/mu/ - Music (Temp full images)

>>56247615
>If you own music in any physical format you should probably consider suicide.

It's the only way to own it.

Have fun with your variable bit rate streams and hoping the album you pirated was recorded with gear that is worth a shit.

But you're likely running ShitTechnicasATHM50s into a Chinese toy amp or Beats, so carry on.

>>55533281

You're fucking retarded.

A horn loaded Klipsch speaker, for instance, has a much different sound and presentation than a speaker with a dome tweeter and a dome tweeter has a very different sound than a ribbon tweeter. Then you have different design philosophies to contend with, like Electrostats, Magneplanar, Bipole, Dipole, all of which sound different.

Or how about that floorstander with the 6" woofer? Sure, I can read reviews and comments, and most of them will be as divided as house committee meeting on whether or not that 6" driver provides enough bass and if it needs to be paired with a subwoofer. The only conceivable way to make that determination is to audition it.

Yeah, when we're comparing Miccas vs. Daytons (the kind of speakers in your price range), then who gives a shit? But when you start getting into actual hi-fi and spending mid-4 figures (on either speakers or headphones), then the "patrician" thing to do is audition if possible. And many hi-end retailers online offer an in home trial.

>>55344146

Snake Oil

>Fancy cables (speaker, power cables, etc)
>"HD" audio.

>More watts=more power=better sound. Amperage is more important. A 20 watt high current amplifier will significantly outperform a piece of HTiB gear that stats "100 watts per channel!"

Not snake oil:

>Tube amps. Tube amp users are fully aware of the distortion they add, but consciously choose them for that sound. But if tube amp manufacturer tries to promote them as higher fidelity, then it falls under Snake Oil.

>MFSL and DCC remasters, which will provide much more sound quality than "HD audio" despite still being the same 16/44.1 resolution. Those versions are simply mastered and mixed better.

>Proper speaker placement.

>Bigger really is better (expect for nearfield mixing). Electrostats aside (which can also get quite big) heavier magnets and larger drivers can simply move more air with less distortion, so a company like Bose's claim that their little cube speakers can offer a "full range experience" falls under snake oil.

>>55103251
>vinyl records isn't the sound quality

Often times it is, though.

By virtue of the distortion vinyl adds, it can, for many types of music, sound more natural and less fatiguing than digital/CD.

>Distortion! It's not accurate!

So? Sound "quality" is something that is entirely subjective and what is most "accurate" might not always sound best (to you). Steve Hoffman, whose DCC remasters are some of the most sought after versions of albums around, willingly introduced light distortion through tube amplifiers.

>But muh accuracy

You'll never get anything close to a perfectly accurate representation of a sound wave from any recording. First of all, the recording equipment itself will "distort" the sound. Then your playback setup will further color the sound, everything from your speaker/headphone choice (no two speakers sound exactly the same) to your room acoustics. By the time you play a recording, it's so massively "distorted" you might as well pick the format that is most fun and sounds best to you.

And then there's the whole Loudness War bullshit that has been plaguing CD and digital releases for the last two decades. In many cases, the vinyl version (or an MFSL, DCC CD) is worth seeking out.

That said, format is probably the least important thing that affects sound accuracy in your playback chain.

>how the recording was made often plays a more dominant role in sound quality over the comparative differences of the formats.

- Audioholics

>>54619271

90% of this board is stuck on stupid when it comes to high-fidelity, which is not surprising considering this board's primary demographic are 16 year olds.

There's plenty of reasons to invest in vinyl. Read some of the reasons here:

http://www.audioholics.com/editorials/analog-vinyl-vs-digital-audio

And also, another reason people might buy vinyl is because they prefer how it sounds, the "warmth" and smoothness of it.

>B-But that's distortion you're listening to, hurhurhurhur.

So what? "Accuracy" does not mean "better." Besides, the only "accuracy" you're sacrificing is what the sound engineer supposedly intended you to hear, which I don't fuck about since I don't hear like him (and it's not like hearing these highly compressed mixes from modern sound engineers in their most "accurate" state possible is something worth pursuing anyway).

I expect a retarded response to the above statement, but every time you use an EQ, tone controls, etc you're undermining "accuracy" for the sake of how you prefer something to sound.

It really does ultimately come down to personal preference, since human being aren't oscilloscopes and hear in their each unique way. The most logical thing to actually do (after you've assembled a playback rig worth a shit) is listen to a variety of a different formats and see which ones for which artists/genres you prefer.

This thread again.

First of all, the most determining factor in sound quality is how the music was recorded, mastered, and mixed. To quote Audioholics:

"How the recording was made often plays a more dominant role in sound quality over the comparative differences of the formats."

After that, it's the quality of your speakers, and even more importantly, how they are placed in your room and interact with your room's acoustics. A properly placed set of 500.00 Klipches will sound worlds better than a 5K set of poorly placed Paradigm References in a bad room.

Then next, is your amp. Hook up a set of KEF Monitors to a shitty Lepai Tripath, and it's going to sound like shit at anything over 70-75db, regardless of the quality of the speakers or the "format." To prevent clipping and distortion, you want to make sure you're using an amp with plenty of overhead.

Cables are next. And no, I'm not talking about bullshit, cryogenically frozen cables soaked in dragon's blood. But gauge is important, and to insure optimal signal flow from your amp to your speakers, you want something with low impedance. 10-16 gauge wire will do in most cases. Lower the gauge the better, usually.

Next is playback equipment. CD players are only as good as their DACs, so an early CD player from the era when DACs still weren't "solved," probably won't sound as good as a modern 20.00 DVD player from Walmart or your soundcard's DAC. And of course, if your turntable has a worn needle or poor build quality, it'll introduce artifacts.

Now we get to "format," and the differences between a well mastered/mixed vinyl recording and a well mastered/mixed digital record is so miniscule, it's not really worth debating.

They both have very subtle, yet audible, differences that might work for one genre better than another (per your tastes), but you "can't go wrong" with either.

>>54238196
>http://www.digitaltrends.com/features/interview-steven-wilson-on-high-res-hand-cannot-erase/

I agree with his sentiment and "ideology" if you will, since I'm all for fidelity, but Wilson is a lone voice. HD audio has never held up to close scrutiny.

If you want HI-FI to re-emerge, earbuds and shitty playback systems (Bluetooth speakers, soundbars, laptop/computer speakers) will have to be cast aside in favor of a dedicated, 2 channel stereo system (or headphones) of good quality among the mainstream.

But that's not happening anytime soon. Earbuds + phone is what 95% of consumers use as their primary playback device.

Which one are you?