Is FLAC Music Worth It?

[Max_Settings]

First off I want to say that I understand what FLAC is and why it is better, I'm also not denying that it is higher quality and there is an audible difference. I'm wondering if FLAC is worth the cost of paying $20-$25 an album over just using Spotify high quality streaming. I don't really have any FLAC to test with and I am wondering if the difference if worth the extra cost? Or is FLAC one of those things where it is better, but only a little bit and it's for those people who are willing to pay a ton for that little bit of improvement?

[TVwazhere]

1 minute ago, Max_Settings said:

First off I want to say that I understand what FLAC is and why it is better, I'm also not denying that it is higher quality and there is an audible difference. I'm wondering if FLAC is worth the cost of paying $20-$25 an album over just using Spotify high quality streaming. I don't really have any FLAC to test with and I am wondering if the difference if worth the extra cost? Or is FLAC one of those things where it is better, but only a little bit and it's for those people who are willing to pay a ton for that little bit of improvement?

It's better, but only if you're using higher quality audio equipment. Regular headphones ($10 earbuds for example) you probably wouldnt be able to tell the difference from a 320 (kb?mb?) bitrate file, but I find I can tell the difference between the same song on two different files on my HD6xx's

[Max_Settings]

Just now, TVwazhere said:

It's better, but only if you're using higher quality audio equipment. Regular headphones ($10 earbuds for example) you probably wouldnt be able to tell the difference from a 320 (kb?mb?) bitrate file, but I find I can tell the difference between the same song on two different files on my HD6xx's

Yeah I'm getting HD6XXs. I know there is a difference, but do you think there is enough difference to justify paying $20 an album over just $10 a month for Spotify?

[79wjd]

3 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

Yeah I'm getting HD6XXs. I know there is a difference, but do you think there is enough difference to justify paying $20 an album over just $10 a month for Spotify?

My vote goes for 'hell no', but even with SE215s/DT990s, I don't notice a difference between FLAC and MP3s....so it really comes down to how much of a difference YOU can here. 

 

I would honestly just download a FLAC file (there probably are some legal comparison files if you search for them.....although I would personally just *arrrg* download */arrrrg* one or two test songs) and see how much of a difference you can hear and if it's worth the cost to you. 

[TVwazhere]

4 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

Yeah I'm getting HD6XXs. I know there is a difference, but do you think there is enough difference to justify paying $20 an album over just $10 a month for Spotify?

Thats like asking is it worth getting 4K blu rays or paying for Netflix.... Most people take the Netflix because its not limited to your own selection, and most people couldn't tell the difference. Some poeple can though, and will pay for individual movies

As Linus would say, It depends. On you

[Volbet]

$20-$25 an album? Where on Earth do you buy your music?

You can usually buys CDs for $10-$15 new and even less used.

And if you're after digital downloads, then they usually range from free to maybe $10 on sites like Bandcamp and 7Digital.

Even vinyl is rarely $20-$25.

 

As for whether or not FLAC is worth, then that's up to you.

Personally, I use FLAC as an archiving format firstly and as an ensure of audio quality second.

Honestly, the compressed or uncompressed nature of a music file matters little when you reach a certain point.

[paddy-stone]

No, actually hell no... IMO it doesn't sound any better than high quality mp3 versions.. in fact for the few albums I have in FLAC format, I converted them to MP3 for regular usage. But, that said I am NOT an audiophile, I WILL pay more money as someone mentioned earlier for 4k blurays, and there is a very noticeable difference in the look and feel of a movie in native 4k IMO... I still only buy the ones that I really like though, and that would see more benefit of 4k HDR etc, such as high action type films, comic book movies, and thrillers. For just your everyday comedy movie and that type of thing, then nah, not worth it.

[seduce_me]

The quality of mastering/mixing or anything that happens in the studio is far more important than file formats in terms of SQ. That said, if you have a lossless file there's nothing wrong to keep it as it as. Convert to lossy formats like mp3 only if space is a big issue. There is sometimes an audible difference between lossy/lossless but they require critical listening to discern between. Lossy formats for casual listening is fine.

[SniphzR]

Use Tidal. Its like Spotify, but with only FLAC music, but double the price.

[elira]

1 hour ago, SniphzR said:

Use Tidal. Its like Spotify, but with only FLAC music, but double the price.

It also has a terrible interface, and always suggests Jay-Z music. But the sound quality is better than Spotify.

[GamerDude]

11 hours ago, seduce_me said:

The quality of mastering/mixing or anything that happens in the studio is far more important than file formats in terms of SQ. That said, if you have a lossless file there's nothing wrong to keep it as it as. Convert to lossy formats like mp3 only if space is a big issue. There is sometimes an audible difference between lossy/lossless but they require critical listening to discern between. Lossy formats for casual listening is fine.

Yes, I agree with this. I have audio in various formats, from 320kbps MP3's to FLAC/WAV to DSD 64/128......even with my audio gear, I can't really discern the difference between DSD and FLAC/WAV, but I do detect a little more resolve and less harshness when comparing them to MP3's. Let me qualify this by saying that I do have some higher end audio gear, which is prolly why I can hear subtle differences.....though my hearing is far from optimal.

[Tacanacy]

11 hours ago, SniphzR said:

Use Tidal. Its like Spotify, but with only FLAC music, but double the price.

No, it also offers 320 kbps for $10.

[SniphzR]

3 hours ago, Tacanacy said:

No, it also offers 320 kbps for $10.

I pay 11.5 usd (3000huf in my country) for HiFi=loseless/month

[it_dont_work]

There's a difference I measured it once for shits n giggles when I was still working as a sound tech. Nothing to write home about though, its still digital, its still being converted, its still going through a transducer, end of the day there is still some form of distortion.

 

Then again I can't hear shit anymore, too many gigs, line array is an amazing and a bitch.

[Gofspar]

Tidal HiFi is $10 if you're a student, all the flac you could dream about.

 

[minervx]

It won't make a difference to the average person.  In most cases, no.

[Type 2501]

I don't think it will make any difference if:

 

1. You only use your phone as source

2.  You only listen to music on the go or while you are driving

3. You didn't listen classic music with very good recording and mastering

4. You are not using very good speakers or headphones (I found the difference is more noticeable when using speakers in a room)

 

Tl;dr: It makes no difference to 90% of the people.

 

[KaminKevCrew]

If you're going to find an audible difference, you're only going to notice it on the most well recorded music out there. You'll only notice if you're using relatively nice gear, and you'll only notice if you're listening analytically to the music. For some people, it's worth it. The higher end you go with gear, the more you will notice it. I once listened to the same music on a $100k sound system. I listened to spotify streaming, vinyl and WAV music of the same songs. (There was a $30k turntable involved here) and I could tell the difference between all three, and I could label each accurately while bling listening. I'm assuming that you don't have a $100k sound system though. I'm also assuming that you don't really listen analytically. (Also, the digital files were from the same master - not entirely sure about the vinyl.)

 

So, you're likely not going to notice a difference. 

 

At most, I would suggest that you should buy FLAC for your favorite, well mastered songs. Otherwise, just use Spotify or Google Play Music/whatever other service you want to use.

[NickTheMajin]

Depends on what I’m listening on. I can absolutely tell the different between an mp3 and a flac file if I’m using my $10,000 Martin Logan’s. It’s night and day. It’s not even something you have to try to listen to. 

 

If I’m listening on my Sennheiser HD558s though not really. They aren’t good enough to really show off hi res audio. 

 

The new Tidal masters collection is something I highly recommend. Some of the best I’ve heard from a digital source. 

[PlayStation 2]

I'd say it all depends on your hearing and if you really care.

There's a very select few songs that I can tell the difference between 320kbps AAC (with VBR) and lossless audio (Apple Lossless in my case, but it's irrelevant; lossless audio is still lossless audio) but even then, I throw them on my iPod at the aforementioned 320kbps AAC. On my desktop, I use ALAC if I can but that's more for satisfying myself and archiving rather than anything practical.

[Zodiark1593]

I usually go for the highest quality I can get ahold of for archival purposes, that way I can decide how to encode it for my mobile devices.

[Ahoy Hoy]

I say no its not worth while. Too much space. Not worth extra money for the music or for the extra storage.
Just save the money you dont spend and buy better audio equipment thats the better way to have a better experience with listen to music.

I could say see the band live thats the best way to hear it. And then I say something along the lines of most digital mixing desks (all the desk used at modern music events) dont go over 44kHz at 24bit. 

[vanished]

Only you can decide if it's "worth it".  If you can hear a difference though, that's a good starting point.  If you couldn't, then the answer would be undeniably "no", but since you can, you just have to decide if that improvement you hear is worth the money in gear and flac source material.

[nicolas2465]

2 hours ago, NickTheMajin said:

Depends on what I’m listening on. I can absolutely tell the different between an mp3 and a flac file if I’m using my $10,000 Martin Logan’s. It’s night and day. It’s not even something you have to try to listen to. 

 

If I’m listening on my Sennheiser HD558s though not really. They aren’t good enough to really show off hi res audio. 

 

The new Tidal masters collection is something I highly recommend. Some of the best I’ve heard from a digital source. 

Wow someone has too much money

[Techicolors]

2 hours ago, NickTheMajin said:

If I’m listening on my Sennheiser HD558s though not really. They aren’t good enough to really show off hi res audio. 

i can hear a discernable difference between an mp3 album and a FLAC version of the same album.