Any former audio snobs here?
After a point I stopped downloading the highest bitrate FLACs to notice minute differences and even spotify free audio is good enough for me now.

For a time, when I wanted to listen to music I would fly bands in and have them stay at the cottages and outbuildings on my estate, waiting for me to tell them to play (there was a small stage set up in the the East Garden and the balcony from my dressing-room opens onto it so I didn't have to leave the third floor).
it was great, and I highly reccomend it - but word of caution: know the personalities of who you're hiring.
Lsst May, I had several acts here at the same time and Kid Rock and Rufus Wainwright got into a rather serious fight, chasing each other around outside, brandishing garden implements, bruising some daffodils quite badly, and rustling the ornamental shrubbery in a wholly careless manner.
In the end, Daryl Hall and Tom Morello restrained Mr. Rock, while Laufey held Rufus still against some statuary.
They made up, begrudgingly at first, but eventually laughed it off and spent the rest of the week binge-drinking together and even padding across the lake and back one sunny afternoon.
Anyway, that's seemed like the way to do it, really hear every note clearly, and not miss a thing, you know. But ultimately it took too much energy, so I just got an iPhone and some of those cordless speakers you can put anywhere. Quite brilliant, those.

For a time, when I wanted to listen to music I would fly bands in and have them stay at the cottages and outbuildings on my estate, waiting for me to tell them to play (there was a small stage set up in the the East Garden and the balcony from my dressing-room opens onto it so I didn't have to leave the third floor).
it was great, and I highly recommend it - but word of caution: know the personalities of who you're hiring.
Lsst May, I had several acts here at the same time and Kid Rock and Rufus Wainwright got into a rather serious fight, chasing each other around outside, brandishing garden implements, bruising some daffodils quite badly, and rustling the ornamental shrubbery in a wholly careless manner.
In the end, Daryl Hall and Tom Morello restrained Mr. Rock, while Laufey held Rufus still against some statuary.
They made up, begrudgingly at first, but eventually laughed it off and spent the rest of the week binge-drinking together and even padding across the lake and back one sunny afternoon.
Anyway, that's seemed like the way to do it, really hear every note clearly, and not miss a thing, you know. But ultimately it took too much energy, so I just got an iPhone and some of those cordless speakers you can put anywhere. Quite brilliant, those.

People that believe vinyl sounds better are insane

For a time, when I wanted to listen to music I would fly bands in and have them stay at the cottages and outbuildings on my estate, waiting for me to tell them to play (there was a small stage set up in the the East Garden and the balcony from my dressing-room opens onto it so I didn't have to leave the third floor).
it was great, and I highly recommend it - but a word of caution: know the personalities of who you're hiring.
Lsst May, I had several acts here at the same time and Kid Rock and Rufus Wainwright got into a rather serious fight, chasing each other around outside, brandishing garden implements, bruising some daffodils quite badly, and rustling the ornamental shrubbery in a wholly careless manner.
In the end, Daryl Hall and Tom Morello restrained Mr. Rock, while Laufey held Rufus still against some statuary.
They made up, begrudgingly at first, but eventually laughed it off and spent the rest of the week binge-drinking together and even padding across the lake and back one sunny afternoon.
Anyway, that seemed like the way to do it, really hear every note clearly, and not miss a thing, you know. But ultimately it took too much energy, so I just got an iPhone and some of those cordless speakers you can put anywhere. Quite brilliant, those.

>>126877393
off topic, you schizo faggot

>>126877240 (OP)
>>126877388
I also don't care about FLAC anymore. but I will sometimes download vinyl rips, as for some older records, the vinyl has vastly different mastering than the digital remaster (often better for a variety of reasons, such as the master tapes degrading over time or misguided attempts to master for shitty radio speakers)

it's crazy that so many people care about bitrate and so few care about alternative masters, shit that can actually make an album sound completely different sometimes

>>126877405
ableist homophobe chud

>>126877442
>it's crazy that so many people care about bitrate and so few care about alternative masters
all these factors make me confused. Theres the bitrate, theres the sound range, theres the 1 billion remasters... man I just wanna litsen to some music

>>126877388
It sounds different, not necessarily better.
>>126877240 (OP)
>spotify free audio is good enough for me now
It objectively sounds like shit.

I personally download FLAC, WAV, AIFF ect because I DJ and it sounds significantly better on a giant sound system.

>>126877464
this
who's got time for all of this shit? just get a decent iem and buy spotify/apple/whatever premium. Or just slsk @ 320kbps if you're a poorfag. Anything more than that is audiofaggotry

>>126877388
Vinyl sounds objectively worse but sometimes the best mastered version is only released on vinyl.

i am a current audio snob. but sometimes i listen to music on youtube. most of the time i do the highest quality apple music because streaming is more convenient.

>>126877492
correct.

>>126877240 (OP)
yeah no thanks

I download FLACs because I love having a dedicated software that I can customize, with Spotify and any streaming service you're bound to their UI and they all suck.

>>126877656
>UI
grow up

256kbps AAC is completely transparent, superior to V0 MP3 and takes up less space.
Anyone who says otherwise is an audiophool who fell for marketing.

>>126877729
>256kbps AAC

>>126877240 (OP)
>for each year that an MP3 sits on your harddrive, it will lose 12kbs
???
how does that work
I dont believe it

>>126877710
consume whatever shitty UI they throw at you, little bitch.

>>126877803
rotational velocidensity, look it up

>>126877758
audiophool detected

>>126877815
>UI
>consoom
grow
up

>>126877803
It's true, mp3's degrade just like video files.
>t. have been hoarding terabytes of music since 3d grade.
>>126877841
I gave my reasons why I do it>>126877474

>>126877866
https://abx.digitalfeed.net/
post score
you cannot tell the difference

>>126877905
did you even read what I wrote?

>>126877926
>it sounds significantly better on a giant sound system.
yes i did
now do the test and post result
watch as you cannot tell the difference and you fall for placebo

>>126877941
I'm not in a fucking club you idiot, how you I test it?

>>126877852
I can tell you're a millenial bitch who got married with a 3/10 and now pay for all streamings services losing all your care for music and taste for it in the process. If that means "growing up" I rather kill myself.

>>126877982
how would*

>>126877982
>how you i test it
good morning saar
you don’t need to be in a club.
you have your own personal equipment don’t you?
just set it up and listen.
you won’t be able to tell the difference.

>>126877388
it does sound better because it very often has better mastering for some time periods and genres

>>126878008
It's not connected to my laptop rn.
If I play 256kbps in a club I would get thrown out. You have no idea what you are talking about.

>>126877988
1. I'm 21, in college and an incel
2. I only pay for spotify and pirate literally everything else
3. Grow up

>>126878071
Except I do because literal easily googleable/testable/reproducible audio science
hundreds of double blind tests have been done
people cannot tell the difference

>>126878183
whatveer bro, you do you

>>126878286
flat earther brain kek

>>126878329
>flat earther
?? The fuck you on about

>>126878345
>insurmountable evidence of thing
>NOOOO THING IS FAKE
exactly the same as flat earthers
endless evidence that people cannot tell the difference, but you can because you’re special and you’re so much smarter than everyone.
lmao kek

>>126878374
meds

>>126878385
yes, you should take them for your delusions.

>>126878374
I don't wanna argue man, let's just agree to disagree.

you won ok, I don't care...

>>126877240 (OP)
I download FLACs because FLAC is FOSS and MP3 is a disgusting proprietary file format

16 vs 24 bit depth is the only thing I feel I can tell a difference between. Frequency range? I can't. 24bit files feel way less fatiguing to me over hour listening sessions. Also I feel the bass is richer. That's all.

>>126877240 (OP)
almost all music past the 70s is mixed like shit that i stopped caring

anyone who uses spotify doesnt have the right to have an opinion

>>126881067
Correct.

>>126877240 (OP)
Hearing the difference now isn't the reason to encode to FLAC. FLAC uses lossless compression, while MP3 is 'lossy'. What this means is that for each year the MP3 sits on your hard drive, it will lose roughly 12kbps, assuming you have SATA - it's about 15kbps on IDE, but only 7kbps on SCSI, due to rotational velocidensity. You don't want to know how much worse it is on CD-ROM or other optical media.
I started collecting MP3s in about 2001, and if I try to play any of the tracks I downloaded back then, even the stuff I grabbed at 320kbps, they just sound like crap. The bass is terrible, the midrange…well don’t get me started. Some of those albums have degraded down to 32 or even 16kbps. FLAC rips from the same period still sound great, even if they weren’t stored correctly, in a cool, dry place. Seriously, stick to FLAC, you may not be able to hear the difference now, but in a year or two, you’ll be glad you did.

>>126881623
t. iTunes employee

>>126878183
>>126877905

i beat the double blind by listening to the cymbals, i was 36 at the time and technically have light hearing damage on one of my ears, if i did it at 18 it would be a joke to tell the difference with good gear. if you have shit gear and hearing damage its literally impossible i bet

>>126877388
It does sound objectively worse, but in some instances, the superior master is only available on vinyl, a famous example is Pet sounds where the 1966 Mono LP is the best version.

>>126884729
yep, now, lets say I want to have a CD collection. should I take the 1966 Mono LP rip .flac files and write it on a CD? asking cause im a n00b with this, and I do want to have a music collection in the future

>>126884729
ive read stories on discogs about super hot colored vinyl basically launching itself off the turn table if they are being too lax with mastering

People listen to lossy audio all day, on their DAB radios, on their podcasts, on spotify, on TV watching youtube, netflix or blu-rays or cable, and nobody notices, and nobody cares, forever and ever, amen