spotify quality vs "hi-fi" lossless options, i cant tell a difference.

[HalSF]

Is anyone aware of any careful, scientific blind testing that compares the sound quality of the major streaming platforms?

I’m not, and until someone points me to such research, or actually does it, my feeling is that discussing the question is essentially worthless..

It’s particularly disappointing to see this worthlessness enacted in this forum in this thread.

Two things overwhelmingly dominate consideration of the comparative sound quality of streamers: 1) completely subjective and anecdotal opinions, and 2) arguments about the underlying codecs and resolutions utilized by streamers, copy/pasted and imported from years of endless bickering and holy war around lossy, lossless, and hi-res digital music. A third problem that muddies the picture and degrades the discourse around streaming music sound quality is a widespread lack of transparency and truth in packaging in terms of mastering, due to the failure of streamers to label and identify the source and provenance of the vast majority of masterings they’re using.

It’s dubious extrapolation and feels all the way down, not science.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Is anyone aware of any careful, scientific blind testing that compares the sound quality of the major streaming platforms?

I’m not, and until someone points me to such research, or actually does it, my feeling is that discussing the question is essentially worthless..

It’s particularly disappointing to see this worthlessness enacted in this forum in this thread.
...
It’s dubious extrapolation and feels all the way down, not science.

Numerous test studies have compared lossy and lossless formats, along with preferences between them. On ASR, files have been analyzed and compared, and there are other sources where you can download files for blind comparison using Foobar to test for yourself.

Perhaps consider putting in minimal effort to research this.

 

[Philipp]

Perhaps consider putting in minimal effort to research this.

Because you are only human

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Because you are only human