tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post7851001198428165302..comments2024-03-28T00:31:13.472-07:00Comments on <em>Archimago's Musings</em>: MUSINGS: Audio Quality, The Various Formats, and Diminishing Returns - In Pictures!Archimagohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-88430158269377291662015-03-20T04:09:15.349-07:002015-03-20T04:09:15.349-07:00So, your ostensibly more-accurate graph presents 1...So, your ostensibly more-accurate graph presents 16/44.1 CD as better than reel-to-reel. This is not the sort of absurdity I would have expected from you, but it sem there is no middle ground in this objectivist-subjectivist stance. Michael Lavorgna is rightly ridiculed for thinking that a listening test to assess the relative merits of two different SD cards, but you are also to be pilloried forEno_Fanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02368824541554425580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-1268581624970291952015-03-07T18:03:38.562-08:002015-03-07T18:03:38.562-08:00Poisson is the distribution you are looking for. ...Poisson is the distribution you are looking for. And I think you may be right, there is a very long tail on one end (young and people who have taken care of their hearing) and then there are the rest of us who ignored our mother's entities to "turn it down"! Rattus Norvegicushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03449457204330125792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-71920880582927097042015-03-02T20:53:34.044-08:002015-03-02T20:53:34.044-08:00Thanks for the info Mitch! Your experience in the ...Thanks for the info Mitch! Your experience in the "field" is always much appreciated... Hope you're keeping well these days.<br /><br />It's amazing how little the mainstream audiophile press emphasizes (or even brings up) the nature and quality of the recordings themselves... There's no way to interpret this other than as a reluctance to upset the apple cart (ie. lose Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-72364011568398036172015-03-02T20:40:32.448-08:002015-03-02T20:40:32.448-08:00Thanks for the data point jhwalker.
It is amazing...Thanks for the data point jhwalker.<br /><br />It is amazing what we realize once we try a few tests! And you're doing this with gear that costs likely at least $1000 before taxes (unless you got a heck of a deal!) with support for native DSD.<br /><br />I'm blown away when I hear people claim they can hear remarkable differences between high-res/DSD with CD-quality (or even high bitrate Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-689361190536295582015-03-02T20:29:05.350-08:002015-03-02T20:29:05.350-08:00Yup... A definite possibility :-).
Yup... A definite possibility :-).<br />Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-47867236646547206382015-03-02T15:48:07.460-08:002015-03-02T15:48:07.460-08:00With respect to ultrasonic energy, a quick way to ...With respect to ultrasonic energy, a quick way to eval one's system and ears is to try the IM tests that Archimago and Mnyb linked to above, specifically: <a href="http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html#toc_intermod" rel="nofollow">Intermod Tests</a> Download the test files and give it a listen :-)<br /><br />My own experiments comparing file formats of the same recording thatMitchcohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15383836822706500840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-47774483663641107282015-03-02T13:54:08.305-08:002015-03-02T13:54:08.305-08:00Ah, negatively skewed, that is the term I was look...Ah, negatively skewed, that is the term I was looking for. And thank you for the extensive reply.tnargshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04937893575268508575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-13463784095569409242015-03-02T11:21:56.959-08:002015-03-02T11:21:56.959-08:00I'm pretty much in agreement with this, but su...I'm pretty much in agreement with this, but surprised just how far it goes.<br /><br />I recently purchased a famous "audiophile" recording ("Cantate Domino") in double DSD resolution - a whopping 4GB of glorious DSD download! And it sounds great, don't get me wrong. But, as a test, I decided to resample it to 256k AAC (using Apple's "Master for iTunes"jhwalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14734724684407804183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-12148773871914789092015-03-02T11:15:17.896-08:002015-03-02T11:15:17.896-08:00Ardchimago didn't say 320 kbps is transparent ...Ardchimago didn't say 320 kbps is transparent with all signals. But it *generally* is -- for most tracks, to most listeners. Which is what he wrote.StevenShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08457350132948312910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-47980929024974695522015-03-02T11:09:52.621-08:002015-03-02T11:09:52.621-08:00I think your diagram is very much along the right ...I think your diagram is very much along the right lines. <br /><br />However, if I had to bet, it would be that CD is audibly indistinguishable from all the high res formats. That's what the theory says (the only difference being an inaudible amount of noise and some inaudible higher frequencies), and as far as I am aware there is no reliable evidence at all to the contrary. If so, CD is Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-945472869362187052015-03-02T10:31:52.410-08:002015-03-02T10:31:52.410-08:00Thanks for the feedback Grant. Oops... Fixed the X...Thanks for the feedback Grant. Oops... Fixed the X/Y mixup :-). Was attending a "function" that evening when I wrote much of this, apparently my proof-reading skills were down... You'll see what function next week!<br /><br />Just as a reminder to everyone, we could conceptually plot the curve a number of ways... I saw it as a curve for any *one* individual. On the X, as we go to Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-50464396678127427212015-03-02T09:37:41.353-08:002015-03-02T09:37:41.353-08:00It can be argued that the curve reaches a peak som...It can be argued that the curve reaches a peak somewhere between CD and before 24/96 .<br />The higher frequencies can even be a liability in some systems . A lot of amps and speakers don't like the ultrasonics so they can intermodulate and create actual problems where we can hear the sound . And the studio equipment like microphones etc are not made for a good response there and as no one Mnybhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18176512305785768525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-20925095344326955362015-03-02T09:15:14.554-08:002015-03-02T09:15:14.554-08:00I think one of the major problems here is that tec...I think one of the major problems here is that technology brought so many new members seeking "better sound" which unfortunately got tied in with old "robin-hood" style audio sales. For years cables were sold within the law of diminishing returns, but it didn't matter because to the people who bought them, the investment was chump change. Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551397638475665724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-16169166533429503312015-03-01T16:29:37.612-08:002015-03-01T16:29:37.612-08:00I enjoy your blog immensely, so apologies if my co...I enjoy your blog immensely, so apologies if my comment today is a bit picky. <br /><br />1] If human hearing ability was a bell-shaped function, one is accepting near-infinitely high levels of hearing ability for very few people. This is IMO not the case. I don't know the correct name but I think the curve has a longer-but-not-very-long left tail that hits zero for complete deafness but tnargshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04937893575268508575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-74289484529383504772015-03-01T08:04:05.062-08:002015-03-01T08:04:05.062-08:00I suppose if YouTube is what Meridian is pointing ...I suppose if YouTube is what Meridian is pointing a finger at or maybe some free Internet radio stations. I don't think they should in any case because MQA is targeted at services like Tidal with higher bitrate streaming (they need 24/48 bitrate container after all). But even YouTube audio these days isn't so bad! I've saved a few audio clips recently and it's certainly quite Archimagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08642574001287787545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-89786992932979891802015-03-01T00:48:16.475-08:002015-03-01T00:48:16.475-08:00It may depend on what people mean by 'stream&#...It may depend on what people mean by 'stream'.<br />If they mean youtube than I agree the SQ is below that of a cassette tape and the convenience is high.<br />At least, I find this to be true for the majority of youtube material.solderdudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00391699689539064581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4781727111866727703.post-12571771928351234842015-03-01T00:44:36.070-08:002015-03-01T00:44:36.070-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.solderdudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00391699689539064581noreply@blogger.com