lexicondevil Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 I took this test using only my laptop and some decent over ear headphones, no DAC. Funny they seemed to change the order of the music. I had to listen to JayZ and Katy Perry first and it was very difficult for my ears not to puke, let alone determine which was which. I was pretty sure I would get the Neil Young and Classical samples correct and I also got Coldplay by guessing. Scored three total. I guess it doesn't matter which digital file I get, I can't tell that much of a difference. https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daegor Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 I ran a similar test myself years ago with shitty earbuds, I could tell the difference in some instances dropping from 256 to 192, and in nearly all cases to 128. I decided at that time that my go-to bitrate would be V1. Since getting better equipment and larger hardrives I just upped it to 320. I haven't done a doubleblind test myself since, but I do think I can tell the difference between running 320 mp3s off my iPhone with a USB cable vs a CD (in the same playback device/speaker setup). I could be biasing for sure. And people forget that bitrate is only one of a plethora of factors that would impact your playback quality. From a dozen factors of where the audio was sourced from, how it was mastered, and how it was ripped, to how it's digitally stored and recalled, the hardware on the storage device, the hardware on the playback device, the grounding of all of these things, to the speakers themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Hundred Fifty-Two Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 It took about 15 seconds to load each sample so I stopped listening after the first song. Got three correct by blindly guessing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicondevil Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 5 minutes ago, Tidal Wave said: It took about 15 seconds to load each sample so I stopped listening after the first song. Got three correct by blindly guessing That would have been annoying. Slow connect? 1 hour ago, daegor said: I ran a similar test myself years ago with shitty earbuds, I could tell the difference in some instances dropping from 256 to 192, and in nearly all cases to 128. I decided at that time that my go-to bitrate would be V1. Since getting better equipment and larger hardrives I just upped it to 320. I haven't done a doubleblind test myself since, but I do think I can tell the difference between running 320 mp3s off my iPhone with a USB cable vs a CD (in the same playback device/speaker setup). I could be biasing for sure. And people forget that bitrate is only one of a plethora of factors that would impact your playback quality. From a dozen factors of where the audio was sourced from, how it was mastered, and how it was ripped, to how it's digitally stored and recalled, the hardware on the storage device, the hardware on the playback device, the grounding of all of these things, to the speakers themselves. So many factors. I just look at it as, can I tell the difference right now on this equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiatorhums Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 I can tell when something is 192kbs or lower, cymbals sound really splashy. I got a headphone amp / DAC a few years back and have been trying to listen to FLACs whenever possible. I think I can tell the difference, but since I'm not doing a blind test, there's probably a bit of placebo there too. I do know that I can't tell there difference between 24 bit and 16 bit FLACs though. Not really related to this thread, but I will say that a good DAC made a nice difference all around. Well worth the money if you're going to be at a desk listening to music 40 hours a week. lexicondevil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Hundred Fifty-Two Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 3 hours ago, lexicondevil said: That would have been annoying. Slow connect? So many factors. I just look at it as, can I tell the difference right now on this equipment. On my phone might be the reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiatorhums Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 5 hours ago, daegor said: how it's digitally stored and recalled, the hardware on the storage device I would argue that these shouldn't factor in at all, 1s and 0s are the same no matter what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAXXX Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 i got 5/6 correct without listening to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daegor Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 17 hours ago, jonrawks said: I would argue that these shouldn't factor in at all, 1s and 0s are the same no matter what. How it's compressed when stored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiatorhums Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 36 minutes ago, daegor said: How it's compressed when stored. If you're referring to codec, then definitely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicondevil Posted March 11, 2018 Author Share Posted March 11, 2018 On 3/9/2018 at 12:18 PM, jonrawks said: I can tell when something is 192kbs or lower, cymbals sound really splashy. I got a headphone amp / DAC a few years back and have been trying to listen to FLACs whenever possible. I think I can tell the difference, but since I'm not doing a blind test, there's probably a bit of placebo there too. I do know that I can't tell there difference between 24 bit and 16 bit FLACs though. Not really related to this thread, but I will say that a good DAC made a nice difference all around. Well worth the money if you're going to be at a desk listening to music 40 hours a week. Which DAC did you get? I was looking at Dragonfly for my laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiatorhums Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 3 hours ago, lexicondevil said: Which DAC did you get? I was looking at Dragonfly for my laptop. I got an Aune T1 MK2. I work on a laptop, but rarely leave my desk, so portability wasn't as much of a concern. Dragonfly looks nice though! I work remotely enough that something like that would be a good purchase for me. lexicondevil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daegor Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 On 3/10/2018 at 9:44 AM, jonrawks said: If you're referring to codec, then definitely. Mostly, though some portable devices have general storage setups that can impact playback. For instance, some of the older iPhones you could make play FLAC, but due to how it dealt with files it didn't recognize as audio files it sounded like shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicondevil Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 On 3/11/2018 at 1:30 PM, jonrawks said: I got an Aune T1 MK2. I work on a laptop, but rarely leave my desk, so portability wasn't as much of a concern. Dragonfly looks nice though! I work remotely enough that something like that would be a good purchase for me. I broke down and got a Dragonfly 1.2, because I read they were better than the new models if listening on a computer. WOW! I listened to Amon Amarth through my regular headphone jack first and then listened to it through the Dragonfly and couldn't hear the difference immediately, probably because the volume was lower while listening to headphone jack. Then, I switched back to regular jack and turned up the volume and it sounded thin and shitty. I had thought it was fine before I listened to it through the Dragonfly. So, now I'm ruined and I wish I'd gotten this DAC sooner. I ordered a extender, so it doesn't snap off in the USB port. radiatorhums 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiatorhums Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 On 3/16/2018 at 4:49 PM, lexicondevil said: I broke down and got a Dragonfly 1.2, because I read they were better than the new models if listening on a computer. WOW! I listened to Amon Amarth through my regular headphone jack first and then listened to it through the Dragonfly and couldn't hear the difference immediately, probably because the volume was lower while listening to headphone jack. Then, I switched back to regular jack and turned up the volume and it sounded thin and shitty. I had thought it was fine before I listened to it through the Dragonfly. So, now I'm ruined and I wish I'd gotten this DAC sooner. I ordered a extender, so it doesn't snap off in the USB port. Totally get that, it's very much a "you don't know what you were missing" thing for me. Glad to hear you like that Dragonfly too! lexicondevil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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