2. pc-audio
  3. 132167-3105

HD FILES which is best hi Bit Rates, or Hi Word lengths?

Greetings all,

It doesn’t take long to see 24/192 & 24/96 lossless files are the standard for High Def PCM audio, albeit, some hardware now up samples the bit rates to soaring levels for proprietary reasons.


Consequently, we’d all like to have both bit rate and Word lengths as tall as possible when originally cut, but now and then there is a definite disparity from several online resources wherein the words are long, but the bit rate is low, ie., 24/44.1K, or 24/88.2K.


… and we love the content! Which pretty much settles it for me, but being a picky sort I thought to see what some consensus was on this subject.


As such, it can be a bit costly to keep buying albums whose words and bits differ radically from the presumed standards. Especially if the supposed HD cuts are but marginally better or not perceived as better, at all than what one could rip . from CD


One EX would be the current HD Tracks download of The Life Songs of K Kristofferson a live Tribute album that is simply outstanding and releasedOct. 2017 . It is available as a 24/44.1K file.


Ripping off DVDs one usually can’t get beyond 16/48K when snatching 2 ch audio tracks. New options in current software enables artificial or just after the fact upsampling of the BRs.


So what should count most? Higher word lengths or higher Bit rates, when one or the other is not necessarily high or as significant?


Is this a black and white issue?


Wait for a higher set of numbers on the files you want, or dive on in, buy ‘em, play ‘em and see if they were worth it?


Lastly, does upsampling via software a true way to improve fidelity or sound Quality, or is it merely just one more placebo one can take to satiate themselves emmotionally?


I always felt if there were untoward issues in the present recording upsampling isn’t gonna improve things. But I’m always willing to learn new stuff or replace stuff that just ain’t so that’s already in my memory banks.


Thanks much for the insights.

blindjim
mattmiller's avatar
mattmiller
1,497 posts
 
" ‘many’ does not equal ALL. " ARE you for real? OPPO, Meridian, Aurender, Auralic, Burmester, Cambridge the list goes on and on. I see MQA pushing to become the next popular HI-FI digital medium. Blindjim, You should be used to changes by now, thats all digital does is keep changing ( for the better of course..."wink wink") every time we think we have a catalog of great sounding music they come out with a higher rez or higher bit rate music file. Now they want us to purchase MQA...its a never ending hamster wheel imo. MQA makes the most sense though when it comes to digital music, hats off to Meridian! Having to re purchase all my favorites on MQA priceless I cant wait! (not)  And you know you'll be doing it, digital junkies...LOL

P.S Take what I say with a grain of salt... I listen to Vinyl to avoid all this crap anyways!

Matt M
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I don’t listen to hi res downloads myself but I hear tell some of them are overly compressed. At least according to the Official Dynamic Range Database. Agree, disagree?
blindjim OP
3,092 posts
 

@shadorne
Tremendous thanks. Much of it is over my head but I will follow up. Although from the notes it looks like the word length carries more water than bit rates.

In fact, and I may well have missed it on the web page I saw the Life Songs of Kris k. @ 24/44.1, released Oct 2017, this may be an MQA file. I saw MQ Authentication was similar to FLV, or HD264 container for videos, being realized at 24/44, and 24/88 fodedd and then unfolded while being carried in a lossless file format like FLAC, AIFF, or ALAC.
Again, thanks.


mattmiller's avatar
@mattmiller > You should be used to changes by now, thats all digital does is keep changing ( for the better of course..."

Blindjim > Just when you think you’re out…. They drag you back in!!
Nope. Not a fan of change. Not at all. !@#$%!^Q@%^Y


@mattmiller > Now they want us to purchase MQA...its a never ending hamster wheel imo. MQA makes the most sense though when it comes to digital music,


Blindjim > indeed. The input on MQA has opened my eyes with enthusiasm.

MQA offers more than former file formats, a positive force going forward and one looking back for the digital realm, with security or accountability to boot.

From the articles I read last night, it sure doess make the most sense of what has so far rolled off the Rock Island Line railway.

The way it will make the most sense is when or ‘if’ this MQA fingerprinting, its logarythym or what ever else is needed is set to ripping software so the catalogs we currently possess can be at least elevated onto the First tier of the MQA stairway, if not in fact all the way up..

I’d buy a couple more rom drives right away and begin flip flop and flying discs in and out of the tower each day..

Better still, merely reprocessing batches of files previously ripped into lossless. This last bit although possibly the most desirable as well as profitable, may be the caboose to this train.

As for a new rendering faction I’d loosely quote Julius Ceasre as he wrote to the Senate, “. Veni, vidi, vici”

Here however it translates as: I came, I saw, ‘they’ conquered… again…. And again… and again…


willemj
1,036 posts
 
MQA is just a marketing trick. Even Meridian admit they have no scientific data.
blindjim OP
3,092 posts
 
Willemj > MQA is just a marketing trick. Even Meridian admit they have no scientific data.

@Willemj
Perhaps. Bob Stewart however says he has plenty. Sure seems something is amiss as meridian is in the mix for licensing still…. And or ‘was’.

See above link for more info on MQA background according to Digital Review mag.

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