounds in a recording is important. Sounds that are above and below our audible range are being detected by your body in some way. It has been demonstrated that these inaudible frequencies played continuously can cause dizziness, nausea, affect mood, cause sleepiness, irritability, and many other effects. Regardless, the sound waves are being experienced even though they cannot be heard. Not everyone experiences audible sound the same way either. I won't attempt to comment on those who claim to not hear any difference. I find it humorous when someone attempts to explain to me that I am fooling myself into thinking that I am hearing something that's not audibly detectable. Reality is subjective to the one perceiving it. Experience is far from objective.
+synth505 I strongly disagree on your view on out-of-band signal being audible. I know of no clear proof. I rather think that hires is about reduced time smearing.
The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel Perhaps I should have said "experience" instead of "hearing". I was attempting to state that those sounds could be experienced physically without hearing it.
Great to find some support and positive thinking towards 24 bit and 32 bit audio. In the sound floor and spacious effects of audio I definitely can hear the difference between Low-fi and hi-res. Concentration on the higher frequencies as well as the clarity of bass and purity of the mids are all there for the listener, if you'd only care to spend the time and effort. Thank you, great video.
My pleasure entirely.
It's good to hear that and Hans was saying the same basic thing. I've been researching audio, very poorly for about a year. I kept buying better and better headphones without considering sampling and bit rate or quality DAC conversion which I'm just starting to understand. So many people say, they can't hear a difference, but if some people really can tell a difference then the decisions I've made in the equipment that I'm going to use to produce a sound I'm happy with will have been good decisions. I'm pretty happy with a good dac and a quality set of phones and a CD sampling rate, but I need to know if I'm capable of discerning a difference. If I can't tell, well at least I've got some good equipment. Thanks for contributing.
Its amazing how CDs are disappearing replaced by downloads.
The best CDs i heard the XRCD by JVC. They sounded very analog for CDs.
The XRCDs were mastered perfectly
If you get time, please try to make a video on DSD Audio as your explanations are the best I've seen on RUclips. Thanks in advance.
Why?
In general all SACD recordings are converted to DXD, which is PCM at 352/32 since editing and other post production is virtually impossible in DSD. Only a limited number of SACD/DSD recordings are pure DSD. Comparing DSD to PCM is very difficult to do since it is impossible to find a recording that has been recorded in DSD for SACD (and not edited/converted) and the same recording made in PCM. In practice both can be very good if the recording is good and your DAC can handle both equally good.
At last somebody that makes sense on the subject. subscribed!
I always like your videos. It is (just) my opinion that limiting file sizes because of the expense of memory is no longer an argument against uncompressed audio file storage. I can now buy a 4 TB solid state hard drive for under 500 American dollars. You can store a lot of music, even uncompressed Hi-Rez files on a 4 TB drive.
Many thanks for this, Hans. It's exactly the question I wanted to ask. Very interesting how different groups define HR.
Hans I enjoy you're video's. I must say I think you're last sentence is always very important. Whatever you do enjoy the music! I like that a lot. I bump into people more and more who are very occupied with techniques and forget to enjoy the music. I've been listening to some Hi-Res files lately and I agree that it's still a consumer product and by most companies treated as such, i.e. with no respect. I find the old analogue recordings from Blue Note, Verve, Capitol and Bethlehem to be the most enjoyable to my ears. Also already had the "pleasure" to buy an original label Hi-Res file that appeared to be an up sampled CD track. Just for an idea I would like your opinion / test results on 1. multibit DAC versus SD DAC. 2. Room correction software. Maybe you'll find time for it in the near future. Also have a look at the possibilities in Audacity to inspect the quality of the recording and the mixing. Same goes for the very good application MusicScope by XiVero in Germany. Available for Mac and PC Keep up the good work. Regards Jos Wouters
Almost half of my digital music collection (about 7,000 songs) are in Apple Lossless format. I'm very much satisfied with Apple's M4A format 256 kbps variable bitrate as well. But of course, as much as possible I would like to have it in lossless format.
You are indeed an audio engineer/professor. How did you come by your vast knowledge and is this your profession?
+ForeverBlackCat I am a school dropout and didn't finish my study retail business. My knowledge comes from everywhere: colleagues, Audio Engineering Society and by far the most: reading, lots of reading.
+The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel BTW, I have been a full time audio reviewer since 1983. Zee: thehbproject.com/en/About
Danke Hans!!!
I concur with everything you are presenting.
Please continue.
BTW Did You know my Old Friend Pieter Bollen of EELA Audio in Eindhoven?
I miss him.
He was one of my Original MCI Pro Audio Dealers.
I have known Pieter well. In fact, he was the one that suggested to back up add's with letters of credit to get my pro-audio magazine funded back in 1989. He did MCI quite successful over here. 10 Years later his life ended sadly.
The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel
Hans,
Pieter was a typical very hard working Dutchman!!
I was in Eindhoven several times the year the AES was there and the CD was introduced by Philips and Sony.
My other dear friend was Ruediger Barth of Hamburg who I last visited in 2013 a year before he died. Did you know Ruediger?
As far as equipment being marketed as High-Res Audio, that is determined by the Japan Audio Association.
No, it's just the logo that is marketed, net the equipment. I can release high-res equipment, only when I want to use the High-res logo, I need to take part in the Japanese initiative.
The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel oh, OK, I obviously misunderstood what the Japan Audio Association was doing.
i want to buy ifi zen blue hi res bluetooth audio then connect to mixer can i get the benefit of high res audio from youtube using bluetooth from android?
I don’t know. I have no hands on experience with the iFi.
3:40 link missing?
You might want to watch it in a browser to see the link.
Great video, as are they all! Thank you Hans for all you do.
For me, the total of this video begs some quality sourcing questions, such as, where does one buy good food? How can one know what is good food where it's so nicely wrapped and marketed?
Sadly, I fear I AM the "public" that can be fooled. Any guidance you can offer is appreciated.
+Your Next Life Tip 1: enjoy the music, the rest is a bonus. Tip 2: expect all people to be bad. Then you won't be disappointed and in some cases pleasantly surprised.
Hi Hans Beekhuyzen, I hope you can help me with som clarifycation. I have asked in HiFi shops and search on the web, but haven't found a compelling answar. Her is the question: If I have a 24 bit/192 kHz fil and put i through a DAC with 24bit/192 kHz, who is connect to active speaker with digital amp (like Dynaudio LYD) with a 24 bit/96 kHz signalway, what comes out for the speaker 24/192 or 24/96 ? Or is the fil/DAC 24/192 and the amps 24/96 two different things?
Out of the speakers comes analogue sound that is limited by the lowest sampling rate in the chain and the double conversion. It would be better if you would connect the digital output to the digital inputs of the active speakers. Some use an interface box that accepts digital.
Thank you for your videos. Would you recommend purchasing Hi Res audio albums (downloads) or buying CDs?
That's your personal choice. CD's have the advantage that you can store them as back-up while high-re audio files might sound better.
i love your stuff Hans! you explain the concepts of sampling and what is high-Res-Audio and such, how to distinguish the container with the file in it from the junk (the master/the song/the art) you can put into it! I love everything you said in this video Hans! have one question though if you don’t mind me asking: for us English speakers what is a good approximation to pronounce your last name? perhaps like ‘BE-EHK hoizin’ maybe?
I think that is as close as you can get 😁
I really want to get a Sony Walkman and plan on buying some very expensive headphones but I want to build up my music library first, can I download DSD files on any laptop now and have them for when I get my Sony Walkman?
See the show notes of this video: ruclips.net/video/VyrDXUkOybY/видео.html
The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel thanks so much kind sir! I am now subcribed to your channel. I bought a pair of Sennheiser PXC 550 last year and since then I've been curious about how good audio quality could get, I want a legitimately good music set up by the end of this year
please keep in mind that I don't like listening to headphones so I won't review them nor players for portable use only. But welcome on my channel.
Mr. Hans, can you convert my present MP3 music collection on my PC to hires? If so, how? Thank you.
There is no point in doing so. When your music was converted to MP3, quality got lost that can not be restored. Sorry/
thank you.
Can you do the work? there is an easy mp3 to Flac and you can do it free MP3 is compressed so you can Archive about 10 times more than you can Flac try HDtracks online they sell some very good sounding Albums ,I love my Sony NW-A35 Hi Res it also upconverts lol mp3 seems to sound better but no doubt Ive saved up to get the 16GB Sony since 2009 now its $149 (amazon)and Hi Res and I can really appreciatte it being in the hospital or Doctors waiting room or waiting for a cab , rsdno
I have this long time question on mind, why same mp3 sounds muddy and some clear on different mp3 player, what component of the device making this happen. 2nd, some downloaded mp3 sounds muddy even showing high rate. thank you
That's due to all things I describe in my videos. The quality of equipment, the quality of the audio files and so on.
fractalife dac ( digital to analog converter), plays a role in that. every phone, media player, and mother board has one built in. the better the dac the less muddy your output should be
That's like blaming the recession on the banks. If it only were that simple. Banks did play a major role but there were many other factors too.
Very informative. Thank you.
+Gireesh Govindan My pleasure. Spread the word.
Hello Hans I wonder if you are aware as I have apple devices and own both the chord mojo and the dragonfly red since updating my iPad Pro and iPhone to the latest firmware 10.3.1 just would like to warn other apple user I am no longer able to use my dac's as I plug them in play my music 10 or 20 seconds later I get a message on the screen saying this accessory is not supported
Kind regards
M hasan
I don't do mobile audio, so I am not aware. But thanks for letting us know.
does high res audio make a huge different in mixing a full band track?
Yes as it's lossless any lossless file will be better for mixing and remastering.
im ok with 192 kbps internet streaming stereo (youtube) and 320 kbps mp3 for my m40x+k1 DAC and set my pc to 44100 16 bits on real tek
That's fine, as long as you enjoy the music.
Really this is such a dumb satisfaction
Great video. I can't how many people are being fooled by this so called ''Hi-Res''. Sure the idea might be good but in practice it does not always sounds better.
????
Just that Hi-Res does not always sound better because sometimes it can be an upscaled FLAC
or a FLAC that contains 'fingerprinting', inserted by the record company! Sushi is very tasteful except when you eat it at the wrong sushi bar.
Very interesting video again! Dank je wel!
+Hu ‘cillyede’ Ko graag gedaan;-)
excellent food example...thank u...
Amazing knowl3edge...
🙏🏻
Great stuff!
I appreciate your time and trouble Thank You I Subscribed to you and dont even fully agree rsdno
👌🏼