I'm somewhat of an audiophile myself, but here's something interesting I've noticed.
Using the latest version of LAME to rip a CD with options "-b32 -mj -q1 -V0" it's almost impossible to tell the difference between FLAC and MP3 versions of the same track. Squeezebox 3 analogue output - no audible difference. Squeezebox 3 digital output via Arcam Black Box 50, Yamaha DSP-A592, Eltax Symphony 6 (system in dining room) - no audible difference. Squeezebox 3 digital output via Arcam AVR250, Mordaunt-Short Avant 908/905C/903S speakers, B&W ASW-1000, Chord Rumour 4 speaker cable - very very slight apparent increase in detail on FLAC, although this might have been down to slightly different playback levels (FLAC using ReplayGain adjustment, MP3 using MP3Gain). Also tried ripping to a WAV file, encoding an MP3 using the above options without running MP3Gain then burning both versions to a blank CD (track 1 MP3, track 2 WAV) using Nero (so MP3 version decoded and burnt as an audio track). Tried playing this on a number of different systems and again could only hear a minute difference on the Arcam/Mordaunt-Short setup (using a DV79 as the CD player or transport). The result was the same regardless of whether I used the DAC in the DV79 or in the AVR250. For in-car use... my new car (Audi A4 2.0 TDI Quattro) actually came with an iPod adaptor built in to the glove compartment. The factory fit head unit sounded really tinny though, so I've replaced this with a Sony MEX-BT5000 and iPod adaptor, JBL GTO-4000 amplifier driving the front speakers and a pair of 10" subs in the boot, rears running off the Audi Active system. I have a 60GB iPod Video, and it really does sound good. Better than most people's home hi-fi actually. I'm still wondering whether the apparent difference I heard on the Arcam test (or the 2 track CD test) was because I "knew" which track was sourced from WAV and which was from MP3. Might try burning another CD with the tracks the other way around and get a friend to swap the discs over so I don't know which one's playing so it's a proper blind test. I reckon on most processed music (pop, rock, country etc) it would be pretty well impossible to tell on a well encoded MP3. Classical might be different though. -- Squirrel ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Squirrel's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=5785 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29925 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
