Everything you need to know about high resolution
High Definition Audio is the choice of the most dedicated digital music fans. What is it, where to get it, and what does it take to hear it?
If you’re a bit interested in digital music (whether it’s listening to CDs or streaming from Spotify on your smartphone), you’ve probably come across the term “high-definition audio” or “high-resolution audio.”
In recent years, the popularity of Hi-Res Audio is slowly but surely gaining momentum, fueled by the emergence of new components, streaming services, and even smartphones that support this standard. Until recently, it was a niche segment for a narrow circle of insiders, but today everyone wants to join it.
If you want to get the best possible music listening experience, or at least better sound quality, you should familiarize yourself with the concept of Hi-Res Audio.
This perspective is a bit overwhelming as it involves many factors. What is Hi-Res Audio? What do all these formats and numbers mean? Where can I get high-quality files and on what devices can I play them? Finally, where do you start?
Our guide to the world of Hi-Res Audio will help you understand the matter in depth. After reading this material to the end, you will be armed with all the necessary knowledge and take the first step into the magical world of the best sound.
WHAT IS HI-RES-AUDIO?
Unlike HD video, there is still no universal standard for high definition audio. Digital Entertainment Group, Consumer Electronics Association and The Recording Academy, as well as the largest recording companies define it as follows: “An audio file in a lossless format that carries a soundtrack across the entire frequency range in which it was mastered using higher quality equipment than CD ”.
In simple terms, this term generally refers to recordings with a higher sample rate and / or bit depth than a CD (i.e. 16-bit / 44.1 kHz).
The sample rate indicates how many times per second the signal is sampled during its conversion from analog to digital. The higher the bit depth, the more accurately the signal is measured at the sample point, so the transition from 16-bit to 24-bit can significantly improve quality.
High-resolution audio formats typically have a sample rate of 96 or 192 kHz at 24 bits. Also, there are files with 44.1, 88.2 and 176.4 kHz.
Small loss
However, Hi-Res Audio has one major drawback: the size of the files. They are typically tens of megabytes in size, and a few songs can easily take up all of your device’s memory. Because of this, they are difficult to transfer over mobile networks and Wi-Fi.
And that’s not all: each of the Hi-Res Audio file formats has certain compatibility limitations. Examples include FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec); both theoretically provide lossless transmission of musical information. In addition, there are uncompressed formats: WAV and AIFF, DSD (the format used in Super Audio CD) and the recently developed MQA (Master Quality Authenticated).
The relative advantages of each format can be discussed, but the first thing to consider is their compatibility with audio components and software solutions.
WHAT IS GOOD FOR HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO FORMATS?
The main advantage of high definition formats over tablets is the higher sound quality. Downloadable sites like Amazon and iTunes and streaming services like Spotify offer relatively low bitrate compression formats, such as 256kbps AAC from Apple Music and Spotify’s 320kbps Ogg Vorbis.
During the compression encoding process, some information is lost; in other words, the signal resolution is reduced for convenience and file size reduction. This affects the sound quality: in these formats, your favorite songs will not be fully revealed.
Master class
While you can put up with this when listening to Spotify playlists on the bus ride to work, true music fans won’t have enough. High definition audio comes to your aid.
To understand why it should sound better than MP3, let’s compare its bit rates. The highest possible bit rate for an MP3 is 320 kbps, while a 24-bit / 192 kHz file is 9216 kbps for streaming and 1411 kbps for a CD.
Therefore, 24/96 or 24/192 high-resolution audio files should more accurately recreate the sound that musicians and engineers worked on.
