Is Hi-Res Audio A Scam?

In this video I delve into whether Hi-Res branded audio streams and devices are worth it or not, and more specifically if the labeling is a scam.
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#audio #music #audiophile

[@JoshChristiane]

Thanks so much for watching. Don't forget to subscribe and be my friend on X at x.com/Josh_Christiane

[@romantaylor]

Subscribed 🙂

[@JoshChristiane]

Thanks, Roman! :D!

[@annives]

You've saved me from falling for the scam ever again. Didn't realize Hi Res is just another marketing ploy. This really helped me understand. Super informative!

[@JoshChristiane]

Glad I could help! Thank you!

[@CERAC...]

That was a fascinating discussion to listen to. I had no idea how many brands, in this category, are taking advantage of the consumer by capitalizing on their ignorance in this field...Thank you for enlightening us!

[@JoshChristiane]

Thanks, I agree. Thank you for watching!

[@allenrachal]

Its not a scam in the sense of buying high end headphones and pairing it with a high end setup and then using that to play a loseless audio file for its higher quality as well. Its not all about what spectrum of frequencies we can hear. We just want something that sounds more clear and detailed to our ears than the norm. Is it overkill? Possibly. Does it sound better? Absolutely.

[@JoshChristiane]

Absolutely. Buying a good pair of high quality headphones, a good headphone amp, and playing back lossless files is definitely a great way to enjoy music. That aspect is definitely not a scam, I am more just talking about 44.1khz lossless vs 96khz and 192khz lossless here. You have to pay like $10 more for the higher sample rate on a lot of albums, and you gain no quality.

[@allenrachal]

@@JoshChristiane just watched the full video 😂 I have to agree there. When my dac switches between the different khz I can't tell the difference in quality.

[@JoshChristiane]

Yeah same here, nobody can tell the difference unless there are some really specific conditions. If you slowed the music down 300 or 400% then maybe differences would start to become apparent in the high-end, but at that point the audio quality would be so messed up it wouldn't matter anymore. Some converters sound better at 192khz which deceives a lot of people, but that's just the quality of the conversion itself not the frequency range difference.

[@soundahfekz321]

Yes it is. external Headphone amps/dacs are generally nonsense as well. Most mobile devices has sufficient audio processing unless the drivers specifically need amplification which most consumer grade units don't. Lossless is a subjective basket being that music production sometimes derives sounds from less than stellar sources. I.E Where was the instrument from a rompler sampled from? at what rate? Was a sample pulled from Vinyl, or an obscure, out of production album that someone uploaded to youtube? are the headphones neutral monitors, or capable of being adjusted to be so? The Audiophile experience is often placebo, namely because most audiophiles don't understand the music production process in the first place.

[@JoshChristiane]

@soundahfekz321 A lot of truth to all of that, for sure. Source will always matter the most.

[@Acrellux]

Came to debunk a new pair of headphones, came away with that AND valuable information regarding recording audio, which is very much appreciated for self taught music producers like me. Great video!!

[@JoshChristiane]

Thanks for the nice comment, :) I'm glad I could help people learn something about audio, definitely a passion of mine.

[@romantaylor]

Great explanation Josh! Definitely opened my eyes to audio quality (this is new to me). I'd love to hear your take on audio in cars. What's the best way to consume music in a vehicle? I assume most people stream from Spotify or some other app. Does Aux vs Bluetooth vs USB matter?

[@JoshChristiane]

My understanding is that Bluetooth reduces quality significantly because the stream is generally in SBC, so bluetooth (might) not be the best quality, but even then it's likely unnoticeable considering most car sound systems are very poor. I imagine you couldn't hear the difference between 128kbps and lossless on even a very nice car stereo. Spotify streams at 96kbps on "normal" settings. When you choose "High Quality" in the app it switches to 160kbps. In my testing 160kbps is quite hard to tell from lossless, you may lose some harmonics but the difference is so small it doesn't practically matter on most systems. In a nutshell Spotify is definitely good enough, especially if set to high quality in the app. I wouldn't have any complaints with it at least. Audiophiles tend to obsess over that extra .01% of quality that's impossible to notice unless you have golden ears and $2000 headphones. AUX is the best quality if you're connecting your phone directly to your car sound system, I personally just stick with that and have no issues.

[@romantaylor]

@@JoshChristiane thank you for a nice breakdown!

[@VintageStereoCollectorChannel]

Thank you Josh, very informative presentation! I rip all of my CDs to FLAC onto an SSD connected to my ROON Core/Mac Mini M1 and Holo Audio Cyan 2 DAC. So when I play the FLAC files via ROON it plays/upsamples them at 192kHz. Thoughts!

[@JoshChristiane]

Thanks for the compliment! :) Sounds like a great setup! I love Roon and its music management service, super high-quality. I can't speak for their hardware they sell since I don't use it. As a general rule upsampling is less degenerative than downsampling. If it's also scaling the bit depth then going upwards is less of an issue because dithering isn't required. It's more of an issue when you're downsampling or scaling down bit depths. With that said though you're not gaining any quality either, obviously, it's just unused data being added. This is a situation where your DAC is going to matter way more than arbitrary rates, and the Holo Cyan is a phenomenal converter. You have the perfect setup, no need to change anything as long as your music is easy to access. For my listening setup I use a Burl converter into Adam A77X's, I also have a stereo Cinema Marantz in my theater room that runs into some nice tower JBL's. I LOVE audio and good speakers, but the room you're listening in will matter even more than the speakers in a lot of cases. Treating a room properly is undeniably complex, but that's definitely the next step if you haven't already. I'm sure you're using really good speakers already since you clearly have a passion for music and audio.

[@BrianVallotton]

My understanding is that the quality of the recording itself trumps other factors. I like wide soundstage and good bass response among other things... to me it seems that IF it was not in the original recording it is not going to be in my system regardless of any other factors. I have hearing loss and tinnitus on top of it, but I am grateful for still being able to play my guitar and listen to wonderful music. I have to admit I am always searching for the next best thing... but right now I do have some decent equipment to play through and hear through. What I really need is a brain upgrade. ;-)

[@JoshChristiane]

Totally agreed. Recording quality is by far the most important factor, it's a real shame that modern mastering ruins so many wonderful mixes. But since we can't do much to fix the loudness wars of today the next best thing is to try to appreciate older music with better gear, haha :). Thanks for watching and your nice comment, happy listening!

[@BrianVallotton]

@@JoshChristiane My pleasure Josh. I am looking forward to more content from you and I really enjoyed your presentation and demeanor. God bless you and all you love.

[@Douglas_Blake_579]

Hello Brian ... Something to keep in mind. The "soundstage" and all the attributes of openness and detail that we all love are actually burned into the recordings at the studio by Panning, Phasing and Delay techniques. It does not come from our home equipment. That said... while our stereos cannot create or enhance "Soundstage"... poor speaker placement or room modes can and do tend to sabotage it.

[@BrianVallotton]

@@Douglas_Blake_579 Hi Douglas and thanks for that great insight! I think sometimes that I am guilty of trying to get something out of the music that was never in there in the first place! Even the best live performances are not always perfect but they sure are fun!

[@Douglas_Blake_579]

@@BrianVallotton There's no such thing as a perfect recording. What varies the most is their distance from perfection... some get close, most don't. That search for "something extra" is this hobby's Achiles heel. As a service tech I saw plenty of really bizarre stuff... everything from $5,000 power cords to interconnects so heavy they broke the connectors on the back of some truly expensive gear... all in the name of better sound.

[@fizixx]

Excellent info!

[@JoshChristiane]

Thanks, Fizixx. Much appreciated :)

[@fizixx]

@@JoshChristiane 👍