Does song bit rate matter?

[randomuser]

I recently bought the sennheiser hd 598  and Amazon shipped it to the wrong address and have been calling them twice a day for the past week. They never follow up on their follow ups sorry for ranting anyways  i have some time and i was wondering if someone can tech me about bitrate. When i google online i just hear what bit rates are. They are loseless format but is the sound quality noticeable? is there a way i can convert things to higher bitrate? Im having trouble finding high bate songs. Especially when its an older song like Mulan make a man out of you or geto boys daim it feels good to be a gangster

[randomuser]

MOD delete my post i did not read the FAQ im doing that now

[BoredErica]

It doesn't matter and there's not much point in converting it.

[Fulgrim]

In general, 320kbps is fine. Either CBR (Constant Bit Rate) or VBR (Variable Bit Rate) will be fine. The only time you'd want FLAC, is if you get some proper studio grade headphones, only then will you begin to notice the difference between FLAC and MP3.

 

And considering you've got some Sennheisers, don't use anything below 320kbps. FLAC is ideal but if you don't have the storage space, 320kbp will suffice.

 

 

Also, NEVER convert a low bitrate file into a larger bitrate, it doesn't work that way. You'll still get the same quality of the lower bitrate, but take up more space. You want to get original FLAC files (which if memory serves me correct) is basically half the filesize used in the proper recording studio. For a home user, FLAC is considered enthusiast/audophile tier.

 

 

In short, bitrate does matter.  Try converting a 320kbps file, to 128kbps and crank the volume up. You'll notice the difference.

[BoredErica]

Everywhere I purchase music, it's always been 320kbps MP3 or lossless. I've never seen like 128kbps or lower. Plus I have a hard time abxing lower bitrates anyways.

 

For some reason I read sample rate instead when making my first post, but w/e.

[RossMadness]

They have some good information at the start of this video from Tek Syndicate:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjTxEwlypA0&list=UUNovoA9w0KnxyDP5bGrOYzg

[randomuser]

Maybe I should buy music instead of you know what cause everything i can find is under 128 kbps I think i will do that

 

 

And thank you very much for the information!!!

[Fulgrim]

Maybe I should buy music instead of pirate it cause everything i can find is under 128 kbps

 

 

And thank you very much for the information!!!

I'd edit that bit about piracy out of your post if i were you mate, not meant to openly talk about that here.

[creatip123]

A song's mastering is far more important than all the bitrate, bit depth, and whatnot. A bad mastered song in the almighty DSD format will still sounds like shit. 

[typographie]

I generally notice some degree of difference up to 320 kB/s in most tracks, and not usually above that. But then, I'm not using particularly high-end audio equipment, and this can be a little subjective anyway.

[BoredErica]

I generally notice some degree of difference up to 320 kB/s in most tracks, and not usually above that. But then, I'm not using particularly high-end audio equipment, and this can be a little subjective anyway.

Very likely you don't and the person who encoded the track didn't do it properly. Unless you're saying you passed ABX test from converting from a FLAC file in which case kudos to you, you are like the top 10% or higher. And it's not subjective, you either pass or you fail. Whether you prefer A or B after you proved you can hear a difference is subjective, but whether you can, not so much.

 

Maybe I should buy music instead of you know what cause everything i can find is under 128 kbps I think i will do that

 

 

And thank you very much for the information!!!

That is one reason to buy music. You buy music from a legit place on the cheap in lossless you KNOW you are getting lossless file and no pirates have been dicking around with it. Most of that is still OCD rather than real differences, but still. It got me to buy multiple tracks.

 

They have some good information at the start of this video from Tek Syndicate:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjTxEwlypA0&list=UUNovoA9w0KnxyDP5bGrOYzg

That video has multiple inaccuracies.