Source.

[NoPAspeakers4me]

I stream Spotify premium. So I need a better source. Tidal? CD player? (I just bought a car with a CD player but the Marc Anthony or whatever system that isn’t half bad. so I have a couple dozen in immaculate shape). Thanks.

 

[lovinthehd]

What"s lacking with Spotify? This just about mobile/car use?

 

[BMXTRIX]

I just bought a motorcycle, so I need a better house. Rancher? Condo? (I just bought a veranda with a nice umbrella but the velvet or whatever isn't half bad so I have a few that go nicely with it) Thanks.

WHAT?!?

What exactly are you asking? Do you need speakers? A streaming device? For your home? For your car? For your wife? What is the CD player? What is the entire sentence? You have a couple dozen WHAT? Your car has a Marc Anthony WHAT?

Am I the only one who just read what was written and just was completely lost?

If you are looking for a high quality streaming device for your home, then the Bluesound products continue to be very highly recommended. Sonos is a reasonable option as well.

 

[Pogre]

I ripped all of my cds to FLAC files and use a pc for my source.

 

[Eppie]

I ripped all of my cds to FLAC files and use a pc for my source.

Me too. I also try to copy all of my CDs and flac files to 320kbs MP3 files. Pretty much indistinguishable from flac at that bit rate but since it's lossy I keep both. I use the MP3s on my mobile phone (less storage requirements) and copy them onto the harddrive in our Jeep. The other car only has a CD changer but supports MP3 as well. If you burn your own CDs, one CD can hold hundreds of MP3 files.

 

[Pogre]

Me too. I also try to copy all of my CDs and flac files to 320kbs MP3 files. Pretty much indistinguishable from flac at that bit rate but since it's lossy I keep both. I use the MP3s on my mobile phone (less storage requirements) and copy them onto the harddrive in our Jeep. The other car only has a CD changer but supports MP3 as well. If you burn your own CDs, one CD can hold hundreds of MP3 files.

You know, I've flipped between my FLAC files and MP3 files of the same cd and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't hear a difference so I have to grudgingly agree with you that a high quality MP3 is pretty much indistinguishable from lossless. I have plenty of storage on my pc tho and making them all FLAC files appeases my ocd, lol. MP3s for mobile only makes sense too as you're usually more limited on storage.

 

[Eppie]

You know, I've flipped between my FLAC files and MP3 files of the same cd and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't hear a difference so I have to grudgingly agree with you that a high quality MP3 is pretty much indistinguishable from lossless. I have plenty of storage on my pc tho and making them all FLAC files appeases my ocd, lol. MP3s for mobile only makes sense too as you're usually more limited on storage.

I recently read a paper from an experienced recording engineer (forgot his name... someone posted a Youtube video from an audio show were he was a presenter) and he stated that once you get to 256k in MP3s most people can't hear the difference. I notice compressed highs below 256k so use 320k just to be safe. Is that OCD too? I tried loading both an MP3 and WAV file into Audacity once and the two were nearly identical. Not a difference that I would find noticable. File formats can change over time, though, so I always keep a lossless copy to act as a master. Don't like the idea of converting from MP3 to something else and then something else again, loosing a bit in each conversion.

 

[Pogre]

I notice compressed highs below 256k so use 320k just to be safe. Is that OCD too?

I think most of the folks who post here have elevated levels of ocd, lol. It kinda comes with the territory with this hobby!

 

[NoPAspeakers4me]

So would you say Spotify premium is good enough to use a pure direct function on an AVR? I have a bunch of cd’s, can a buy one and plus if into the AVR and use pure direct mode? I want as little digital enhancement/filtration as possible.

using Spotify premium the enhancer on my Yamaha helps a good bit. It’s the first piece of digital filtration I’ve ever put into my music that actually sounds better.

 

[-Jim-]

Gents, this discussion has been going on for ages.

I have Spotify Premium and listen to it almost daily via my Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Headphones (No joke! Most of their stuff I wouldn't touch but these are awesome.) As it's just casual listening while I'm making dinner (or some other chore so my hands are free) it's great, but for serious listening I'm betting NoPAspeakers4m is noticing a difference via his system.

Some years ago I did a lot of A /B testing on some of my selected CD's ripped to 320K MP3 versus to FLAC, and even some 24 Bit FLAC files from HD Tracks on a decent sound system. (not headphones) I was contemplating moving to FLAC but I already had a large MP3 collection (about 440 GB => 11,000 Albums / 110,00 Tunes) and a shift would be a major endeavor. (I got into MP3s very early on when Napster was first going. OMG!) My perception was there is a noticeable difference for me between those MP3s and the FLAC files. I even did "blind" tests with my family and friends (and drove them crazy) which mostly corroborated my results.

But the reality is very much individual.

I still have MP3s as my car & iPhone won't natively play FLAC. And they work fine there.

Now for an AVR there is no doubt the best sound source is a Blu-ray with an HD soundtrack. (Atmos or not). Like with MP3s, I have a relatively decent collection of concert DVDs. I was convinced Dolby, or DTS, 5.1 was great. (Eagles => Hell Freezes Over !!) So when Blu-rays came out I decided they were really about the picture quality, which for me with live concerts, was secondary. So (for a change) I wasn't an early adopter.

I ended up buying a Blu-ray player to try 3D Movies on a Samsung TV we bought just for gins. Later, when I was looking to buy a concert DVD, I saw there was only a $5 difference between the Blu-ray and the DVD version. That lead me to reconfigure everything towards HDMI cables to try out the lossless HD soundtracks. (I used to be a big Optical /Coaxial cable fan for AC3.) I again did an A/B comparison with a DVD vs Blu-ray on the same system, with the same concert, (two different players - sorry) and the choice was very clear. I haven't bought a new DVD since.

I know there are some Albums available in Blu-ray Audio but I haven't tried them. I'll wait for you guys to comment on those... I hope this is helpful.

 

[Eppie]

Best thing is to use your ears and not stick to any preconceived notions. Pure direct not only bypasses the EQ but also any timing adjustments for speaker distance. YPAO tries to adjust for the room and flatten the response. Pure Direct bypasses that. Try both modes and see what you like better. If you have a subwoofer, make sure that it stays enabled when in Pure Direct mode.

If you think you may be able get better sound with other streaming services, look for a free trial for Qobuz or Tidal and see how they compare to Spotify premium. Note that not all high res streams are true high res. Some are just 44.1k and then upsampled. Some services are notorious for claiming high res but failing to divulge the quality of the source material.

 

[Eppie]

@-Jim- I have two pairs of Bose Quiet Comfort earbuds. They weren't cheap but offer some of the best sound in my limited testing. The first set were plain ear buds but the last time we flew I wanted noise cancellation so opted for another pair of Quiet Comfort with noise reduction. I prefer regular buds for cycling as I hate not being able to hear what's around me, but the others are great on flights and on those nights when my spouse is snoring up a storm.

 

[-Jim-]

@Eppie I originally found out about Bose Quiet Comfort earphones ages ago on a Business Class Flight from London Heathrow, to Chicago O'Hare (en route to Houston). These were the original version, and to promote them Bose had a deal with American Airlines to showcase them to their international Business Class Passengers (Who they thought could afford them.). I was blown away how well they worked on the flight. I didn't want to give them back when I switched planes to Houston.

But as I'd never be able to justify their cost, I just dreamed of owning some if they ever got "reasonable". The second iteration finally went on sale, and I used some mad money and bought them. Originally I wanted them for Flying on vacations, but with Covid, we haven't done any of that in almost 2 years.

I have Skull Candy Hesh3 Bluetooth headphones that I won at a course at work. I use them for when I work on the car, or mow the lawn. They aren't noise cancelling but work ok, except when it's hot and you get sweaty. I've been thinking about some cheap Buds but can't seem to pull the trigger. I'm having trouble justifying a third set of Bluetooth headphones just for when it's hot outside...

 

[Pogre]

Pure direct not only bypasses the EQ but also any timing adjustments for speaker distance.

Does it? I always assumed the levels and distances were still applied in pure direct, but that's just me assuming. I never really looked into it.

 

[Pogre]

Gents, this discussion has been going on for ages.

I have Spotify Premium and listen to it almost daily via my Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Headphones (No joke! Most of their stuff I wouldn't touch but these are awesome.) As it's just casual listening while I'm making dinner (or some other chore so my hands are free) it's great, but for serious listening I'm betting NoPAspeakers4m is noticing a difference via his system.

Some years ago I did a lot of A /B testing on some of my selected CD's ripped to 320K MP3 versus to FLAC, and even some 24 Bit FLAC files from HD Tracks on a decent sound system. (not headphones) I was contemplating moving to FLAC but I already had a large MP3 collection (about 440 GB => 11,000 Albums / 110,00 Tunes) and a shift would be a major endeavor. (I got into MP3s very early on when Napster was first going. OMG!) My perception was there is a noticeable difference for me between those MP3s and the FLAC files. I even did "blind" tests with my family and friends (and drove them crazy) which mostly corroborated my results.

But the reality is very much individual.

I still have MP3s as my car & iPhone won't natively play FLAC. And they work fine there.

Now for an AVR there is no doubt the best sound source is a Blu-ray with an HD soundtrack. (Atmos or not). Like with MP3s, I have a relatively decent collection of concert DVDs. I was convinced Dolby, or DTS, 5.1 was great. (Eagles => Hell Freezes Over !!) So when Blu-rays came out I decided they were really about the picture quality, which for me with live concerts, was secondary. So (for a change) I wasn't an early adopter.

I ended up buying a Blu-ray player to try 3D Movies on a Samsung TV we bought just for gins. Later, when I was looking to buy a concert DVD, I saw there was only a $5 difference between the Blu-ray and the DVD version. That lead me to reconfigure everything towards HDMI cables to try out the lossless HD soundtracks. (I used to be a big Optical /Coaxial cable fan for AC3.) I again did an A/B comparison with a DVD vs Blu-ray on the same system, with the same concert, (two different players - sorry) and the choice was very clear. I haven't bought a new DVD since.

I know there are some Albums available in Blu-ray Audio but I haven't tried them. I'll wait for you guys to comment on those... I hope this is helpful.

I only have 1 concert Blu Ray and nothing to compare it to, but I will say the sq is really, really good. I was pretty much blown away the first time I watched it.

 

[NoPAspeakers4me]

So yea since I have those cds for the 13 y/o Lexus I just bought I’m going to buy a CD player for my rack. The stock mark levinson radio actually sounds pretty decent and the car has 110k miles so I’m just going to leave it. Will post here how I feel a CD sounds vs Spotify premium. Remember, I’m a noob, I’m just a critical listener still learning. Need to do a sub crawl though based on my other thread. Thanks everyone. Good covid thread too. Been looking to get away from Reddit and find more specified forums.

 

[lovinthehd]

Does it? I always assumed the levels and distances were still applied in pure direct, but that's just me assuming. I never really looked into it.

May vary with avr but all pure direct does vs direct on my Denon is turn the lcd panel off on the avr. Pretty sure my distances/levels remain in place with either, altho I haven't really tested that but seems they're still in use. Don't know how a multich recording would sound only with some assumed levels/delays?


As to using Spotify premium on my avrs, do it all the time, the quality is quite good and generally find it indistinguishable from a cd/lossless rip (and much prefer not using the cd itself, a thumb drive is far better in the car for my purposes). In a car environment the difference between a 320kbps mp3 or Spotify premium (the little I can actually do that where I live) or a cd (or lossless rip) I wouldn't even bother trying to listen for differences....YMMV. When comparing you may not even have the same version in play between Spotify and your cd....

You can do your own blind abx testing with software like Audacity....

 

[NoPAspeakers4me]

Yea no way for cars lol. Way too much road noise. Just saying my used car I bought already had a decent sounding radio in it but used cds so I ordered 20 over the last three months I’ve had the car.

was using the enhancer on the Yamaha AVR before the remote broke, but now that I got a new one in it just sounds like it artificially enhances highs and lows (ofc lol) but doesn’t improve on the quality. It makes it a bit louder too. I prefer using as few filters as possible as I’m sure most here do.

so Spotify premium, no enhanced, going to do a sub crawl. Any other recommendations. Yamaha rx-v679, klipsch rp280f, hsu vtf3mk5, 2500cu feet faster. Quality copper 12ga cable. Not bi-wired. Would consider. Might get a 2.2 but will always be 2 channel stereo in here. Carpeted but pretty bare walls. Slidingglass door on the sub wall.

Edit: After some more listening the enhancer is horrendous streaming Spotify premium.

 

[Mark E. Long]

Pure direct on my Yamaha just turns off the dsp , eq , the distance timeing and size is still in play as bass management is too . It mainly turns off the eq and any dsp sound fields that are engaged and the front panel display aswell .
Now for high Rez tunes I use lossless iTunes mostly as I’ve got over 16 days of music stored on my laptop then put on an 60gig iPod classic bottom line that setup sounds great and works . Now other high Rez I got I’ve probably got over 150 concerts on regular dvd to tons of Blu-ray concerts there is definitely a difference in sound , picture wise if your tv upscales good or your player does my new tv does an incredible job of up converting at the least you’ll get 1080p . Older disc’s sound tracks on some sound better on there two channel track . Now Blu-ray concerts or Blu-ray Audio disc sound fantastic although I’ve a couple I’ve got that Iam not so sure weren’t ripped from older standard def versions and I’ve got some that are mixed in dts two channel too .
I’ve got tons of sacd’s and dvd audio they speak for them selves in quality. I’ve got a couple Pink Floyd immersion sets that have Blu-ray audio mixed in 5.1 surround that are my go to demo disc’s . On a high resolution system which most of us have they sound just jaw dropping to someone who’s never herd a good tuned setup .

 

[-Jim-]

NoPAspeakers4m,

If you are thinking of buying a CD Player for your home rack, just get a Blu-ray player instead. They all play CDs, and DVDs too for that matter. You can get a very decent one off Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace for a song... If you find an ad that looks interesting, post it here and the Gang will certainly weigh in quickly.

As for bi-wired speakers, almost all here have no time for it. Save your money for the Blu-ray player!