My post above got me searching.
Here is a page with more sound system info
than you want to know. High resolution audio

a friend recently got high res audio system and raves about it. says it surpasses vinyl. unfortunately i can't listen to it to give my impressions because he lives in Germany.

I am mystified. So, say I want to engage with a music streaming service. I would like to see (at least some of) that service's listing of available music under categories of my interest.

I went to the Tidal website because its sound quality is supposed to be good. There is no categorization, even in the pop genres, let along specific music.

How do you get actual information? Do you have to download the service first? If so, there'd better be a free trial.

As it is, the only site that has interested me so far is YouTube because people I know have posted their recordings there, and there are interesting and obscure classical recordings. If I join, I would certainly opt for ad-free listening, as interrupting ads would drive me crazy.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
a friend recently got high res audio system and raves about it. says it surpasses vinyl. unfortunately i can't listen to it to give my impressions because he lives in Germany.

I do not agree that hires digital surpasses vinyl. I have access to a system that costs more than most houses. My find has invested over $500,000.00 in this system and over $30,000.00 on the digital side of the equation. His streamer is over $10k the DAC is over $10k, the CD transport is over $10k. He has subscriptions to every hires service available. His system is the highest resolving audio system I have ever heard. Every one of the members of our little audiophile group vastly prefer vinyl over even all of his high end digital equipment and sources.

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
I am mystified. So, say I want to engage with a music streaming service. I would like to see (at least some of) that service's listing of available music under categories of my interest.

I went to the Tidal website because its sound quality is supposed to be good. There is no categorization, even in the pop genres, let along specific music.

How do you get actual information? Do you have to download the service first? If so, there'd better be a free trial.

As it is, the only site that has interested me so far is YouTube because people I know have posted their recordings there, and there are interesting and obscure classical recordings. If I join, I would certainly opt for ad-free listening, as interrupting ads would drive me crazy.

Try Qobuz.
https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/mu...DorLmVRoCl0QQAvD_BwE

RP, have you checked out the Naxos Music Library available through the NY Public Library?

https://www.nypl.org/node/515720

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
RP, have you checked out the Naxos Music Library available through the NY Public Library?

https://www.nypl.org/node/515720

It's "low-res" but...

https://cheaptubeaudio.blogspo...FM%20sound%20quality.

I've got a decent system - though at the moment I'm enjoying listening to music via high quality headphones. I have a top of the line Sennheiser set and an electrostatic set from Stax that comes with a dedicated Class A amplifier.

How do I listen?

I listen to streaming, downloads and CDs primarily. I'm looking for particular performances. If I particularly like something, I might get master quality downloads - essentially, the reference upon which either the CD, streaming or LP would be produced.

As for vinyl vs everything else, vinyl has a warmth to it that is engaging. Some of this comes from the quality of the individual doing the mastering.

By Way of example, I have a wonderful recording of Saint Saens 4th Piano Concerto played by Alexander Brailowsky. It's a stunningly beautiful recording. When the CD came out, I bought that recording, and it doesn't sound the same - nice - but not quite in the same realm.

OTOH, I managed classical sales of LPs for my campus record shop back in the 70s - and I remember the quality of LPs back then. They were pretty bad. There were lots of defects in the pressing - and the mastering itself was poor.

When CDs arrived on the scene, the quality of recording was often poor. A lot of the people who did the recording had little concept of what the goal of a recording should be - at least for classical and jazz music. For pop, everything is artificial - so the goals are different.

Capturing the delicacy of an Andres Segovia's guitar or the complex interplay of sounds from a Haydn Piano Trio were beyond the comprehension of an engineer whose primary background was recording a rock band.

Still, there are some companies that do a decent job with digital - Reference Recordings and Harmonia Mundi are two examples of companies that do some stunning work. I just bought some CDs of Avo Part's choral music on Harmonia Mundi - and listen to them through my headphones - it engages. It's gorgeous.

Back in the early 80's, when CDs were new, the digital sheen of the technology at that point was often disappointing. Still people wanted DDD (digital recording, digital mastering, digital media) on their CDs.

It took a while before people recognized that quality analogue masters were a great source of material. AND now, Mark's right, there's some companies that do a better than decent job of producing quality LPs - albeit at a cost.

I got rid of my high end turntable a few years back - reason being - too finicky. The notion of spending a few thousand on a turntable, tonearm and cartridge just wasn't worth it. And needles wear out. One shouldn't play an LP more than once in a 24 hour period. LPs are more easily damaged...yada yada.. Mind you, I have a turntable that is better than used at most radio stations - but it's the least used modality for me listening to music. But when I do, it's a focused listening time.

Like I said in reference to stereo systems, if you enjoy what you're listening to - DO NOT head to a high end audio store. You'll hear what you're missing and then you'll be less content. Like ice cream, you'll love the inexpensive brand unless you taste the delights of the good stuff - so maybe it's good not to know how good it can be...enjoy what you have.

CHAS, My Brooklyn cello teacher is also from Starker lineage. My favorite cellist (for now) is the Frenchman, Pierre Fournier. His playing is so nuanced and warm. Unlike the sweeping 'long' lines of Starker and Ma which, though nice, Fournier gives the details greater expression. So you don't play the cello any more?

Wow, markj, that's quite a room full of equipment! Totally out of my league. I'm not really an audiophile, I just like nice sound and I know what I like. I'm happy with something 'sufficiently good' to 'quite good'. If it were me I'd be calculating how many actual live performances I could see for that money!

A lot of people describe vinyl as 'warm'. So do I. I think there is something to it regardless what the engineers 'know' and 'think'.

I don't know, kluurs, it's OK to have a taste of the good stuff even if you know it's out of reach (at any one time). ... A few years ago I was looking for a new cello and spent some time in the local strings store. I ended up playing a very expensive instrument, and a bow worth multiple tens of thousands of dollars. I'm glad I had that experience even though I do not plan to own such a combo. It gave me a measuring stick--which is sorely needed when shopping for any instrument.

Bernard,
Bought a cello last year. Returned it. I have bad shoulders. Too much pain.
I have an NS Design electric cello. I can get it close enough to avoid shoulder pain. As electrics go it is good, but it is electric and is in a closet.

Bernard,
Bought a cello last year. Returned it. I have bad shoulders. Too much pain.
I have an NS Design electric cello. I can get it close enough to avoid shoulder pain. As electrics go it is good, but it is electric and is in a closet.

Edit

I have to agree on Fournier. While I've slowed considerably on acquiring CDs, I did purchase his complete DG recordings. Love his playing.

I became interested in Hi-res.
I am far from my stereo.
Found a USB Digital-to-Analog Converter that I plugged into the USB-C port on my laptop. It is a Dragonfly Cobalt via Amazon. It is the size of a thumb drive. It bypasses the computer audio. I have plugged my high-end Sennheiser headphones into it.
I switched the sound quality of Amazon Music to Ultra Hd and I am listening to a Joshua Bell recording. The volume control of the computer was also bypassed. Amazon Music through my iphone is working much better than with my laptop due to a volume control.
I like it. The sound has a spacious quality that I like. The high notes sound superb.
I have not been listening to music very much. I will now.

quote:

Like I said in reference to stereo systems, if you enjoy what you're listening to - DO NOT head to a high end audio store. You'll hear what you're missing and then you'll be less content. Like ice cream, you'll love the inexpensive brand unless you taste the delights of the good stuff - so maybe it's good not to know how good it can be...enjoy what you have.

That ship sailed for me a long, long time ago. My dad was an audio engineer. I had my own high fidelity component system when I was two. He designed systems that were equisite. My favorite: a single speaker, long and low, that is placed facing a blank wall--the entire wall becomes a reflecting soundboard. Perfect for listening to chamber music. We had this in our living room for many years.

I don't even want to think about shopping for audio.

I recently bought my first brand new car and chose the highest level trim because it has an upgraded sound system. It's just ok, but a helluva lot better than the standard one in the other trims. A friend also just bought a new car and paid extra to get the same sound system and raves about how incredible it is.

No, I am not going to say anything. And I don't think I'll be letting him listen to my home audio system, either. That would be mean.

The fact is, most people aren't really listening. They are responding to what the salesman told them or the name on the system. In a blind listening test, they probably couldn't discriminate between the various brands, they are so dependent on brand names to guide them.

Kind of like pianos. That horrible sounding upright is a terrific piano because it says "Steinway" on the fallboard.