Hi-Rez Music

[Bigfish8]

There is a topic over on AC that questions the value of Hi-Rez Files and I wanted to give it credit for bringing the subject up here.  My question is:  Have you ever compared the same track(s) of music in standard and in Hi-Rez Formats?  If so could you hear a difference?

Thanks,

Ken

[TomS]

These demo tracks from 2L in Norway are very good for exactly that kind of comparison though 24/96 vs 24/192.
 
http://www.2l.no/hires/index.html 

Prepare to let them download all night unless you have a really fast line 

I have quite a few now, though not really my taste in music.  The "harmOrgan" one is kinda' cool and sounds downright spooky in 24/192 on my system, but I really like the sound of pipe organ in old churches since I used to play one long ago.  Definitely try them and listen for yourself, but these tracks are so naturally recorded and sound so good to begin with, I'd be very hard pressed to tell a difference.

[mdconnelly]

I have downloaded from the B&W Society of Sound collection a few albums in 24/96 (or 24/88) that I also have on CD, and then compared them via my Squeezebox Touch.  I'm confident that I hear an improvement with the higher-rez vs 16/44.1 ripped CDs.   I also think that as streaming technology improves (and/or my budget , then the differences will become even more apparent.

But... hearing a difference between 24/96 & 24/192?   I kinda doubt it.  I tend to think that the difference I hear vs CD is due to the increased bit depth (24 vs 16) moreso than the sampling rate.  But either way, I think given the choice between CD resolution and Hi-Rez, I'd always opt for the better fully believing the difference is there.

Caveat - there have been rumors that some of the Hi-Rez content available is nothing more than upsampled CD rips.  That would suck if true.  Right now, my sources of Hi-Res music are B&W, HDTracks, & Linn.

[tmazz]

Caveat - there have been rumors that some of the Hi-Rez content available is nothing more than upsampled CD rips.  That would suck if true. 

It wouldn't just suck, it would be downright fraud. Anyone playing in this space dam well knows the difference between true high res files and upsampled redbook. Selling an upsampled file as Hi-Res is flat out dishonest.