Hello and welcome to this new post.
Our previous post was about the evolution in sound quality of CD players and sound comparison between different players. During that test we realized that when recording and production is done right, CD as a media can offer a really marvelous sound that is capable of making you forgetting about the machines and focusing at the music. We used track 1 (Instead) from Madeline Peyroux Bare Bones CD (DECCA LC 00171) as an example; listening to it is an amazing experience that leaves you with nothing more to be desired. However, the only way to miss something when you have already such a high sound quality is to become aware of this something. Having already explored the issue of LPs Vs Hi-Res audio, we felt that the time for CD Vs computer audio and Hi-Res files has come.
For first time readers, you can find more about our reference Pioneer PD-S707 transport & tweaked Parasound D/AC1500 DAC here and our reference computer audio with the tweaked EMU 0404USB at the bottom of this post. For the lazy, here is a minimal description: according to our current knowledge and after several testing, we believe that we have an equally capable front end for CD reproduction as well as hi-res audio files. In our computer audio, we use Foobar2000 set up for bit-perfect output.
First thing we wanted to check is which sounds better with CD quality material, CD or computer audio?
Since we consider the Madeline Peyroux Bare Bones CD as one of the best sounding CDs we are aware of, we decided to stick with it; after all, this is a good sign that the digital part of this production is done correctly, so the FLAC digital file should have no issues. Our first comparison was the CD played back through the Pioneer / Parasound combo Vs. the 16 bit / 44.1KHz FLAC played back through the EMU. We had to listen over and over again, the differences were petit. We felt that the Parasound is better at the low end and the EMU is better at details; the soundstage appeared a bit more in focus. I repeat, differences are small.
Of course, the above test can not be granted as objective if someone wants to prove that one media is better from the other; you see two DACs are in the equation so the differences are probably due to them. So, we moved on by playing back with Foobar2000 the CD through the CD ROM of our VAIO laptop and comparing it with the CD quality FLAC. In this case - since the volume of both media was the same - we performed our blind test where one was listening without knowing what he is listening to and the other would change the tracks. Again, we had to listen over and over in order to discover that... they sound identical. To be honest, after the experience with the CD transport testing we have performed and the fact that the Alesis ML-9600 studio CD recorder sounds better when playing back a ripped track from it's HDD instead from the CD ROM, we were expecting that we would get same kind of results from the laptop. Well, we didn't - maybe because Foobar uses a small buffering so probably even when you play back a CD, some data are stored in the buffer first.
Anyway, this test proves that we could easily live only with PC audio, I mean we can get the juice out of our CD collection and enjoy our digital music files.
Our last test was in order to examine the benefits in the sound quality that a Hi-Res audio file has to offer. For this test we used again a Madeline Peyroux album but this time it was "Standing On The Rooftop"; reason is that we have both the CD quality and Hi-Res (24/96 FLAC) version of this album. So we started again with our blind test - only thing is that this time we had to compensate for the volume differences of the CD quality and Hi-res files, an easy task when you have a SPL meter and a step ladder volume at the pre amp.
One thing that became immediately clear was that although the recording is good, it is in no way at the same league with Bare Bones. We proceeded with the test, listening over and over various tracks. We became exhausted, but we couldn't spot any differences. We became anxious that we are either becoming deaf audiophiles or our system is crap, but we called it a night and agreed to continue with the test another evening.
And so we did, only this time we thought that maybe the Madeline Peyroux recording we were using was not helping with the test. Looking at the reference recording post, we picked up our favorite Hi-Res FLAC which is Doug MacLeod - There's A Time (24/176 FLAC). It is indeed a perfect, spotless digital album. But wait a minute... both versions (CD quality and Hi-Res) sounded exactly the same: perfect. Damn! Are we getting old? Is this Hi-Res thing a digital conspiracy?
Too stubborn to give up, we thought that maybe we needed a more complex track in order to appreciate the benefits of Hi-Res audio. We continued our test with an album we have used several times - our beloved Getz / Gilberto, focusing on the Girl From Ipanema track. As some of you might already know from the vinyl Vs. digital audio post, we had compared quite many files of this album in order to pick up the best, which is an .iso file from the SACD. The blind testing started all over again, but we found difficult to spot any differences. It was only after intensive listening that we managed to spot towards the end of the track (where Mrs. Gilberto sings and simultaneously the saxophone plays) that the Hi-Res file was offering a slightly more holographic sound of the saxophone - feeling more divine and in focus, like you are listening through a good pair of headphones. Also, we noticed that the low end was in better control at the Hi-Res file. But I repeat, these differences where pretty small.
So yes, Hi-Res audio can give you this something extra more. But for once again, what we learned was that above all what truly matters is the quality of the recording and the production. I know that "good recording" does not sound as fancy as "Hi-Res 24bit", but truth is that a good recording is the necessary foundation for good sound. That is why we have truly enjoyed many recordings which are both CD quality and Hi-Res. Yes, we would love to get the Hi-Res version of all the good CD recordings we have, but at the end of the day we wish that all our music library was made of good recordings at their current format rather than all our current recordings were Hi-Res. Of course we would love to have only good recordings at Hi-Res but as somebody once said, "I prefer to be healthy and rich than sick and poor". Not much wisdom, eh?
My plan for the next post is about the role of PC at computer audio, does the PC hardware affects the sound? So stay tuned!
Christos
P.S. If you liked this post, you will probably like most of this blog. Why not having a look at all the things we have wrote about here.
Our previous post was about the evolution in sound quality of CD players and sound comparison between different players. During that test we realized that when recording and production is done right, CD as a media can offer a really marvelous sound that is capable of making you forgetting about the machines and focusing at the music. We used track 1 (Instead) from Madeline Peyroux Bare Bones CD (DECCA LC 00171) as an example; listening to it is an amazing experience that leaves you with nothing more to be desired. However, the only way to miss something when you have already such a high sound quality is to become aware of this something. Having already explored the issue of LPs Vs Hi-Res audio, we felt that the time for CD Vs computer audio and Hi-Res files has come.
For first time readers, you can find more about our reference Pioneer PD-S707 transport & tweaked Parasound D/AC1500 DAC here and our reference computer audio with the tweaked EMU 0404USB at the bottom of this post. For the lazy, here is a minimal description: according to our current knowledge and after several testing, we believe that we have an equally capable front end for CD reproduction as well as hi-res audio files. In our computer audio, we use Foobar2000 set up for bit-perfect output.
First thing we wanted to check is which sounds better with CD quality material, CD or computer audio?
 |
| Our laptop that is used for computer audio is waiting for some testing. |
Since we consider the Madeline Peyroux Bare Bones CD as one of the best sounding CDs we are aware of, we decided to stick with it; after all, this is a good sign that the digital part of this production is done correctly, so the FLAC digital file should have no issues. Our first comparison was the CD played back through the Pioneer / Parasound combo Vs. the 16 bit / 44.1KHz FLAC played back through the EMU. We had to listen over and over again, the differences were petit. We felt that the Parasound is better at the low end and the EMU is better at details; the soundstage appeared a bit more in focus. I repeat, differences are small.
Of course, the above test can not be granted as objective if someone wants to prove that one media is better from the other; you see two DACs are in the equation so the differences are probably due to them. So, we moved on by playing back with Foobar2000 the CD through the CD ROM of our VAIO laptop and comparing it with the CD quality FLAC. In this case - since the volume of both media was the same - we performed our blind test where one was listening without knowing what he is listening to and the other would change the tracks. Again, we had to listen over and over in order to discover that... they sound identical. To be honest, after the experience with the CD transport testing we have performed and the fact that the Alesis ML-9600 studio CD recorder sounds better when playing back a ripped track from it's HDD instead from the CD ROM, we were expecting that we would get same kind of results from the laptop. Well, we didn't - maybe because Foobar uses a small buffering so probably even when you play back a CD, some data are stored in the buffer first.
Anyway, this test proves that we could easily live only with PC audio, I mean we can get the juice out of our CD collection and enjoy our digital music files.
Our last test was in order to examine the benefits in the sound quality that a Hi-Res audio file has to offer. For this test we used again a Madeline Peyroux album but this time it was "Standing On The Rooftop"; reason is that we have both the CD quality and Hi-Res (24/96 FLAC) version of this album. So we started again with our blind test - only thing is that this time we had to compensate for the volume differences of the CD quality and Hi-res files, an easy task when you have a SPL meter and a step ladder volume at the pre amp.
One thing that became immediately clear was that although the recording is good, it is in no way at the same league with Bare Bones. We proceeded with the test, listening over and over various tracks. We became exhausted, but we couldn't spot any differences. We became anxious that we are either becoming deaf audiophiles or our system is crap, but we called it a night and agreed to continue with the test another evening.
And so we did, only this time we thought that maybe the Madeline Peyroux recording we were using was not helping with the test. Looking at the reference recording post, we picked up our favorite Hi-Res FLAC which is Doug MacLeod - There's A Time (24/176 FLAC). It is indeed a perfect, spotless digital album. But wait a minute... both versions (CD quality and Hi-Res) sounded exactly the same: perfect. Damn! Are we getting old? Is this Hi-Res thing a digital conspiracy?
 |
| Getz / Gilberto to the rescue. |
So yes, Hi-Res audio can give you this something extra more. But for once again, what we learned was that above all what truly matters is the quality of the recording and the production. I know that "good recording" does not sound as fancy as "Hi-Res 24bit", but truth is that a good recording is the necessary foundation for good sound. That is why we have truly enjoyed many recordings which are both CD quality and Hi-Res. Yes, we would love to get the Hi-Res version of all the good CD recordings we have, but at the end of the day we wish that all our music library was made of good recordings at their current format rather than all our current recordings were Hi-Res. Of course we would love to have only good recordings at Hi-Res but as somebody once said, "I prefer to be healthy and rich than sick and poor". Not much wisdom, eh?
My plan for the next post is about the role of PC at computer audio, does the PC hardware affects the sound? So stay tuned!
Christos
P.S. If you liked this post, you will probably like most of this blog. Why not having a look at all the things we have wrote about here.
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