2. misc-audio
  3. 130773-388

Help with PCM, 96khz/24bit, 176.4khz/24bit FLAC, DSD, Double DSD, Quad DSD, MQA, WAV, etc

I am considering downloading some musical files and am very confused on the above formats.   Is it better to download 96khz/24bit files or DSD Files?  

The Reference Recordings website offers several options including 176.4khz/24bit FLAC or 176.4khz/24bit WAV.   Several other options are available but these seems to be the best.

HIGH RES Audio exclusively offers high-resolution music downloads in Studio Master Quality in FLAC, ALAC, DSD, DXD-FLAC and MQA format.

All my current albums are stored in AIFF format on my Aurender N10 Music Server.  I might be willing to experiment with some of the above formats but I am more interested in listening to the music than spending time deciding on the best format.  These above formats might sound better than my PCM albums but is the sound quality really that much improved?  

Audio technology is continuing to improve and, it seems, new formats and solutions are always being introduced, such as MQA albums.   What new formats can we expect next?

If I decide to decide to download some files, what formats should I be using?  Your suggestions and comments are welcomed.  


hgeifman
hgeifman OP
2,241 posts
 
FLAC files need to be decoded/decompressed along the way, a potential source of issues (probably very minor). 

AIFF is an uncompressed format similar to WAV, but unlike WAV also has the benefit of supporting metadata and cover art. AIFF files take more disk space and longer to download. AIFF files work using iTunes.

All my current albums were ripped using the AIFF format.  I do not like the coding and decoding required for FLAC files.  I am still researching and am leaning toward using the AIFF format for my Hi Res downloads.  

I am going to defer on using DSD files for now.  



marktomaras
544 posts
 
We think alike :-)
I trust DSD is great, but so is high res PCM. 
I listen to 70% vinyl, so until I upgrade to a DSD DAC, perhaps in a few years, I am happy with any files that are CD quality or better.
wtf's avatar
wtf
307 posts
 
Hey guys .. just want to point out "uncompressed flac" (via dBpoweramp) has been around for a while now. This option is not "0 compression" btw. Basically, it’s a wav file with metadata. I switched from aiff after years of metadata issues (mostly minor).
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