I’d say I have pretty high quality gear, Schiit Asgard 3 multibit, nighthawk carbons and 58X as my current headphones.
Yeah some pretty nice stuff, well maybe its to do with age or hearing ability I don’t know your situation. On some gear I can hear differences between higher quality recordings and lower ones, so can many people.
I’m 20. I can hear up to 19.1khz. Everything checks out and I can hear the differences in headphones when it comes to detail and dynamics. I just can’t hear a difference between mp3 and flac.
Well I don’t know what to suggest then, I am not you.
Not looking for suggestions just stating my experiences
I think in a lot of cases it’s knowing what to listen for when it comes to higher resolution files. Like in particular I think the splash you get from cymbals sounds better on a higher resolution file, but I also think that tends to apply more when an artist recorded ACTUAL cymbals instead of using like a sample or something. Generally I tend to think the production quality and mastering quality of a track makes a way bigger difference than the bitrate you’re listening to it at. Well recorded stuff will still sound well recorded at 320kbps, just as a shitty recording will still sound shitty even at 960kbps or whatever lossless is
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Yes, the mastering makes a much bigger difference.
However, for someone who wants to get the best sound possible, bitrate will matter.
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Exactly, and I’m not advocating for people to quit caring about bitrate, I just think it’s more of a diminishing returns thing, especially for certain tracks. I’d actually say for poor recordings, it might sound better to listen at lower resolution lol
edit: but obviously, if your goal is to listen with the highest quality possible, then you gotta find higher bitrates
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Again, true.
Of course, it’s a diminishing return, my point was simply
which you have summed up perfectly.
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with these new sennheisers i could hear the difference between 320 and 128kbps no problem (except the suzanne vega song)… i do have issues noticing a difference with WAV though… that might be the DACs fault for that
In my experience the difference between 320 and lower than 320 is pretty noticeable, but it gets harder once you start to go above 320. That’s what I meant by diminishing returns earlier. I think there is an audible difference between lossless and 320, but I think you have to know more of what you’re actually listening for to pick up on it
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Funny as i’ve just watched this and have to agree @ 8:51
I agree mastering makes the most difference, but you should still try and get lossless tracks if you can imo, I can’t ever see a situation where I would pick lossy over lossless if I cared about sound quality, same goes for vinyl, you should look for the best pressing you can get imo, no real reason to go with a worse quality source if you have the option to get better. You can appreciate the differences of lossy vs lossless even with something like a ksc75 on a well mastered track
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Aye you can’t add anything to a well mastered track, but having an honest way to reply it is holy grail…Vinyl or digital.
Just curious on your guys opinion on apple music. Its been my main service for almost a year since its included with my verizon unlimited plan. Currently testing amazon music hd which seems like a good service for a pretty good price. They both sound same. Even when I compare the ultra hd tracks to the ones on apple music. If you can hear the difference the amazon hd service seams like a good value.
Really it comes down to you and your hardware set up, i’d not stress too much as long as you enjoy what you’re listening to and don’t over think things…I use Amazon HD because I get a good deal on it, previously I was with TIDAL the change made no difference sound wise tbh but saved me a buck or two.
Guess I need a $4000 set up to hear a difference lol. For the money Amazon music is probably the best service for streaming lossless music.
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TBH you’ll probably need to spend more than that 
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oof the struggles of being an audiophile 
naaa it’s easy. Just tell “im a audiophile” and you are good to go.
But not knowing things that should be crystal clear and letting us know you dont know… kinda ruins the “bubble”. You kinda need know stuff as well.