FLAC vs 320 kbps MP3 can you hear a difference?

[Tcrumpen]

I currently have a iPod Classic 160GB but it's slowly dying on me (It's lasted me nearly a decade though so i'm impressed, despite all my hate on Apple products their stuff does last i'll give them that) anyway i'm trying to find an alternative for my classic rather than using my phone, i just prefer having a dedicated piece of equipment for audio and leave my phone as that; a phone. I do have my music on there as sort of like a backup if my current player dies

 

Anyway i've been looking at a couple of players which give the ability to play FLACs and i know there is more to take into account when comparing sound. But can you actually hear a difference between FLAC and MP3 if your using cheapy headphones. As this device is portable and likely to get lost or stolen i don't wanna blow a lot of money on some audiophile style headphones as i keep the headphones with the device so it would stand to reason that loosing the player would also mean loosing my headphones; which is why i buy cheapy ones (around £20)

[iBabySlapper]

With cheap stuff like that, no you wouldn't hear the difference.

Unless you get your MP3s from Youtube or something.

[Tcrumpen]

1 minute ago, ibabyslapper said:

With cheap stuff like that, no you wouldn't hear the difference.

Unless you get your MP3s from Youtube or something.

I always where possible try to get my music ripped from a physical CD (as in i buy the CD and rip it at 320kbps) i'm old school like that, now for some of my music such as Latin music there isn't a big market here for that so i have to rely on YouTube

[iBabySlapper]

2 minutes ago, Tcrumpen said:

I always where possible try to get my music ripped from a physical CD (as in i buy the CD and rip it at 320kbps) i'm old school like that, now for some of my music such as Latin music there isn't a big market here for that so i have to rely on YouTube

Honestly, for £20 headphones you won't hear the difference if you got a £10 MP3 player or a £200 one.

320kbps CD rips are usually good enough for most listeners anyway, so there's not much point wasting storage on 1000kbps FLACs.

 

Though you can get shockingly good earphones from new chinese companies for £20.

Like I bought a dual driver thing from Aliexpress and it was actually good.

[Tcrumpen]

Just now, ibabyslapper said:

Honestly, for £20 headphones you won't hear the difference if you got a £10 MP3 player or a £200 one.

320kbps CD rips are usually good enough for most listeners anyway, so there's not much point wasting storage on 1000kbps FLACs.

Out of curiosity, how much would one need to spend on headphones to be able to hear the difference?

[iBabySlapper]

Just now, Tcrumpen said:

Out of curiosity, how much would one need to spend on headphones to be able to hear the difference?

Depends on the listener, but you'd probably want to get at least a Fostex T-series (like a T50RP).

[Tcrumpen]

2 minutes ago, ibabyslapper said:

Depends on the listener, but you'd probably want to get at least a Fostex T-series (like a T50RP).

Fair enough, that's more out of curiosity than anything else, i am an audiophille but i realise that the majority of listeners (inc myself) generally don't have the budget for that kind of setup and get the best bang for buck and comprimise

[mariushm]

With good headphones, I can tell the difference between FLAC and MP3 320 kbps - of course, provided the song is also something quality, not some commercial pop that's mastered super loud.

For example, get some FLAC copies of Future Sound of London or Mike Oldfield or Enya and then get some MP3 copies of same tracks and with good headphone you should easily notice differences.

 

These days, if you have your own music CDs, you'd be better off converting them to OPUS 192-256 kbps VBR. Opus is a much better codec compared to AAC or MP3, even with lower bitrate it should preserve more sound quality compared to these older standards.

If you can't use Opus on your music player, then go with AAC again at 192-256 kbps VBR... it should be better than MP3 at same bitrate and often same or higher quality than MP3 320 kbps

 

 

a lot of commercial music this days suffers from this:

 

 

 

[iBabySlapper]

Just now, Tcrumpen said:

Fair enough, that's more out of curiosity than anything else, i am an audiophille but i realise that the majority of listeners (inc myself) generally don't have the budget for that kind of setup and get the best bang for buck and comprimise

If you're low on budget, have a look at Aliexpress. There's multiple new companies popping up monthly, and some of them offer pretty good stuff for not that much. I bought a dual driver thing for £9, and it was pretty damn good.

 

That's the link.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-ZN1-Mini-Dual-Driver-Earphones-and-Headphones-Extra-Bass-Turbo-Wide-Sound-Field-In-ear/32630513320.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.AH7mmz

 

If you want to buy more locally, try RHA's stuff. I have a pair of MA750s and they're pretty good.

[Sfekke]

FiIO makes players that can playback FLAC files and other audiophile formats.
You'd need a pretty expensive pair of headphones to hear the difference.
Do you use it in public?
If so, I'd stay with cheaper options.
Someone jacking a pair of good lookin' headphones would be a pretty big problem.

 

Another option would be using PowerAMP on Android, do keep in mind that the phone you use needs a pretty beefy internal DAC.

 

If you liked the iPod a "FiIO X5 II" looks like it and supports FLAC.

(Their third gen player is pretty touch based, which I myself would avoid since you might as well get a phone then)

 

EDIT :

That FiIO X5 II is more then 100 $, I'd say scratch that.

Import a chinese phone, put nova launcher on it - hide most icons - install powerAMP + get a license (not that expensive)

That'll get the job done.
Just make sure that phone has a decent battery and DAC.
You'll find it, I did so myself a while back

Edited November 6, 2017 by Sfekke
Added a third opinion which suits OP better.

[Droidbot]

3 minutes ago, ibabyslapper said:

If you're low on budget, have a look at Aliexpress. There's multiple new companies popping up monthly, and some of them offer pretty good stuff for not that much. I bought a dual driver thing for £9, and it was pretty damn good.

 

That's the link.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-ZN1-Mini-Dual-Driver-Earphones-and-Headphones-Extra-Bass-Turbo-Wide-Sound-Field-In-ear/32630513320.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.AH7mmz

 

If you want to buy more locally, try RHA's stuff. I have a pair of MA750s and they're pretty good.

Speaking of this, Audiobudget.com is pretty good for cheap Chinese IEM reviews.

 

I have a stash of them. 

 

Would not recommend the ZN1, it's not amazing compared to the ZS5 and ZS6, but they're also a lot more money. 

[iBabySlapper]

2 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

Speaking of this, Audiobudget.com is pretty good for cheap Chinese IEM reviews.

 

I have a stash of them. 

 

Would not recommend the ZN1, it's not amazing compared to the ZS5 and ZS6, but they're also a lot more money. 

I wasn't too sure about chinese IEMs, so I bought the cheapest ones. They really are shockingly good.

[iBabySlapper]

7 minutes ago, Sfekke said:

FiIO makes players that can playback FLAC files and other audiophile formats.
You'd need a pretty expensive pair of headphones to hear the difference.
Do you use it in public?
If so, I'd stay with cheaper options.
Someone jacking a pair of good lookin' headphones would be a pretty big problem.

 

Another option would be using PowerAMP on Android, do keep in mind that the phone you use needs a pretty beefy internal DAC.

 

If you liked the iPod a "FiIO X5 II" looks like it and supports FLAC.

(Their third gen player is pretty touch based, which I myself would avoid since you might as well get a phone then)

 

EDIT :

That FiIO X5 II is more then 100 $, I'd say scratch that.

Import a chinese phone, put nova launcher on it - hide most icons - install powerAMP + get a license (not that expensive)

That'll get the job done.
Just make sure that phone has a decent battery and DAC.
You'll find it, I did so myself a while back

I agree, you can get a refurb LG V10 that has a pretty good Sabre DAC AMP combo for about $150.

[Tcrumpen]

18 minutes ago, Sfekke said:

FiIO makes players that can playback FLAC files and other audiophile formats.
You'd need a pretty expensive pair of headphones to hear the difference.
Do you use it in public?
If so, I'd stay with cheaper options.
Someone jacking a pair of good lookin' headphones would be a pretty big problem.

 

Another option would be using PowerAMP on Android, do keep in mind that the phone you use needs a pretty beefy internal DAC.

 

If you liked the iPod a "FiIO X5 II" looks like it and supports FLAC.

(Their third gen player is pretty touch based, which I myself would avoid since you might as well get a phone then)

 

EDIT :

That FiIO X5 II is more then 100 $, I'd say scratch that.

Import a chinese phone, put nova launcher on it - hide most icons - install powerAMP + get a license (not that expensive)

That'll get the job done.
Just make sure that phone has a decent battery and DAC.
You'll find it, I did so myself a while back

Or i get the Fiio M3

 

http://www.ea-audio.co.uk/fiio_m3.html

 

And yes i'll be using it in public

[jcarter1105]

As a personal audiophile. I am using an amp/dac along with a pair of higher end Sennheisers. And i can hear the difference. but on the equipment you are describing, I can't imagine you being able to distinguish between 320 kbps, and FLAC or ALAC or WAV.

[Sfekke]

8 minutes ago, jcarter1105 said:

As a personal audiophile. I am using an amp/dac along with a pair of higher end Sennheisers. And i can hear the difference. but on the equipment you are describing, I can't imagine you being able to distinguish between 320 kbps, and FLAC or ALAC or WAV.

That is what I think too.
Like I said :

37 minutes ago, Sfekke said:

Import a chinese phone, put nova launcher on it - hide most icons - install powerAMP + get a license (not that expensive)

That'll get the job done.
Just make sure that phone has a decent battery and DAC.
You'll find it, I did so myself a while back

That'll suffice from what I can tell.

[Tcrumpen]

Just now, L.Lawliet said:

Yes i can.

U dont need to buy an expensive headphone though even some decent $40 IEMs like marshall mode will do actually, yes i know they are not the best but hey u'll notice the difference in the end.

Just dont listen to those 128Kbps crap..but even with cheap $20 in ear i can tell the difference between 128Kbps crap and 320kbps one..

If i were u, u should save up till u can at least get something decent IEMs.

 

IEMs = In Ear Monitors?

 

And the problems isn't due to lack of funds it's more down to as i'll be using these when i'm commuting to and from work; getting them damaged/broken is my main concern. I don't want to be forking out say £60 every month or so, thats why i go for cheapy ones so that if they break; it's annoying yes but they are cheap so, and the MP3s i have were possible are ALL 320kbps

[Sfekke]

Talking about headphones, I like Philips SHS3300 .. a lot.
*That sounded like a @LinusTech advert..*

3 pairs of the SHS3200, recently got 2 pairs of the SHS3300 one spare just in case.

They are a bit heavy on the bass, but I actually quite like that.

And that is nothing an EQ cannot fix.

Pretty cheap too, got 2 pairs for € 28.
About € 14 each.

Just forgot to mention that I suppose

[Tcrumpen]

Just now, L.Lawliet said:

Yes..

 

Thats why there are broken cause they are cheap  

They often has a crappy build quality

It's more that they get sat on/stepped on or the wiring breaks when i'm runnning, unless i'm spending through the nose even a £100 set won't really last being stepped/sat on

[Tcrumpen]

Just now, L.Lawliet said:

Hmm so the problem isnt on the iems but its in you then  

u may want to look for a wireless one..

It's not me that steps on them, If you've ever seen a commuter train into London ... yeah that's what i deal with every day

[GamerDude]

9 minutes ago, Tcrumpen said:

It's not me that steps on them, If you've ever seen a commuter train into London ... yeah that's what i deal with every day

Then you should look at ChiFi IEM as an alternative to cheap mainstream offerings. I'm a ChiFi fanboy myself, I have the KZ ZS3, KZ ED12, 2x Senfer 4in1 (one gray, one black, I love the 4in1's as they have a very nice bass punch, not at all boomy as well sparkly treble), thinking of getting the Senfer 6in1 as well as the KZ ZS6 (which sorta looks like a ripoff of my CampFire Audio Jupiter). I have some higher end IEM's, and I couldn't quite relax myself as I'm always worried about scratching the shell, damaging them in some way, or even losing 'em......that's why I'm using ChiFi IEM's, great performers, they hit way above their price range.

[Tcrumpen]

5 minutes ago, GamerDude said:

ChiFi IEM

I tried googling them i found reviews but not a site for them?

[Jdnoss1234]

Gearbest and Aliexpress are usually the best places to find them

[GamerDude]

38 minutes ago, Tcrumpen said:

I tried googling them i found reviews but not a site for them?

Amazon has them, here're some, if you see a model that you like, Google reviews of it:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dmobile&field-keywords=kz+zs5

 

You can also find these ChiFi IEM's over at Aliexpress, bought my Senfer from there.....

[seduce_me]

Sometimes yeah. Honestly the 320kbps vs lossless argument can be shortened to this:

If space isn't a concern, get the lossless version. Hard drives are cheap. If space is, get 320kbps.