Audiophile Thread!

[korg17]

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What the"flac" is this all about? He he he.

Today i AB'ed the MP3 and FLAC audio formats by listening to Diana Krall live in Paris East of the Sun west of the Moon.

By AB'ing, it is more accurate and you can readily discern the differences as you don't have to stop and start each time you compare the sounds. It is actually a blind test so there is no way that one can say which is which. It is just on the title that you can determine which is which thereafter.

I seem not to hear any differences between the two. By difference, i mean night and day something that you can readily notice and say its worth the additional bytes it carries. My brothers did athe blind test too and could not discern any differences at all.

So what is it all about the hullabaloo on this FLAC? Can you guys really tell the difference between the two?

So what formats are you using and why?

Digital music, in its raw form from the recording studio is in MQS(Mastering Quality Sound) format, this is then converted to WAV format to be able to be written to CDs. WAV format are one of the the clearest, purest and most complete data, but the file is very large and due to limited storage in computer disks and DAPs, some guys found a way to compress WAV and created the MP3 format, this reduces the file size significantly. problem is MP3 compression results to some data being lost, so most of the time the quality is not that good, only enough for you to discern the sound. FLAC format is developed so that WAV can be compressed without any data being lost. however file size is still large but still significantly smaller than WAV. and due to storage capacity improvements, you can now store hundreds of FLAC songs on your player. with regards to audible difference, it depends on the type of MP3 compression. some files are compressed at a bit rate of 128 and 256 kbps which is the norm around 10-15 yrs ago and still very common now, if you compare this to FLAC, night and day dyud ang difference, but MP3 has also improved and now has 320 kbps which is now good enough for most people, difference is barely noticable unless you have a "Golden Ear". but being Audiophiles, cyempre adto dyud tas FLAC, I myself am not comfortable knowing that the sound im listening to is not "complete". also when you use an audiophile-grade headphone powered by a good amp, when you can really hear the details, kana klaro dyud kaayo no contest ang MP3.

me all my music are FLAC, but i convert all of them to AIFF format so i can load them into my ipod. they are both technically the same except that AIFF comes from Apple and FLAC is open-source, and apple does not play FLAC.

[korg17]

Where can one audition a Sennheiser HD600 here in Cebu?

none here that i know of. you would have to visit a Egghead shop in manila. although i think one of the guys here in this thread still owns one. not sure if naa pa. i have auditioned this one, and i know how good this is.

[lespaulibanez]

@korg17
Thanks sa explain.
Perhaps the MP3 i'm listening to was at 320kbps bit rate?
Or my current set-up is clearly not an audiophile-grade headphone and good amp/dac combo.
Otoh it would mean then that flac cannot be appreciated by below audiophile-grade set-ups since it will not make any audio difference in terms of listening?

For now i won't bother looking for flac songs. Not perhaps until i upgrade to an audiophile-grade set-up.

Meantime here's an amp that will not just break one's wallet but makapurdoy gyud to us mere mortals (unless Napoles ang family name mo)

Alu Studio Six

- - - Updated - - -

none here that i know of. you would have to visit a Egghead shop in manila. although i think one of the guys here in this thread still owns one. not sure if naa pa. i have auditioned this one, and i know how good this is.

Clearly Cebu is behind kaayo compare sa Manila noh.
Any idea if there is any AudioTechnica Headphone that is comparable to HD600? Even of a higher price.
I could get an AudioTechinica straight from Japan and it would be much cheaper.

[korg17]

yup layu pa dyud tawn diris cebu. we have to contend ordering our stuff online and audiotioning is almost non-existent.

try the ATH-AD900x. murag mao na ka level sa HD-600 based on price and reviews. although i really dont know how it sounds. read the reviews nalang. but much better if maka audition.

the Alo Audio Studio Six is overkill for personal use if you ask me. imagine 6 headphone outs. maybe its one of the reasons its too expensive, cz it can power 6 high-end cans all at once. if i am that rich, id rather get the Woo Audio WES. but im not so tulo laway lang sa ta ani lol

[C'thulhu]

What the"flac" is this all about? He he he.

Today i AB'ed the MP3 and FLAC audio formats by listening to Diana Krall live in Paris East of the Sun west of the Moon.

By AB'ing, it is more accurate and you can readily discern the differences as you don't have to stop and start each time you compare the sounds. It is actually a blind test so there is no way that one can say which is which. It is just on the title that you can determine which is which thereafter.

I seem not to hear any differences between the two. By difference, i mean night and day something that you can readily notice and say its worth the additional bytes it carries. My brothers did athe blind test too and could not discern any differences at all.

So what is it all about the hullabaloo on this FLAC? Can you guys really tell the difference between the two?

So what formats are you using and why?

Btw, what player are you using? PC? Mac? or mp3 player?

If you are using a Windows based PC, try using foobar to play flac files.

In my experience, using MacBook with fidelia or decibel + E17 + headphones or IEMs, MP3s encoded with the usual 128 or 192kbps can't compare in detail with flac files, 320kbps cbr and vbrV0, some artifacts or clips can be discerned if carefully listening in a quiet environment...

Coming from 1st gen Ipod touch, ALAC and MP3 vbrV0 can't tell the difference...

[C'thulhu]

Any idea if there is any AudioTechnica Headphone that is comparable to HD600? Even of a higher price.
I could get an AudioTechinica straight from Japan and it would be much cheaper.

I think a comparable unit from AT would be the ATH-AD1000X... But the Senny could benefit more from tube amps with its impedance of 300 ohms...

Hard thing about describing sound is it is a very subjective matter, what sounds great for one might sound trash to the other...

Don't stress about the gear, enjoy the music.

ymmv, jm2cw..

[lespaulibanez]

yup layu pa dyud tawn diris cebu. we have to contend ordering our stuff online and audiotioning is almost non-existent.

try the ATH-AD900x. murag mao na ka level sa HD-600 based on price and reviews. although i really dont know how it sounds. read the reviews nalang. but much better if maka audition.

the Alo Audio Studio Six is overkill for personal use if you ask me. imagine 6 headphone outs. maybe its one of the reasons its too expensive, cz it can power 6 high-end cans all at once. if i am that rich, id rather get the Woo Audio WES. but im not so tulo laway lang sa ta ani lol

Going to Manila is sometimes cheaper than going to Bogo. Only you have to get the proper timing during ticket sales
Pero hazzle gihapon para nako ug waste of time pa gyud.

I was initially eyeing also the AD900x which EH has but then i found that getting the units from Japan would be much cheaper. I'm actually thinking of the AD2000X which price is much much lower in Japan. However there seems to be no reviews from those popular reviewers. I just wonder why.
To make life simpler perhaps i'll just go with the HD600. Is the HD600 matched with the HifiMan amp same that you got?
I really love the sound coming out of the tubes. (OT: reason why i got myself a guitar tube amp).

I hate the internet because the more you research the higher the stakes goes.

[lespaulibanez]

Btw, what player are you using? PC? Mac? or mp3 player?

If you are using a Windows based PC, try using foobar to play flac files.

In my experience, using MacBook with fidelia or decibel + E17 + headphones or IEMs, MP3s encoded with the usual 128 or 192kbps can't compare in detail with flac files, 320kbps cbr and vbrV0, some artifacts or clips can be discerned if carefully listening in a quiet environment...

Coming from 1st gen Ipod touch, ALAC and MP3 vbrV0 can't tell the difference...

I'm using a notebook during that test with Foobar and tomorrow i'll use a DAP player/X3.
The AB test i made above was on the Lenovo X61T. As you may know these notebook is a business notebook and the audio really sucks. So maybe coming from line out to amp/dac to headphone will not be as good as when using a desktop.

Btw how would you know the bit rate?

[lespaulibanez]

I think a comparable unit from AT would be the ATH-AD1000X... But the Senny could benefit more from tube amps with its impedance of 300 ohms...

Hard thing about describing sound is it is a very subjective matter, what sounds great for one might sound trash to the other...

Don't stress about the gear, enjoy the music.

ymmv, jm2cw..

Tks yours.
Perhaps to be safe a notch higher won't hurt much.
Why would they call the AD2000x their flagship?
Its only abt P23911 from Nippon and since its coming straight from Nippon and China is at verbal war with Nippon, surely it couldn't be made in China. .

I know i will be sleeping in the wee hours of the morning. Ive got to see the reviews of this unit first.

[korg17]

Going to Manila is sometimes cheaper than going to Bogo. Only you have to get the proper timing during ticket sales
Pero hazzle gihapon para nako ug waste of time pa gyud.

I was initially eyeing also the AD900x which EH has but then i found that getting the units from Japan would be much cheaper. I'm actually thinking of the AD2000X which price is much much lower in Japan. However there seems to be no reviews from those popular reviewers. I just wonder why.
To make life simpler perhaps i'll just go with the HD600. Is the HD600 matched with the HifiMan amp same that you got?
I really love the sound coming out of the tubes. (OT: reason why i got myself a guitar tube amp).

I hate the internet because the more you research the higher the stakes goes.

yes i have tried the HD-600 with the Hifiman EF2A as well as the Fiio E07k. they work well. for the Audio Technicas i really dont know since i never tried them. their flagship is acutually the ATH-W3000ANV and costs about $1500 lol