High Resolution Audio?

[Soniclife]

Very few people have demonstrated an ability to differentiate between 320Kbps mp3 and redbook.

I expect this is true that few people have demonstrated they can pass it, but I genuinely expect most people could with the right kit, test tracks, and mindset. I'm not staying you need super kit but it does need to be decent, of all the requirements to pass this is the easiest to clear. The clear focused head is the hardest bit to get, I find it very tiring when I do it, after 20 mins I'm done.

 

[maty]

Again, ABX plugin + foobar2000 made wrong work. And Lacinato ABX the same.

I would have to look for what I wrote last year in diyaudio and my negative experiences with them vs JRMC v24 (with Kernel Streaming).

Some tests were so simple to pass (with JRMC) that I even commented on my choice before the results were published, because PMA was reluctant to believe me.

 

[andreasmaaan]

I expect this is true that few people have demonstrated they can pass it, but I genuinely expect most people could with the right kit, test tracks, and mindset. I'm not staying you need super kit but it does need to be decent, of all the requirements to pass this is the easiest to clear. The clear focused head is the hardest bit to get, I find it very tiring when I do it, after 20 mins I'm done.

Yeh, I attempted it and realised the difference for me was either non-existent or subtle enough that it couldn’t possibly bother me for everyday listening.

I still buy in redbook quality part of the time, if it’s a high fidelity recording (just in case!) or if I’m gonna to use it to DJ.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Again, ABX plugin + foobar2000 made wrong work. And Lacinato ABX the same.

I would have to look for what I wrote last year in diyaudio and my negative experiences with them vs JRMC v24 (with Kernel Streaming).

Some tests were so simple to pass (with JRMC) that I even commented on my choice before the results were published, because PMA was reluctant to believe me.

How do you explain that others have managed to differentiate between 320Kbps mp3 and redbook using Foobar ABX Comparator?

 

[Soniclife]

For me the major change was when I did my first blind test. Quite a while ago I started experimenting with ripping all my CDs to FLAC, and then lashing together a mess of software, long cables, IR controller etc, to send the sound from my PC in another room to my preamp. I did this mainly to play with the software, and with the intention of using it for background music sometimes, always using the proper CD player for real listening. After it had been up and running for a few weeks I found I was using it more than I thought, but had a creeping impression that the music sounded slow. I was playing the music from aac files (the flac files were on an external backup disk, I was using the motherboard soundcard, and a 10m phono cable. So although I assumed it was the motherboard, or the long cable, I got curious to do a test of the flac vs the aac using foobar’s comparator. This was the most illuminating thing I ever did with audio. At first I could not hear the difference, but I persisted, tried to quiet my mind and just listen, and then there it was, each time I clicked on the aac it did sound slow. I was using the Nero AAC encoder as it was what came with dbpoweramps batch converter. I tried mp3 vs flac, mp3 was ‘messy’. I should point out I wasn’t guessing with these tests, I could tell the difference statistically, and after I had tuned in I knew I wasn’t guessing. I then tried using the apple AAC encoder in iTunes+ mode, hmm, now I was guessing. I remain confident that I could have passed this with more work, but the key for me was I had found a lossy codec that worked for me, and the difference if it existed was very small, and the double blind part totally re-calibrated how I assessed all future comparisons of kit, the question “how confident am I that I could ab these blind?” is the key question I ask myself, and the answer is usually not very.

The above is from my first post to this forum. Lossy can be detected both long term and under controlled tests. But I'm happy to use lossy where convenience wins, but prefer lossless, mainly for peace of mind if possible.

 

[andreasmaaan]

The above is from my first post to this forum. Lossy can be detected both long term and under controlled tests. But I'm happy to use lossy where convenience wins, but prefer lossless, mainly for peace of mind if possible.

Very pertinent post, and worth tempering my previous posts with the proviso that, due to differences between encoders, not all 320Kbps mp3s are sonically equal.

 

[Soniclife]

due to differences between encoders, not all 320Kbps mp3s are sonically equal.

I was using the current, at the time, version of lame, I'm sure the encoders have improved.

The track chosen to test matters a lot, and I think a lot of audiophiles make the wrong choice of thinking great recordings will be the most revealing, I find just the opposite, you want complex music with a ton of stuff going on, and normal recording quality, so any drop in quality causes a real hit.

 

[Soniclife]

Again, ABX plugin + foobar2000 made wrong work. And Lacinato ABX the same.

I would have to look for what I wrote last year in diyaudio and my negative experiences with them vs JRMC v24 (with Kernel Streaming).

Some tests were so simple to pass (with JRMC) that I even commented on my choice before the results were published, because PMA was reluctant to believe me.

Classic sighted listening test delusion.

 

[maty]

Ignorance is very daring.

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/everything-else/309098-hires-96-24-listening-test-opamps.html

-> https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/eve...-96-24-listening-test-opamps-post5112267.html

-> https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/eve...-96-24-listening-test-opamps-post5112651.html

-> https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/eve...-96-24-listening-test-opamps-post5114852.html

and...

-> https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/eve...-96-24-listening-test-opamps-post5118258.html


https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/everything-else/314218-test-ears-abx-test-post5232906.html

-> https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/everything-else/314218-test-ears-abx-test-post5232914.html

After what PMA said about it, I decided not to participate more in their tests.


In another thread I listened to 15 14 DIY amplifiers made by xrk971 and it was very evident the three best.

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/sol...tion-simple-quasi-mosfet-amp-post5243041.html


And, more important, since then the sound of my second system has improved a lot after eliminating bottlenecks that were left.

Btw, usually tests with my KEF Q100 5.25" speakers.

 

[flipflop]

 

[maty]

That is why I insist that something is wrong with those two ABX. It was the tip to deny forever of foobar2000 as a player.

With JRMC it was so easy to test the op-amps that I even scored them on a 1-10 scale.

I never understood how some chose the one that sounded worse, such was the difference in my system!

 

[mansr]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_the_messenger

 

[amirm]

With JRMC it was so easy to test the op-amps that I even scored them on a 1-10 scale.

How do you test with JRMC?

 

[FrantzM]

Trolling is an art form.

 

[Soniclife]

How do you test with JRMC?

Using your eyes apparently.

 

[maty]

How do you test with JRMC?

By ear. The differences were very evident. Too much, that is why I missed so much, in the op-amp test that some chose the one that sounded so bad.

Other tests I did first with foobar2000 and after with JRMC. With the second I appreciated the difference much more until the test was complicated.

For me it is clear that JRMC since the v21 or v22 has taken a leap in quality, although the beta of the v25 that I tested weeks ago sounded a bit worse than the final v24.

And, most importantly, since then I substantially improved the KEF Q100 sound quality by adding more mass, weighing now more than the KEF LS50.

And I retouched the AV Marantz SR4500 and further optimized the W10 - now with clean installation of the 1809 compilation - for multimedia. Result, I get excited much more often when listening to "my" music, as it is reflected in the thread of diyaudio where I comment my auditions. So much so, that days ago I made the decision not to build or buy a new amplifier, which had been my idea from the beginning.

Tonight: Keith Jarrett - Solo Concerts Bremen Lausanne (1973), Vinyl x3, ECM Records, Germany

My comment:

* Bremen concert is marvelous. With Part IIb, adrenaline rush! I could not stop playing an imaginary piano.

* Lausanne concert is more unregular.

Btw, I have four or five Köln Concert: CD, SACD, Vinyl x2, Digital download...

 

[solderdude]

or ....

 

[maty]

Or you have bottlenecks in your systems, some very expensive, and you are not aware of it.

A few years ago I made the decision that I would spend up to € 2000 on a new amplifier for my second system.

The new DAC already had it chosen (€ 1000, RME ADI-2 DAC) and the DIY preamp (AKSA Lender or the new YARRA). First I would use the RME as a preamp too, logically. Step by step.

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/group-buys/334457-yarra-preamplifier-hpa-melbourne-db-buy.html

It turns out that my way has allowed me to save a lot of money!

 

[solderdude]

Ok. ok ...

 

[reza]

In the early 2000's, a family friend had updated his cable subscription to HD (I think it was 720p) and he was going on and on about how much more detail there was in the new picture. That he could see minute details that he was not aware of before. I pointed out that he is using an old CRT television with very few pixels, and likely a tiny color space. I even used a magnifier and counted the pixels on the TV for him and compared his pixel density to what HD would be. Y'all know how this story ends...
Human mind is fascinating. You can be rid of a real disease by simply believing you've been treated. You can get drunk on tap water if you expect it to be booze. Surely you can much more easily hear tiny variations in sound if you expect them to be there. Funny thing is, I believe those who hear them, are honestly hearing them. If you ran an fMRI or some sort of probe on their brain, chances are you could measure the difference in what they hear and show that the percept is as real to them as all the rest of the sound. Maybe in his retirement Amir could go meta and start measuring our perception of his old measurements.