Most digital audio systems encode analog (the sound we hear) into digital for storage and transmission using a system called Pulse Code Modulation. Two factors determine the quality of a digital recording: the bit depth and the sample rate. Bit depth determines the number of “steps” available to describe the sound: the more bits used, the wider the dynamic range, ie the difference between the loudest and softest sound, that can be recorded.
The higher the sample rate, in other words the number of snapshots of sound per second, the more accurately the music can be analyzed and converted into digital data. The sample rate affects the range of audio frequency, from lowest to highest pitch, that can be stored.
Therefore, the higher the bit depth and sample rate, the more information can be stored.
The CD uses 16-bit / 44.1 kHz encoding, which was the best quality available when the CD was released in the early 1980s. But technology is advancing fast, and we can now record and distribute music at higher bit depths and higher sampling frequencies. These formats have been used in studios and mastering for many years. From now on they are also available for us to enjoy at home.
High Resolution Audio (HRA) is any format above the 16-bit / 44.1 kHz CD standard and HRA recordings are generally 24-bit encoded, allowing for a much wider dynamic range than CD. Also, the recordings have sample rates up to 192 kHz. Which is currently the “state of the art” for HRA commercial recordings. In this way you can experience music at home just like in the sound studio.
Hi-Res Audio Formats
There are a variety of HRA formats, so it is important that the HRA equipment supports the widest range possible. Technics products are compatible with all popular HRA formats. Various formats, even those that have not yet been widely accepted. This ensures that you can easily play HRA. Now and in the future.
Music on CD is also available in various formats and qualities. Here is an overview of the most common formats for HRA, CD, download, and streaming.
Studio Master sound quality (24-bit) and CD quality (16-bit)
Most of the music files (both HRA and CD quality) available online are in FLAC – the free lossless audio codec (the format is free, not the music!)
24-bit FLAC files are usually available in 96 kHz and 192 kHz versions, although there are some albums in 24-bit / 44.1 kHz or 24-bit / 48 kHz. The 24-bit / 192 kHz versions are the highest quality files commonly available and are identical to the studio master.
Unlike MP3, which omits certain information to reduce file size, FLAC is lossless and works like a computer zip file. It decompresses “on the fly” when you play the music and delivers exactly the same data that was present before the file was compressed.
Apple has its own “lossless”: Apple Lossless (ALAC) works like FLAC, but is compatible with iTunes. Some companies that offer Studio Master downloads offer them in both FLAC and ALAC.
Another advantage of FLAC and ALAC is that they contain information about the music in the form of metadata, such as artist, album title, track title / number, music genre, composer, catalog number, etc.
This information is encoded in every Studio Master or other HRA files you buy online, or it can be added to CDs you rip – ripping software will use an internet database search engine to identify the music you are storing and relate it to all the information. fill in. You can also edit this information or enter it manually.
WAV / AIFF: uncompressed storage
You can also copy CDs as completely uncompressed files, that is, a direct copy of the data on the disc. Windows computers save them as WAV files (Waveform Audio File Format) and Macs as AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format). Technics systems play both file formats.
One downside of saving WAV files is that they don’t save track information by default. That is one of the reasons why using FLAC is so much more convenient. The other reason is that FLAC files are much smaller than WAV files.
We repeat here the information that we have given in other posts:
After various analyzes and tests carried out by universities and different companies, it has been determined that the human ear (more than 90% or 95% of people) cannot distinguish between an mp3 with 320b and a WAV file.
