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It's been proven time and time again, in double blind tests, even the most arrogant audiophiles can't tell the difference between Lossless and 256kbps AAC. This is with some experts and studio grade equipment.
Want to see if you can really tell the difference in audio quality? Check out this site for an A-B comparison / quiz and select the recording you think is best. Lossless is also available for comparison, but my browser didn’t support it.
There are 6 songs of different genres ranging from a cappella to orchestra, pop, rock, and rap. Each song has a short clip in 320 kbps and 128 kbps. (And lossless, if browser is capable).
I only got 2 of 6 correct listening through my AirPods Pro. Disappointed, I Air-Played them through my home theater system and got 4 of 6 correct.
My take (with my crappy hearing): It takes a decent sound system — in a quiet room — to discern the difference.
Here are the results of all users who took the test, link below. Less than 2% correctly identified all 6. Less than 5% identified 5 of 6. Most scored only 1, 2, or 3 of 6 correctly.
I am sorry but I have done various tests using regular equipment eg headphones below 300 euro, 1k hifi system, b&o and bose car systems and so on. There is difference.
It is simple. Play a good recorded song - if you play garbage yes there is no difference - using spotify highest quality and then using tidal hifi - use a good pair of over ear headphones, a relevant good hifi or your bose/burmester in the car.
Last edited by silversurfer6; 06-21-2023 at 09:54 PM.
I don’t believe that people can tell the difference in the high bitrate or lossless recording levels we are discussing here and there are double blind studies to back up that position.
But that isn’t really the point here so much as the preferences chosen when the recording was mastered. Even the best recordings specifically targeting accuracy can sound worse than something mastered specifically for your iPhone when played back on your iPhone.
I would expect Tidal to have access to more neutral balanced versions (when available) and these should sound better on good equipment regardless of if they are lossless or 256/AAC.
Can one of the audiophile's here give us the non-audio systems experts a simple cheatsheet of which settings to use for Bose system in order to get the best out of it please?
Here are my settings. These work well for Smooth Jazz, Jazz, Reggae, Wold, Acoustic, Pop, R&B.
It does not work well for Rock, Grunge, Funk, Heavy metal, Trap or other types of thug music.
Streams and playlist always run through my EQ. I’m not an audiophile (I reject that term), I own a studio and I engineer music in those genres above.
Apple music recommends this for non-coloring of music Linear bluetooth audio to your taste and music type I have an EQ, so highs are managed there, otherwise it’s hissy Fade to get some of that bass and less mids Resembles (roughly) my EQ master bus.
Here are my settings. These work well for Smooth Jazz, Jazz, Reggae, Wold, Acoustic, Pop, R&B.
It does not work well for Rock, Grunge, Funk, Heavy metal, Trap or other types of thug music.
Streams and playlist always run through my EQ. I’m not an audiophile (I reject that term), I own a studio and I engineer music in those genres above.
Thank you for the simple yet informative answer! Really appreciate it
I have a question that might sound stupid to you, but hence I know nothing about audio systems as I said before.
Does the EQ app on your phone automatically adjust the settings for all audio sourced from your phone to external equipment once you set it up the first time?
Also, do you have to start the EQ app on your phone everytime you play music? Or does it work on the background by default?
Does the EQ app on your phone automatically adjust the settings for all audio sourced from your phone to external equipment once you set it up the first time?
Also, do you have to start the EQ app on your phone everytime you play music? Or does it work on the background by default?
Apple Music does not have a native parametric EQ (individual *****). They have the preset one only. Last I heard was they did not include a native EQ because they could not solve for the battery drain from the EQ. Non-Apple devices have native EQs from what I remember so all sound is EQd. In my setup, it only EQs the stream. My Playlists uses the preset EQ. I mostly stream music in the car. I was tempted to go back to Android but my ecosystem is Apple so…kinda pointless.
Yes, I do. I have a short-cut app in IOS that I click when I enter the car. It automatically sets up my Internet, HotSpot, deactivates my immobilizer, starts waze and then launches my EQ etc. I’m ready to roll by the time the garage door comes down. Or shortly there after.
Apple Music does not have a native parametric EQ (individual *****). They have the preset one only. Last I heard was they did not include a native EQ because they could not solve for the battery drain from the EQ. Non-Apple devices have native EQs from what I remember so all sound is EQd. In my setup, it only EQs the stream. My Playlists uses the preset EQ. I mostly stream music in the car. I was tempted to go back to Android but my ecosystem is Apple so…kinda pointless.
Yes, I do. I have a short-cut app in IOS that I click when I enter the car. It automatically sets up my Internet, HotSpot, deactivates my immobilizer, starts waze and then launches my EQ etc. I’m ready to roll by the time the garage door comes down. Or shortly there after.
What are you using the hotspot for? Phone hotspot or vehicle/PCM hotspot?
For some reason I have to run my treble at +9 full up to sound even reasonable, bass at 5 or 6 seems fine. This is with either Sirius or streaming Spotify. Honestly I miss the big hard drives and CD players in my other cars where I could my somewhat eclectic collection of Prog and Fusion CD’s from over many years. Don’t know why my system sounds so flat and have to run the treble so high any thoughts?
+9 full up to sound even reasonable, bass at 5 or 6 seems fine.
+9 should be very fatiguing to the ears, actually well on your way to ear damage. You lose highs hearing before losing hearing lows.
Try resetting your ear reference point with this engineering trick. +9 high, 6 bass is +3db spread. Start with flat sources on device and pcm. Zero fade etc. zero high. Set the bass to -3 so spread is the same. Bring up the volume to comfort. Leave it there for a song or two of good source material. To increase highs, leave highs at zero and reduce the bass while increasing volume to comfort. To increase bass, leave bass where it is and reduce highs, increase volume. If you run out of room, use the fader as bass and supplemental high/bass control.
When you are completely done, increase highs by +1 or 2 above zero. Should be perfect.
If that doesn't work you may have a a tweeter issue.
06-21-2023, 07:02 PM
