Qobuz Hi-Rez Not Necessarily the Best Sound
Hello:
I stream Qobuz using Roon into a Bricasti M1SE DAC/Streamer into a Benchmark HPA4 headphone amp and then into various Kennerton or RAAL headphones.
Lately I have been comparing different versions of recordings on Qobuz. For instance, lately it has been Depeche Mode but also Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and Supertramp. Oftentimes there are several versions of titles, usually Hi-rez files of 24/192 or similar, versus the standard 16/44.1 resolution versions. Sometimes there are remastered versions in various resolutions.
Quite by accident I have found that the highest resolution versions are not necessarily the best-sounding versions, often preferring the remastered and/or standard resolution recordings. Today, for instance, I was listening to DM's A Broken Frame. The 24/192 sounded a little sharper with perhaps a little more detail and spaciousness but was amazingly dynamically compressed. The difference was not subtle. Going from the 24/192 to the 16/44.1 remastered version was going from a bland recording to one that came alive. I guess it goes to show that higher rez files are not necessarily superior sonically.
Anyone else found this to be the case in their streaming? Thanks.
I dropped Tidal as soon as I heard Qobuz even though I preferred the Tidal Playlists. I have found NOS the only way to go and Hi Rez is generally better. I recently added a Computer Audio Design GC1 and GC3, it made everything better but brought the sound of streaming Qubuz to I can listen to it all day long. The sound of digital files has more to do with the gear than the files. |
@hankeson, Does your DAC have upsampling capabilities? If yes, see if it was set to upsample to 176.4 somehow. I stream Qobuz too and my DAC shows 44.1 files playing at 44.1. |
You know, @tomcy6 , I believe it does. Believe it or not, a friend (obviously, a very good one) gifted me the unit because he'd bought a Bryston, and I recall him telling me that he'd set it to sample at the highest possible rate. That would help explain things, yes. Though again, it wasn't doing that say, 3-4 months ago or thereabouts, so I'm still convinced that Qobuz did do something to enable the capability ...and (to my ears, anyway) the music definitely sounds better: less fraying at the edges, clearer note delineation, less noise/distortion at higher volume. I'll check the manual on the Weiss. More research shall be done -- and more listening. :-) |
@hankeson Qobuz isn't upsampling, dac is doing this.
If one wants to try intensive dsp, try HQPlayer, up and over sampling makes more difference with this software vs. Qobuz or Tidal recording. Streamer must have capability, in other words powerful processor, not many streamers have this. |
Yes, that makes sense, @sns . Thank you. 'Come to think of it, there have been a few firmware updates to the Auralic Aries. That's got to be it. TY, again! |
