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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIGH RESOLUTION

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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIGH RESOLUTION

High-Res Audio

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?

Hi-Res Audio

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 need to 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 should 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 on the way to 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 record companies define it as follows: “An audio file in a lossless format that contains a soundtrack across the entire frequency range in which it was mastered with higher quality equipment than CD ”.

In simple terms, this term generally refers to recordings with a higher sample rate and / or bit depth than CDs (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 accurate the signal measurement will be at the sampling 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 88.2 and 176.4 kHz.

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. Fortunately, memory is much cheaper today than it was a few years ago, and devices with large disks are not hard to find. However, the large file size makes it difficult to transfer these files over Wi-Fi and mobile networks.

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, in theory, 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.

Main audio file formats, their advantages and disadvantages:

-MP3 (not a high resolution audio format): popular compression and lossy format with small file size and low quality. It is suitable for storage on smartphones and iPods, but does not apply to high-resolution formats.

-AAC (not a high resolution audio format): alternative to MP3, also compressed and lossy, but sounds better. Used by iTunes and Apple Music (256 kbps), as well as YouTube streams.

-WAV (Hi-Res): standard digital format in which all CDs are recorded. Excellent quality but large file size due to lack of compression. Weak support for metadata (versions, song titles and artists).

-AIFF (Hi-Res): Apple’s alternative to WAV with more complete metadata. Not very popular format without compression and loss with large files.

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What is High Resolution Audio (HRA)?

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

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.

High Resolution Audio

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.

HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO: HOW TO LISTEN TO MUSIC WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY

Many of our clients, simple music fans or professionals in the sector, constantly seek perfection. Some are willing to spend even thousands of euros to assemble a high-quality hi-fi system. Many come to us for advice, and we are happy to accommodate them. First, however, it is good to gain some (really few) insights into the world of music and the media through which we generally hear it.

Sony High-Resolution Audio

We will start from the beginning.

Digital music is distributed in many formats. Some are compressed, others are not compressed. However, all files are nothing more than a sequence of bits whose value can be 1 or 0. These bits are grouped into bytes, that is, words of 8 bits each. A series of bytes forms a file or an audio track that we can listen to.

High resolution audio: recording and playback

Once recorded, to be played by us, this digital music file is sent to an analog-to-digital converter (DAC), converted to an analog signal, and finally sent to an output circuit, either a preamplifier or analog output

The quality of the file to be reproduced is given by two factors: resolution and sampling frequency.
Resolution is expressed in bits, while the sampling value is expressed in kilohertz (kHz).

Word length (bit)
= resolution Dynamic range Reproducible tones
12 bit 72 dB 4,096
16 bit (CD) 96 dB 65,536
24-bit (DVD) 144 dB 16,777,216
32 bit 192 dB 4,294,967,296

In simple terms, all this means that the denser the digital information, the closer the “digital” version of the signal gets closer to the original analog signal.

“The highest possible quality is the closest to the original as it was produced.”

For example, if you have digital music on CD in 16 bit / 44.1 kHz, this corresponds to a dynamic range of 96 dB with 65,536 gradations. However, music is rarely written to CD under these conditions, because the recording was originally made in only 16 bits (other recording defects may further reduce the signal).

Today, however, recordings are made at 24-bit / 192 kHz (in part also at 32-bit / 384 kHz), which means that the length of the information is significantly longer (and therefore has a greater dynamic range) and a higher sampling rate thus increasing the bandwidth.

The higher the resolution of the audio file, the higher the sample rate and the better the final audio signal.

Please note that the increase in “information content” resulting from higher resolution / sampling is exponential: consequently, the qualitative difference between a 16-bit audio file and 24-bit recordings could be so subtle that only be perceived by a trained ear and obviously well equipped.

HIGH DEFINITION: COMPRESSED AUDIO FORMATS AND UNCOMPRESSED AUDIO FORMATS

Audio files can be compressed (with or without loss of quality) and uncompressed (without loss of quality).

Some examples:

Uncompressed audio formats

WAV – Waveform Audio File Format (.wav)
AIFF – Audio Interchange File Form (.aiff, .aif or .aifc)

Compressed audio formats (no quality loss)

ALAC: Apple Lossless Audio Codec (.mp4 or .m4a)
FLAC: Lossless Audio Codec (.flac)

Compressed audio formats (with loss of quality)

MP3: MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (.mp3)
AAC: Advanced Audio Coding (.aac, .mp4, or .m4a)

To make a “visual” example and clarify the concept, let’s take a photograph: on the left, the original version, in good resolution; On the right, the same photo, saved in compressed format, which reduces its quality:

high rsolution audio

music in high definition, example of maximum quality

In summary: CDs (compact discs) offered good quality (not maximum) and a certain “portability”, but their capacity was limited.
Mp3 files certainly helped share music over the network, at the price of a substantial loss in terms of playback quality.

HIGH DEFINITION SOUND: A SMALL GLOSSARY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND

Bit rate

The bit rate is the amount of data per second required for a transfer from A to B. The bit rate is always expressed in kilobits (Kbps) or megabits (Mbps) per second. For example, an mp3 plays an audio track from 96 to 320 kbps; a FLAC file can exceed 5000 kbps.

Bit depth (resolution)

This value describes the number of bits recorded in a single audio sample. Therefore, it is equivalent to termination. An example: the quality of a CD (compact disc) supports up to 16 bits; An audio DVD supports up to 24 bits.

What is high-resolution audio?

High Red Audio

With more accurate analog sound sampling, this technology promises better digital sound than traditional audio CDs.
Marketing requires manufacturers not to miss the opportunity to put beautiful acronyms on their devices to indicate the presence of new “revolutionary” technologies. Therefore, in recent months, some headphones and speakers have blossomed, especially the labels “HD audio” or “high-resolution audio”. What does “high resolution audio” (or high definition) mean? In particular, it is a digital sound of at least 24 bits / 96 kHz, so it offers better quality than the 16 bits / 44.1 kHz of the audio CD. If we synthesize too much, we could say that it is a sampling gap similar to that which can separate Blu-ray from DVD.

How is it possible ? To fully understand it, it is important to go back to the beginnings of digital sound. Originally, the sound is analog data, such as the variation in air pressure or an electrical signal over time. To digitize the sound, samples are regularly taken and encoded in a series of bits. When creating the audio CD, manufacturers agreed on 16-bit encoding and sampling at 44.1 kHz, or 44,100 times per second. Therefore, one minute of mono sound requires about 5.3 MB of data and 10.6 MB of stereo per minute. When the first audio CDs were released in 1984/85, vinyl fans cried as a betrayal, accusing the digital sound of not reproducing the warmth of analog sound from the former 33rpm.

Is there really a difference?

We had the opportunity to test the entire high-resolution audio system multiple times: 192 Hz FLAC audio files, on a NWZ-A compatible high-resolution player and MDR-1A headphones, also Hi-Res. The reproduction is of course very good by ear and it seems that the songs on our test album (Play MemoriesDaft Punk) have been given precision. Even when the volume is pushed to the limit of the maximum threshold, the reproduction is still excellent and well detailed. But we also listened to the same MP3 album, in a (relatively) high 320 kbit / s sample, even with Sony’s portable music player and high-resolution headphones. And it is clear that the difference was frankly not clear. Our perception of representation was just as good. We continue the experience by listening to the MP3 version of the Daft Punk album, this time with less high-quality headphones than the Sony MDR-1A. And there the register was even worse: muted, less accurate in the treble and less powerful in the bass. Result: By ear sampling of the file had less influence on the reproduction because the quality of the products used to reproduce the sound, ie the player and the headphones. So a question about everything from a material order. For the right choice, go to our helmet department and our two specific comparisons:

– Comparison of headphones for less than 100 euros
– Comparison of headphones for more than 100 euros

What is high-definition audio?

Most digital audio systems encode analog sound, ie perceived sound, in digital form for archiving and transmission using a system called pulse code modulation. The quality of the digital recording is determined by two factors: Bit depth and sampling rate: The bit depth determines the number of “passes” available to describe the sound: the more bits used, the greater the dynamic range (the difference between the loudest and the lowest Sound) to be recorded.

At the same time, the higher the sampling rate (ie how often a “snapshot” of the sound is recorded per second), the more precisely music can be analyzed and converted into digital data. The sampling rate refers to the frequency range of the audio from the lowest to the highest pitch that can be stored.

The higher the bit depth and the higher the sampling rate, the more information can be saved.

The CD uses 16-bit / 44.1 kHz encoding, which was best available at the time the CD was introduced in the early 1980s. However, progress has been made since then, and it is now possible to record and distribute music at bit depth and bit rates at higher sample rates. These formats have been used for recordings and recordings for several years, but are now also available to all households.

High Resolution Audio (HRA) is any format that goes beyond the standard 16-bit / 44.1 kHz CD, and HRA recordings generally use 24-bit encoding, which enables a very dynamic range. wider than CD and sampling rates up to 192 kHz, which is the maximum level for commercial HRA recordings. All of this aims to achieve a sound that is as similar as possible to that of the recording studio.

High resolution audio formats

There is a wide range of HRA formats, so it is important that the HRA team supports them as fully as possible. Technics products are compatible with all common HRA formats (some are still in the introductory phase) and will ensure simple, practical and sustainable HRA reproduction in the future as the market develops.

CD quality music is also available in various formats. Below is a list of the most common formats used for CD quality music as well as music with loss of quality and for HRA playback.

FLAC: Studio Master sound quality (24 bit) and CD quality (16 bit)

Most music files available online (HRA and CD quality) are in FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) format (the format is free, no music). 24-bit FLAC files are generally available in 96 kHz and 192 kHz, although some albums are in 24-bit / 44.1 kHz or 24-bit / 48 kHz format. These 24 bit / 192 kHz are usually the best files available and identical to the Studio Master version.
Unlike MP3, which reduces size at the expense of content, the FLAC format is lossless and works like a zip file on your computer. It is unpacked “on the fly” during playback and offers exactly the same data as in the file before compression.
Apple has its own format that means no loss: Apple Lossless (ALAC) works like FLAC, but is compatible with iTunes. Some companies that provide Studio Master downloads offer these in FLAC and ALAC formats.
An additional advantage of the FLAC and ALAC formats is that they store information about music in the form of metadata, including general parameters such as artist, album title, title / track number, music genre, composer, catalog number, etc.
This information is contained in Studio Master or HRA files that can be purchased online or added when creating a personal CD: the burning software uses a search in the Internet database to identify the hard drive to be archived and provides all the information. You can also edit this data or enter it manually.

WAV / AIFF: uncompressed file

You can also copy CDs as files without compression, e.g. B. as a direct copy of data to the hard drive. Windows computers save them as WAV files (Waveform Audio File Format), Macs as AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format), but the two formats are interchangeable and, of course, Technics systems are both reproduced.

High resolution audio: how to listen to music with the highest quality

Many of our clients, simple music fans or professionals in the sector, constantly seek perfection. Some are willing to spend thousands of euros to put together a high-quality hi-fi system. Many come to us for advice, and we are pleased to accommodate them. First, however, it is good to gain some (really few) insights into the world of music and the media through which we generally hear it.

Let’s start from the beginning.

High resolution audio: recording and playback

Once recorded, to be played by us, this digital music file is sent to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), converted to an analog signal, and finally sent to an output circuit, either a preamplifier or analog output

The quality of the file to be reproduced is given by two factors: resolution and sampling frequency.
Resolution is expressed in bits, while the sampling value is expressed in kilohertz (kHz).

Word length (bit)
= Resolution Dynamic range Playable tones
12 bit 72 dB 4,096
16 bit (CD) 96 dB 65,536
24-bit (DVD) 144 dB 16,777,216
32 bit 192 dB 4,294,967,296

In short, this all means that the denser the digital information, the closer the “digital” version of the signal gets closer to the original analog signal.

“The highest possible quality is the closest to the original, as produced.”

Today, however, recordings are made at 24-bit / 192 kHz (in part also at 32-bit / 384 kHz), which means that the length of the information is significantly longer (and therefore has a greater dynamic range), and the higher sampling frequency thus increasing the bandwidth.

The higher the resolution of the audio file, the higher the sample rate and the better the final audio signal.

Please note that the increase in “information content” resulting from the higher resolution / sampling is exponential: accordingly, the qualitative difference between a 16-bit audio file and 24-bit recordings could be so subtle as to be perceived only by a trained ear and obviously well equipped.

HIGH DEFINITION: COMPRESSED AUDIO FORMATS AND UNCOMPRESSED AUDIO FORMATS
Audio files can be compressed (with or without loss of quality) and uncompressed (without loss of quality).

Some examples:

Uncompressed audio formats

WAV – Waveform Audio File Format (.wav)
AIFF – Audio Interchange File Form (.aiff, .aif or .aifc)

Compressed audio formats (no quality loss)

ALAC: Apple Lossless Audio Codec (.mp4 or .m4a)
FLAC: Free Lossless Audio Codec (.flac)

Compressed audio formats (with loss of quality)

MP3: MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (.mp3)
AAC: Advanced Audio Coding (.aac, .mp4, or .m4a)

music in high definition, example of maximum quality

In summary: CDs (compact discs) offered good quality (not maximum) and a certain “portability”, but their capacity was limited.
Mp3 files certainly helped share music online, at the price of a substantial loss in terms of playback quality.

HIGH DEFINITION SOUND: A SMALL GLOSSARY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND
Bit rate

Bit rate is the amount of data per second required for a transfer from A to B. Bit rate is always expressed in kilobits (Kbps) or megabits (Mbps) per second. For example, an mp3 plays an audio track from 96 to 320 kbps; a FLAC file can exceed 5000 kbps.