Where to get HD audio

[Pretzel]

So I was watching Linus's video on the Pono Player, and it got me thinking where I could get really high quality audio, (because I have really nice Bose speakers that I want to put to use), and I was wondering if there is a place I could download or stream high quality audio for free. (I'm using spotify now but I noticed it's a premium feature to get high quality audio and i'm not going to get premium.)

[i7-6700K]

you can get an amp, or a sound card

[Pretzel]

Just now, i7-6700K said:

you can get an amp, or a sound card

No i'm saying where I can get the audio files that are high quality, my speakers have a built in amp.

[Lotus]

If the amp is built-in, then I seriously doubt they're high quality enough to matter. Bose has name brand recognition, but they actually make some fairly low-end stuff too.

[i7-6700K]

6 minutes ago, Pretzel said:

No i'm saying where I can get the audio files that are high quality, my speakers have a built in amp.

If the speakers have a built in amp, the speakers should be high quality enough, unless you're an audiophile

[Pretzel]

2 minutes ago, i7-6700K said:

If the speakers have a built in amp, the speakers should be high quality enough, unless you're an audiophile

You guys seem really apprehensive of high quality audio, is it really difficult to come by?

[stealth80]

4 minutes ago, Lotus said:

If the amp is built-in, then I seriously doubt they're high quality enough to matter. Bose has name brand recognition, but they actually make some fairly low-end stuff too.

Cant agree with this statement anymore, Ive had so many arguments with people that think Bose are amazing, get tired of explaining that they are "lifestyle" and are made for looks > sound. A good set of B&W or Monitor Audio will destroy Bose lol

[Pretzel]

Just now, Pretzel said:

You guys seem really apprehensive of high quality audio, is it really difficult to come by?

I definitely do have the hardware for it, i'm just not familiar with the software end of hd audio.

[themctipers]

.FLAC audio files @Pretzel

[i7-6700K]

4 minutes ago, Pretzel said:

I definitely do have the hardware for it, i'm just not familiar with the software end of hd audio.

Well Flac files are high quality audio files, but are not supported by all music.

[Pretzel]

1 minute ago, stealth80 said:

Cant agree with this statement anymore, Ive had so many arguments with people that think Bose are amazing, get tired of explaining that they are "lifestyle" and are made for looks > sound. A good set of B&W or Monitor Audio will destroy Bose lol

I am aware that there are better things than Bose, but I feel the compulsive need to defend my product of purchase, so i know that it is of really good quality for Bose.

[Pretzel]

2 minutes ago, themctipers said:

.FLAC audio files @Pretzel

 

1 minute ago, i7-6700K said:

Well Flac files are high quality audio files, but are not supported by all music.

ok thank you guys a lot

[stealth80]

1 minute ago, Pretzel said:

I am aware that there are better things than Bose, but I feel the compulsive need to defend my product of purchase, so i know that it is of really good quality for Bose.

Haha don't take it personally, I don't think theyre bad (I have Bose cans) theyre just nowhere near as good as a lot of people make out

[AshleyAshes]

I'm sorry, you've actually been given a crappy answer.  'FLAC Files' is not the right answer.  FLAC is just a lossless audio codec bit it's quality depends on the input format, most FLAC files you find will be rips of CDs, they will be no better than CDs because they are CD rips.  Not that FLAC can't also handle high definition audio, but since it's JUST an encoding format, it isn't inherently high definition.  It'd be like saying the source for high resolution images is 'JPEG files'.  a JPEG could be 150x150 pixels and tiny or it could be 10000 x 10000 pixels and look amazing.  'JPEG' doesn't determine if it's high definition or not.

 

For a quality SOURCE of there are some online services including the store for the Pono but there's also SACDs or 'Super Audio CDs' which was the physical format for high definition audio home sales.

[spexiono]

AshleyAshes has the right idea. FLAC doesnt automatically mean high quality.

 

Most of my music is either from BandCamp or HumbleBundle game soundtracks

as they let you download high bitrate files in FLAC or MP3 format. Otherwise i use Google Play Music and i can't tell the difference.

 

The bitrate matters to  a certain point but very quickly becomes impossible to distinguish after a while.

 

You should do something along the lines of an ABX test between different formats and find the sweet-spot. You can get some ludicrously large music files if you know where to look but for me it gets far to impractical to bother.

Probably relevant:

 

 

[spwath]

Cd's.

They are lossless.

[spellmanuk]

either CDs downloading flac files (which if you buy can be pretty pricey) or a streaming serivce like TIDAL (as much shit that i give them) steam lossess audio but thats like £20 a month also bose speakers are alright but definatly nowhere near the best somthing like the mackie cr4s are pretty top notch for the money (£97 on amazon) but then sound is a subjective thing. 

[CapricaBuccaneers]

The short answer is: you're not going to be able to get Hi Res downloads for free in any meaningful quantity. Go onto places that sell them such as Hdtracks.com and check out their exorbitant pricing - people selling them seem to think it's big money, so they price it accordingly.

 

I've listened to some sample tracks that Richersounds had on demo units and I have to admit I couldn't tell the difference between the 24bit and the normal red book version. Though that may have something more to do with the original recordings as opposed to the bit rate and sampling frequency.

 

You could try downloading a couple of samples from linnrecords.com if you wanted to test for yourself.

[SSL]

3 hours ago, spwath said:

Cd's.

They are lossless.

The one caveat is that the quality of mastering that makes it onto CDs is often crap, at least with modern popular music. Dynamic range compression, amplification, and possibly other processing robs the recording of detail and soundstage.

 

This is probably responsible for people who compare CD to high bitrate (24/96) and claim a "huge" difference. Because there is a difference, but in the quality of the mastering, not the resolution of the file format itself.

 

HDTracks and other hi-res sites may be worth perusing in order to get good masters. The challenge is knowing if you're really getting something better than found on CDs, or if you're overpaying for upsampled garbage.

 

Responding to the OP: I do not believe you can stream lossless or high bitrate free from any service at this time. Spotify and similar services ought to be more than enough for "really nice" (cough) Bose speakers. Tidal exists if you want to get needlessly high resolution music streamed. As I explained above, it's the master that matters.

[spwath]

1 hour ago, SSL said:

The one caveat is that the quality of mastering that makes it onto CDs is often crap, at least with modern popular music. Dynamic range compression, amplification, and possibly other processing robs the recording of detail and soundstage.

 

This is probably responsible for people who compare CD to high bitrate (24/96) and claim a "huge" difference. Because there is a difference, but in the quality of the mastering, not the resolution of the file format itself.

 

HDTracks and other hi-res sites may be worth perusing in order to get good masters. The challenge is knowing if you're really getting something better than found on CDs, or if you're overpaying for upsampled garbage.

 

Responding to the OP: I do not believe you can stream lossless or high bitrate free from any service at this time. Spotify and similar services ought to be more than enough for "really nice" (cough) Bose speakers. Tidal exists if you want to get needlessly high resolution music streamed. As I explained above, it's the master that matters.

Ah, well all my music is from the 70's and 80's.

[SSL]

1 hour ago, spwath said:

Ah, well all my music is from the 70's and 80's.

Possibly affected as well, you might be surprised. And by modern, I mostly meant anything written in the last several decades, as opposed to classical shit.

[spwath]

45 minutes ago, SSL said:

Possibly affected as well, you might be surprised. And by modern, I mostly meant anything written in the last several decades, as opposed to classical shit.

Hmm. Well, i haven't heard any higher quality versions, and i don't want to spend money to do that, as it sounds fine.

I do listen to classical as Well burned from my families cds.

[Automobili3XF]

I'd say go for Analog audio, hi-fi, you know?

Start with a older receiver, a 70s Kenwood perhaps, or a newer Denon, Teac, Yamaha...

Get some speakers to match and voilà, it's one helluva setup

[SSL]

3 minutes ago, Chevy_Monsenhor said:

I'd say go for Analog audio, hi-fi, you know?

Start with a older receiver, a 70s Kenwood perhaps, or a newer Denon, Teac, Yamaha...

Get some speakers to match and voilà, it's one helluva setup

 

The masters on LPs are frequently better. None of that other nonsense is strictly necessary for "hi-fi". Analog formats are inherently less technically capable.

[Automobili3XF]

1 minute ago, SSL said:

 

The masters on LPs are frequently better. None of that other nonsense is strictly necessary for "hi-fi". Analog formats are inherently less technically capable.

Well, i can't complain of my system, but that's correct, analog is less capable...