The Dark Side; Digital audio equipment recommendations and setup.

You 2 told me exactly what I needed to hear. Put my email in for the upgraded hat notification when it is ready. I am not expecting a huge jump but they dont really hype up their various tiers on the site and they sound pretty excited for this new one and a generous return policy.
The Spotify sounding similar for JoeMac makes me know it is right choice for me at this time. Like I mentioned I am happy with what I got but needing another one gave me that itch to research. Probably save up for Sutherland Insight now.
 
Haimez40 said:
You 2 told me exactly what I needed to hear. Put my email in for the upgraded hat notification when it is ready. I am not expecting a huge jump but they dont really hype up their various tiers on the site and they sound pretty excited for this new one and a generous return policy.
The Spotify sounding similar for JoeMac makes me know it is right choice for me at this time. Like I mentioned I am happy with what I got but needing another one gave me that itch to research. Probably save up for Sutherland Insight now.
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Yeah the Sutherland is definitely a bigger jump on your vinyl that any DAC will be for Spotify, it’s the limitation on the digital side. If you ever get the lossless itch I’d say give the HiFiBerry first dibs and if you get curious still then think about a DIGI hat and standalone DAC!
 
MikeH said:
Anybody have experience with using DSD files? Would love to A/B FLAC vs DSD or Qobuz vs DSD but not sure it's worth the hassle?
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i tested it in foobar using 2Ls test files and i noticed basically no difference.. i wonder if im becoming one of those "bits is bits" people who think the audio cant get any better than whats already there
 
duke86fan said:
i tested it in foobar using 2Ls test files and i noticed basically no difference.. i wonder if im becoming one of those "bits is bits" people who think the audio cant get any better than whats already there
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I have a feeling that there’s not much difference either between two really high res albums on my system. The mastering is what’s more important at the end of the day. I definitely notice differences between MP3 and FLAC but the mastering once you get to FLAC (and probably before) is what I notice more. I’ve been ripping some CDs lately and it’s a bit crazy to see which versions of albums and mastering people prefer.
 
MikeH said:
I have a feeling that there’s not much difference either between two really high res albums on my system. The mastering is what’s more important at the end of the day. I definitely notice differences between MP3 and FLAC but the mastering once you get to FLAC (and probably before) is what I notice more. I’ve been ripping some CDs lately and it’s a bit crazy to see which versions of albums and mastering people prefer.
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eh heres is that test bench if you really wanna try it out 2L High Resolution Music .:. free TEST BENCH
 
i think i just kinda accepted that i cant hear sound quality differences on digital.. spotify sounds the same as tidal to me, MP3, Ogg, AAC, and FLAC identical, and even when i use a dac after a little while i stop noticing any changes and its just the same music with no real pop (though i did do a slight 2 second test and id does feel like drums are less intense on this monolith DAC)
 
duke86fan said:
i think i just kinda accepted that i cant hear sound quality differences on digital.. spotify sounds the same as tidal to me, MP3, Ogg, AAC, and FLAC identical, and even when i use a dac after a little while i stop noticing any changes and its just the same music with no real pop (though i did do a slight 2 second test and id does feel like drums are less intense on this monolith DAC)
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You really aren't going to notice much difference if you're only listening to 2 second clips, especially if it's not a recording you are really familiar with. I'm going to do a test today with this though!
 
MikeH said:
You really aren't going to notice much difference if you're only listening to 2 second clips, especially if it's not a recording you are really familiar with. I'm going to do a test today with this though!
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But then it's hard to tell a difference if you go for too long because then you forget the differences
 
@MikeH how was the DSD test.. sorry its all classical but its hard to find non classical and non jazz work on DSD (hence why i dont need DSD and think MQA might be more useful for me in the future)
 
duke86fan said:
@MikeH how was the DSD test.. sorry its all classical but its hard to find non classical and non jazz work on DSD (hence why i dont need DSD and think MQA might be more useful for me in the future)
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Didn't get a chance to do it yet! Got bogged down in work. I will though at some point--just want to find the time to properly dedicate to it.

I do agree with ya on the DSD front though. I was doing some research on where to even get DSD files and they are pricey and very limited.
 
MikeH said:
I do agree with ya on the DSD front though. I was doing some research on where to even get DSD files and they are pricey and very limited.
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like the only places that sell it are like HD tracks, acoustic sounds, or hiresaudio. and HRA is moving more towards MQA (thats why im thinking of getting a red dragonfly because it has a lot more support and its much cheaper to get at like 20 bucks a month at most)
 
duke86fan said:
like the only places that sell it are like HD tracks, acoustic sounds, or hiresaudio. and HRA is moving more towards MQA (thats why im thinking of getting a red dragonfly because it has a lot more support and its much cheaper to get at like 20 bucks a month at most)
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Yea--there are a few others too but they are $25+ each album which is steep...I know that compared to vinyl that doesn't seem like a lot, but for some reason it is for me to pay $25 and not get a tangible product.

I haven't tried Tidal in forever so may compare that to Qobuz at some point, but I have to say...with my new DAC + repaired speakers, a lot of high-res albums sound absolutely incredible when streamed from Qobuz.
 
MikeH said:
Yea--there are a few others too but they are $25+ each album which is steep...I know that compared to vinyl that doesn't seem like a lot, but for some reason it is for me to pay $25 and not get a tangible product.

I haven't tried Tidal in forever so may compare that to Qobuz at some point, but I have to say...with my new DAC + repaired speakers, a lot of high-res albums sound absolutely incredible when streamed from Qobuz.
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what dac DO you have? because Qobuz probably works a lot better than tidal unless you know that your DAC has MQA support.. though i heard some Hi-Res files on Qobuz sound worse than standard tidal hifi
 
Just for reference @duke86fan MQA Is just a type of carrier file. It holds PCM audio the same as FLAC/MP3/ACC/WAW etc. It is only commercially used, as far as I know, by Tidal and is very similar to the 24 bit FLAC offerings by Qobuz, I think part of the difference is proprietary DRM. Qobuz often wins in blind listening tests.

DSD is a different way of recording and playing digital audio that certain people think I’d more natural. The foremost media type showcasing it is the SACD which presents 1 bit DSD. Certain audiophiles prefer SACDs, or DSD files, that we’re either recorded in DSD, or where the tapes were directly transferred to DSD. It is meant to be more natural sounding that PCM. That said there are plenty of DSD offerings for sale that are just straight transfers from PCM recordings that offer no discernible improvement.

The best examples of DSD that I’ve heard are the stones Decca era stuff, I still prefer the vinyl, and classical recordings.
 
duke86fan said:
what dac DO you have? because Qobuz probably works a lot better than tidal unless you know that your DAC has MQA support.. though i heard some Hi-Res files on Qobuz sound worse than standard tidal hifi
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I have the Singxer SDA-2. I don't believe it has MQA. It's not something I really looked for MQA though because it is essentially a form of stealth DRM that I didn't want to deal with. Companies with devices that have MQA have to pay a license fee to the makers of MQA per unit sold. MQA can one day decide to change the code and make MQA unplayable on certain devices.
 
Joe Mac said:
It is only commercially used, as far as I know, by Tidal and is very similar to the 24 bit FLAC offerings by Qobuz, I think part of the difference is proprietary DRM. Qobuz often wins in blind listening tests
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sadly it doesn't have a student discount (which is why tidal would only be like 10 bucks for me) so qobuz is a bit more expensive for what is basically the same sound quality, since i cant really hear the sound difference even between FLAC and MP3 because its hard to figure out what difference is there
 
duke86fan said:
sadly it doesn't have a student discount (which is why tidal would only be like 10 bucks for me) so qobuz is a bit more expensive for what is basically the same sound quality, since i cant really hear the sound difference even between FLAC and MP3 because its hard to figure out what difference is there
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A lot of the ability to hear the difference I’d guess is down to equipment, I doubt I’d be able to hear the difference too. I’d guess the extra processing requirement for the MQA (and it’s DRM requirements) adds noise to the chain which is likely only heard in the imaginations go people who pay £10,000 on a DAC. I doubt I’d hear it too. That said I do hear the difference between an mp3 and a CD on my system, never mind a 24/192, although less so on my phone/headphones when out and about I will concede.
 
duke86fan said:
sadly it doesn't have a student discount (which is why tidal would only be like 10 bucks for me) so qobuz is a bit more expensive for what is basically the same sound quality, since i cant really hear the sound difference even between FLAC and MP3 because its hard to figure out what difference is there
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Makes sense. I also believe they have some different song libraries. I know Apple Music and Qobuz do. I do find some of Qobuz's new releases to be lacking, but they make up for it in their jazz and other genre collections. I can buy new music that's not on Qobuz or stream it elsewhere.
 
MikeH said:
Makes sense. I also believe they have some different song libraries. I know Apple Music and Qobuz do. I do find some of Qobuz's new releases to be lacking, but they make up for it in their jazz and other genre collections. I can buy new music that's not on Qobuz or stream it elsewhere.
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To be honest I find it’s delay rather than missing. They have nearly everything I want, it might just take a week or so after release rather than on the day of for stuff outside the biggest releases and their particular strengths that you outlined.
 
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