2. digital
  3. 151521-101338

Unintended Consequences? Digital Streaming

My system has become more revealing through gear upgrades over the past year.  This is a good thing right?  Well perhaps yes and no.  I've begun noticing that even while streaming 24 or 32 bit/44khz files over Qobuz that many albums now sound compressed to me and that I don't lose that "compressed" sound until I move up into the 32 bit/96 kHz files and above.  This certainly adds to the magic I realize while playing through my vinyl front end which sounds humongous, open, and vibrant but much of my streaming digital experience has become less than satisfying. 

Am I imagining this compression while streaming supposedly lossless files?  Can anyone else relate or have similar experiences?
128x128three_easy_payments
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,531 posts
 
I think you’re pretty much imagining things here....Qobuz 16bit/44.1kHz or 24bit/192kHz files are superb and IME, don’t have any hint of compression.

I hope this is not another attempt to affirm vinyl so called ‘superiority’ over digital. Comparing Vinyl with Digital is like comparing apple and oranges. They are different sounding formats and both have their strengths and weaknesses.

I didn’t know any files currently available in 32bit over streaming? If you seen or heard with Qobuz, please forward some titles.

Thank you!
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments OP
2,097 posts
 
@lalitk 

I totally agree on the 24/192 over Qobuz.  They sound fabulous.  My issue was with the 44kHz FLAC files over Qobuz sounding compressed.  It certainly could be my imagination as perhaps my ear is focusing on the relative resolution differences.  This is definitely not a vinyl vs digital thread.

Hopefully this link works.  Listening to a Sonny Rollins track that indicates its 32 bit. 

https://postimg.cc/2bJFtZg2
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,531 posts
 
t_e_p, 

Thanks for the track info, strangely on my device the file shows up as 24bit/44.1kHz. Does your device or app allows upsampling? 
Theoretically, with added bits you get better dynamic range. Some recordings (depending on the original master) benefits from high resolution and dynamic range but the results are not consistent across the board. 
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments OP
2,097 posts
 
@lalitk 

Good question about the upsampling capability as I'm not really sure and I'm having trouble determining this.  Perhaps someone else can chime in if they know - I'm using an Auralic G1 Vega through Lightning DS platform.

I started this thread because I wasn't sure that I was hearing a difference related to any actual compression or perhaps sounds of apparent compression only when making an A/B comparison between 44kHz and 192kHz for example.  Also it's tough to differentiate what I'm hearing as being related to what could be simply an inferior source recording vs anything that's an artifact of the digital processing.
Post removed 
More to discover