Home Computer Audio Asylum

Music servers and other computer based digital audio technologies.

RFI and Excessive Sample Rate Conversions...........

"1. Either my equipment sucks or these samples suck and there's alot more but I need to fork up more $$$$."

You don't need to fork up more $$$$..... There is so much crappy software and artifact-laden music tracks out there, who knows what people hear what they hear........

"2. Or high-def cannot be well appreciated with headphones."

I don't think headphones have anything to do with it.......

"3. Or the upsampling back from 16/44 --> 24/96 somehow reconstitutes the sound."

I've never heard asynchronous sample-rate conversion that I thought was better than mediocre...... It's usually awful.........

"4. Or, there's really not much difference."

There are too many points of degradation taking place. The RFI on PC-based systems negates the inherent advantage of 16/44- Less number crunching per unit time means less RFI. But it must be conventional playback.

Personally I think RFI is the fundamental flaw for running any listening test on a PC.

"5. At this point I'd probably spend a few more dollars to buy a high-def download (maybe at most $5-10 more if it's something I like) when given the option but not expect significantly more revelation in the sound."

I think the two issues are RFI and excessive sample rate conversions...... The only way to properly evaluate 16/44 vs. high-rez is to convert A/D from an analog source directly to the two rates directly (two separate A/D conversions), and avoid sample rate conversions altogether.



Edits: 02/13/10

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Schiit Audio  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.