(Above: HD Tracks)
DO MORE BITS MATTER?
The question of whether better-than-CD word depths and sampling rates deliver an audible improvement has spawned debate for more than a decade.
Let's start with the word depth argument. It would seem that some increase in dynamic range beyond 96 dB might be of benefit. The human ear can hear sound-pressure levels as low as 1 dB. A properly calibrated home theater system will deliver SPL of 105 dB from each channel when measured in your favorite listening chair. Add, say, +6 dB of headroom to avoid distortion, and you need at least 19 bits Here's the rub, though: A typical good home theater might have an ambient noise level of 40 to 45 dB SPL. Your ability to hear sounds below that is negligible, so to get up to 105 dB SPL plus some headroom, a dynamic range of 80 dB would be generous. Of course, the ambient noise level for mobile listening could be even higher, although negated somewhat by passive and active noise-reduction technologies.
Plus, there's lots of ambient and electrical noise in any recording made with a microphone; a good recording studio might get down to an ambient noise level of 30 dB SPL. As an engineer I worked with at Dolby once commented, "You only need 144 dB of dynamic range if you record in an anechoic chamber with cryogenically frozen microphones."
On the other hand, audiophiles would argue that any increase in resolution gets you that much closer to real analog sound.
The technical case for higher sampling rates is better. While humans can't readily detect sounds above 20 kHz (and that threshold drops for males and those of middle age and older), various studies have indicated that the ear and brain do respond in some way to higher-frequency sounds. This paper from the CalTech Music Lab makes a pretty good case.
I grew up in the 70's and 80's, listening first to vinyl
records, then cassette tapes, then later on upgrading to CD's and
finally mp3 and other electronic music formats.
I can't fathom what possible advantage having a 24 bit music file would have over a 16 bit
file. I certainly wouldn't pay more for it.
Most of the time I listen to music in my car or while I'm in the gym, neither of which are ideal
music listening environments.
I'm just glad I don't have to worry
about scratched records that skip (and make other noise if they aren't
clean), or the hiss from audio cassettes.
There are occasional strange sounds from corrupted music files, but I can either rip it off the CD
again, or re-download it.
I do miss the ability to go to Best Buy, HMV, etc..and grab the latest SACD or DVD-A off of the shelf. The problem I have now Brent is no DSL/Cable where I live (Country Living At It's Best - My Townshiip's credo). I rely on a 4G "soon-to-be" LTE signal and a 9GB data cap (Canada, Eh? - I miss living in the U.S.A.). I used to have Point to Multi-Point Satellite based internet with no cap but a slow and unreliable (weather dependent) connection. The Cellular signal I have now is a great improvement over the Sat based signal but is more costly ($96 CDN +tx/month).
My point is it would be way too expensive for me to download say a 192kHz/24Bit (4.7GB/2 = 2.35GB - That's more than a quarter of my data plan for the month!).
Cheers
Fact is rudedog4, that what you describe does not benefit from any high resolution music, so why bother? Continue consuming music in a convenient form for those activities where sound is not important. However, when listening on quality equipment, in the comfort of your home or within quiet headphones, where high res can really deliver... that's when you will benefit from the extra bits and khz.
I have been an "America" fan since college. They came to my school when they released Homecoming. 37 years later, I still enjoy the album and Ventura highway stills sounds sweet on my trusty CD copy. I recently acquired an SACD copy and inserted into my Oppo.
My jaw dropped when I heard the iconic guitar intro. I played that song over an over for almost an hour discovering nuances that I had never heard. My wife, who is 25 years younger and should have much better ears than me, also remarked on how open and beautiful the guitars sound. She only knows this song from me, as she is an immigrant from Cuba with no access to high fidelity. However, she has musicians in her family and is very familiar with live guitar performances.
Bottom line-- Absolutely lets run toward 24bit 96khz/192khz!!!! I am now rediscovering sweetness in Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Dark Side of the Moon, Vivaldi Four Seasons and growing.