Is lossless audio really worth it?
This forces Spotify to use a higher quality for certain devices, especially if you’re using Spotify with good audio equipment. To do this in the Spotify app on Windows or Mac, you’ll need to open the “Preferences” menu. To do this on Mac, click Spotify Preferences from the menu bar. Spotify is a digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs.
In March, Spotify briefly A/B tested a new lossless audio version of its streaming service. Spotted by Reddit users and confirmed to The Verge by a source inside Spotify, the new tier, currently dubbed Spotify Hi-Fi, will cost an additional $5 to $10 a month on top of the service’s $10 monthly price for its premium ad-free streaming service. Though a Spotify spokesperson declined to confirm the existence of the new tier, the move would not be unexpected; streaming service competitor Tidal already offers high-fidelity streaming for $19.99 a month.
Up until now, Spotify has compressed audio down to a bitrate of 160 kbps on desktop or 96 kbps on mobile devices — Spotify calls this rate “normal.” Paid subscribers also have a “high quality” option of 320 kbps audio on desktop. High-fidelity or lossless audio has a significantly higher bitrate of 1,411 kbps.
When a song is compressed, an algorithm removes bits from the track that it believes the human ear can’t pick up, which reduces the overall file size. So objectively speaking, there’s less audio there for your ear to interpret. Lossless audio cuts less bits.
![Spotify Spotify](https://www.pioneerelectronics.ca/ephox/StaticFiles/PUSA/V5/Home/Speakers/76_display.jpg)
But in actuality, the difference is very difficult to discern. Couple that with a range in the quality of soundcards and speakers, and it’s almost impossible for the average listener to pick which is which. Can you tell the difference?
Below are three songs, each presented in three different versions: a lossless version at 1,411 kbps, a “premium” version at 320 kbps, and standard version at 160 kbps. Try and see if you can pick the lossless audio out of the three.
This quiz works best on Chrome browsers.
Spotify Hi Rez
Hey all!
I've been on a kick lately looking for some high quality downloads to test some stuff...I've been looking for 24 bit/96 kHz and some higher rate stuff as well.
I thought it might be nice to have a thread with various links people know of where we can download hi-res music for free. I am not going to post direct DL links, only provide the sites for you to review yourself.
Not all of these are great sources for free music, some are just sampler snippets, but I thought I'd include them because they are good sources to purchase from if interested.
Some require registration, which you'll see at the page I've linked.
I'll start with the few I know of:
96/24 album from HDTracks: https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=login&redirectto=samplealbumdownload&ialbum_id=6446
HDTracks album in collaboration with MediaMonkey: https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=login&redirectto=samplealbumdownload&ialbum_id=8871
2L 192 kHz/24 bit - large number of files to compare: http://www.2l.no/hires/index.html
Lessloss high resolution tracks: http://www.lessloss.com/high-resolution-audiophile-recordings-c-68.html
iTrax sample files in different formats: http://www.itrax.com/Pages/HelpFAQs.php#1
Linn records sample files:http://www.linnrecords.com/linn-downloads-testfiles.aspx
Design w Sound - Jazz demo cd:http://www.designwsound.com/dwsblog/?page_id=318
Internet Archive - A different kind of offering, many concerts: http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=(format24Bit FLAC) OR (flac24) OR (24-bit) OR 24bit) AND collection:etree&sort=-avg_rating;-num_reviews
I think that's all I know, please add to the list if you have additional legal sources!
Edit: You should check out B&W Society of Sound's trial membership...I tried it for a few months and really enjoyed some of the music: http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=3550
[ADMIN] Edited to add relevant topic info:
When downloading high-res music, beware that some tracks are simply upsampled low-res tracks, and that software like iTunes won't play many of the files formats high-res music is offered in. We offer some suggestions for free programs to analyze the quality of your digital music in our article about software audiophiles should download.
If you're looking for a program to playback your high-res music, you might find our comparison of playback software article useful, which includes programs like Foobar 2000 and JRiver Media Center.
I've been on a kick lately looking for some high quality downloads to test some stuff...I've been looking for 24 bit/96 kHz and some higher rate stuff as well.
I thought it might be nice to have a thread with various links people know of where we can download hi-res music for free. I am not going to post direct DL links, only provide the sites for you to review yourself.
Not all of these are great sources for free music, some are just sampler snippets, but I thought I'd include them because they are good sources to purchase from if interested.
Some require registration, which you'll see at the page I've linked.
I'll start with the few I know of:
96/24 album from HDTracks: https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=login&redirectto=samplealbumdownload&ialbum_id=6446
HDTracks album in collaboration with MediaMonkey: https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=login&redirectto=samplealbumdownload&ialbum_id=8871
2L 192 kHz/24 bit - large number of files to compare: http://www.2l.no/hires/index.html
Lessloss high resolution tracks: http://www.lessloss.com/high-resolution-audiophile-recordings-c-68.html
iTrax sample files in different formats: http://www.itrax.com/Pages/HelpFAQs.php#1
Linn records sample files:http://www.linnrecords.com/linn-downloads-testfiles.aspx
Design w Sound - Jazz demo cd:http://www.designwsound.com/dwsblog/?page_id=318
Internet Archive - A different kind of offering, many concerts: http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=(format24Bit FLAC) OR (flac24) OR (24-bit) OR 24bit) AND collection:etree&sort=-avg_rating;-num_reviews
I think that's all I know, please add to the list if you have additional legal sources!
Edit: You should check out B&W Society of Sound's trial membership...I tried it for a few months and really enjoyed some of the music: http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=3550
[ADMIN] Edited to add relevant topic info:
When downloading high-res music, beware that some tracks are simply upsampled low-res tracks, and that software like iTunes won't play many of the files formats high-res music is offered in. We offer some suggestions for free programs to analyze the quality of your digital music in our article about software audiophiles should download.
If you're looking for a program to playback your high-res music, you might find our comparison of playback software article useful, which includes programs like Foobar 2000 and JRiver Media Center.