384khz?

[Jimbo]

From a sound quality point of view none whatsoever. From a selling magic beans to mug punters point of view, it's a ching ching.

Spot on Martin. I would go a little further and suggest the whole HI Rez movement falls into that category.

[Sherwood]

Spot on Martin. I would go a little further and suggest the whole HI Rez movement falls into that category.

I have bought a few albums on Qobuz in 24/96 format and found them to be noticeable better than the standard res. I was particularly impressed by an Eric Bibb live album. I also subscribed to the B&W download service for a while and again found their hires downloads to be noticeably more detailed and airy than standard formats. I cannot say whether I would notice any difference in quality beyond that but I would suggest that the 16/44 standard is somewhat limiting, even with my 57 year old ears. Out of curiosity I downloaded some frequency sweep files recently. My upper limit appears to be around 17khz or just below that with my lower range somewhat below 20 hz.

Geoff

[The Black Adder]

It's all marketing. But I've found that 88.2khz is really nice and there is a subtle difference. Very subtle.

After experimenting with the highest rates for quite a while I think people are missing the big picture as it's not until you hear a properly recorded analogue tape that you realise what's really going on.

[struth]

32/384.. i use that on my rpi.

[The Black Adder]

Hi Grant... I was using that for quite some time too but I then gave 32/88 a go and to be honest I find it a tad better.

[struth]

Hi Grant... I was using that for quite some time too but I then gave 32/88 a go and to be honest I find it a tad better.

Interesting.. im playing with 24/88 with my headphones and 32/88 too. Not sure which i prefer yet. 16/44 has its charms too.

[Macca]

If you can hear a difference then it is usually different mastering between the two versions, or the version with the lower sampling frequency has been deliberately hobbled.

The whole hi-rez thing has been a massive con job right from the start. There are no excuses, those involved knew the score right from the off.

[ReggieB]

I think it depends on your equipment. I too buy a lot of my music from Qobuz, and the high res (24bit) music is better - but only by a tads whisker. So in the past it was not worth the extra money IMO.

However, as I've improved my streaming/DAC setup the difference has become more noticeable. My current combination of M2Tech Young DAC and Simaudio Mind 180 streamer really sings with 24bit files. 16bit still sound fine so I'll not be looking to replace any of mine with 24bit versions. But for some music where I think I want that little bit extra clarity and space around the instruments/players (choral for example) I'll stump up the extra for 24bit.

[Sherwood]

I think it depends on your equipment. I too buy a lot of my music from Qobuz, and the high res (24bit) music is better - but only by a tads whisker. So in the past it was not worth the extra money IMO.

However, as I've improved my streaming/DAC setup the difference has become more noticeable. My current combination of M2Tech Young DAC and Simaudio Mind 180 streamer really sings with 24bit files. 16bit still sound fine so I'll not be looking to replace any of mine with 24bit versions. But for some music where I think I want that little bit extra clarity and space around the instruments/players (choral for example) I'll stump up the extra for 24bit.

You're right. All depends upon the price/performance ratio. I only bought the Qobuz HD versions because there was very little difference in price over the standard versions but I was pleased with the quality. This difference is more evident on my home system than on my Sony HD music player. This links to a recent forum dialogue on the merits of premium products over entry level models. Seems to me it is about market segmentation and exploitation of vanity. Those interested might wish to look up Thorstein Veblen and his thoughts on "conspicuous consumption"!

Geoff

[The Black Adder]

Hi Paul, please post constructively to the thread.