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High res music

I'm surprised there's not much love for Hi-Res. I listen to Qobuz, mostly on the second system in the kitchen, the source is a Bluesound Node 2i. If you were putting my second system together now you could do so for a bit more than a grand - it's not rubbish but it's hardly top end. I've trialled HR (not MQA, just standard HR) versus CD versions (Qobuz often gives you the choice), it's not night and day difference but usually HR sounds better, and on some albums the difference is quite apparent, to the extent that I could likely tell the difference in a blind test (on others, not). So now when I have the choice when choosing between a CD or HR quality stream I always choose the HR version. Fair enough, it could be about the recording/mastering quality but if I were replacing a streamer (or streaming service) I'd definitely prefer something that can play HR. Not sure I'd pay a lot extra for it mind (you don't have to), just that I'd want the capacity.

Your mileage may differ, and many people's does, apparently.
 
But aren't CDs made these days by simply downsampling higher-resolution masters? Why would you bother mastering again specially for the lower-res format?
 
But aren't CDs made these days by simply downsampling higher-resolution masters? Why would you bother mastering again specially for the lower-res format?
There’s probably a distinction to be made between high-res “remasters” of old stuff (DSOTM, Rumours, etc.) which can be completely different mixes to the original, even from different masters when the originals have been lost or degraded, and high-res/normal res versions of recent releases which I would have thought are just downsampled. I use Qobuz a lot, the majority of recent classical releases are high-res, sometimes there’s a red book version, but I can’t see a reason to choose it. Another thing about remasters of old stuff is that in the early days of cd they made a pretty bad job of remastering some classic albums, you get the feeling that they just found any old cassette from the back of the roadies van and A to D’d it onto cd. Over the years, people have gone back and tried to get the best masters and do a better job.
 
These days I think of hi Res as the modern equivalent of CD. If the artist/label releases 24 bit digital, you simply get 24 bit, either via streaming or download. No reason to seek out a downsampled version unless you want the CD for some reason.

OTOH, some labels still do 16 bit only releases even with downloads. In such cases 16 bit is all you can get.
 
Hi All.
Couple of question’s around this.
Firstly where are the best places to stream & purchase high res music.
Secondly can you hear a major difference in sq compared to standard red book?
I remember owning a Sony 555ES sacd player and there wasn’t much in it re both layers if I compared them a/b, it was more about the quality of the recording.
Yes there is quite a difference between hi res and mp3 on qobuz but it depends on a few things a good dac is important as is good hifi kit. If you have both of these you will hear the difference..
 


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