It will be interesting to see people's results, and maybe this would make people understand that the differences are so minimal.

How Well Can You Hear Audio Quality? : The Record : NPR (http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality)

I can't hear jack shit. Like my father, I have bad hearing. Can't tell FLAC from ALAC from MP3 from WAV.

Currently taking the quiz.

EDIT: 3/6. I didn't wanna listen to Katy Perry and nearly skipped her (because why do I need to listen to Katy Perry?), but then my score would've been off. Half of them were just guesses.....

I got 3 out of 6.

I'm 32, i've worked bum jobs where the audio environment wasn't appealing (or safe, despite safety measures) and used in-ear buds longer than I have over-ear headphones.

So. I'm going to skip the test and say I got very low score on it. :smrt:

---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 PM ----------

Foobar2000 has similar feature you can install: ABX Comparator.
Excellent for checking codec formats.

Pop/hiphop music works differently than soft classical music, etc.
Also heavy metal genres, too.

I'm generally cool with 198, though FLAC makes me feel warm and squishy. 320 and uncompressed are going to sound identical to your ear like 99% of the time. I always notice 128 instantly for the sort of stuff I listen to, but I ended up picking 128 on that English Chamber Orchestra track. vbr exists for a reason.

---------- Post added at 11:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:49 PM ----------

Also wtf at NPR stooping to Katy Perry. They usually have decent enough taste.

I got 2 out of 4. The other two I'm not counting because after hearing 5 seconds I just took a guess and moved on. haha

vbr exists for a reason.

:this:

I read that in a deep, dramatic voice that would play over the Suicide Squad trailer.

Now this looks interesting. I'll take the quiz when I get a chance.

Completely random change of subject, I know, but has anyone seen HDlossless around lately? Or even Ponyo?

Ahh!!! YOU SCARED ME.... I NEVER SAW YOU THERE!

:awsm:

Lol it was sarcasm. I mentioned you and HDlossless together, not to tar you both with the same brush, as I know you're not like him, but because you both stress that you can hear a difference between 320 and FLAC. So it's interesting to see what your results are. I'm just about to try and take the test myself, if I can on my iPod.

I got 3 out of 6. But they were all random guesses. I literally couldn't tell the difference. Guess that means I can go ahead and re-sync all my music at 128 to save space. :p

Completely random change of subject, I know, but has anyone seen HDlossless around lately?

No. Isn't that nice? :laugh:

I'll have to take this later, but I think my hearing is horrible. 3/6 if I'm lucky, probably a 2/6.

Yes, they're WAV files. Uncompressed 16-bit. True lossless.

I even checked the spectrograms.

I Didn't Bother, My Hearing Is Crap LOL I Am Happy With Any Format I Am Given :)

---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:55 PM ----------


WE ARE ALL FOOLS..

WE'VE BEEN FOOLED ABOUT LOSSLESS AND LOSSY..

WE ALL WERE LIED.. WE THOUGHT OTHERWISE..
IT'S A CONSPIRACY!!!!

As Said In Blackadder:

BA: "Run For The Hills, Run For The Hills!"
Baldrick: "No My Lord, They're Coming From The Hills"
BA: "Run Away From The Hills, Run Away!"

AHH!!!!

http://static.tumblr.com/4b4dc5ecfd37c6472bc72ed1d94624bc/wevryzp/V50mtkcas/tumblr_static_jack-sparrow-run.gif

If HDlossless ever dares make another FLAC demand...

If HDlossless ever dares make another FLAC demand...

... I'm going to convert to 128kbps, then convert to 24-bit FLAC and give it to him, and tell him it's the real deal.

If HDlossless ever dares make another FLAC demand...

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/7a/7a1fdd4ac5776668f1b2f1d60e8342e4cb526820f564545b91 32c03818b3c363.jpg

WE ARE ALL FOOLS..

WE'VE BEEN FOOLED ABOUT LOSSLESS AND LOSSY..

WE ALL WERE LIED.. WE THOUGHT OTHERWISE..

We should all convert to AAC.

We all got more or less the same and nobody got a 5/5 at all.. are we sure what's being streamed is totally uncompressed?

Would be hilarious if NPR pirated their samples and ended up with transcodes.

i hear no distinction from 320hbps and flac.
but i can indentify 190 and lower.

Here it goes....

I Got 1/6 using my computers inbuilt speakers, so i'm going to try again using my headphones, as the test instructs.

I got 3/6, but i was hoping for 4/6 on that last radiohead song... i could definitely tell what one was the 128 kbps mp3.

That's reassuring, the number of times i told myself i had crap hearing, it is in fact a hard thing for me to hear but i guess my ears are still working. not getting a job as an audio engineer but atleast I can differentiate between the two.

---------- Post added at 09:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 AM ----------


Would be hilarious if NPR pirated their samples and ended up with transcodes.

I can't dignify a response to that! back to my 128kbps ffxiv heavensward recordings!

speakers/headphones play an important part on how you listen your audio. the best audio quality means nothing, if your speakers/headphones are crap.

a test like this is pointless, because the variable of good equipment is excluded.

SUZANNE VEGA - �Tom�s Diner�: I chose the 128kbps. :facepalm:

MURRAY PERAHIA & THE ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17, K. 453 (II. Andante): I chose 320kbps.

KATY PERRY - �Dark Horse�: I chose 320kbps

NEIL YOUNG - �There�s A World�: I chose the WAV!

JAY Z - �Tom Ford�: I didn't choose anything because I couldn't force myself to listen to that.

COLDPLAY - �Speed of Sound�: I chose the WAV!

So 2/6. Yeah, I figured it'd be something like that.

I still can't believe I chose a 128k one though.

HydrogrenAudio forums have a lot of test threads and also threads on theories and discussion of testing.
They accept not a lot of users will have high-end equipment.

But, really, you should be testing for the environment you use the most.
If you're limited to cheap PC speakers without upgrading for a long time, there's no need to be getting studio masters for everything when it won't make a difference.

Objectively, I like grabbing lossless to do my own encodes in various formats given various scenarios.

A fun testing would be sample rate conversions.
SRC Comparisons (http://src.infinitewave.ca/)

Pick your favorite program and run several test encodes using different algorithms.
Weiss SaRaCon, eac3to (SSRC modification), SoX, Audacity, Audition.
Run a blind ABX comparison in Foobar2000.

:erm: You can go one step further and play with Dither.
Weiss SaRaCon has about 4 different algorithms (one being "none"), eac3to has a different one that Weiss doesn't use.
Tbh, I think dither testing is a very tedious task. It varies much more based on content of the music (pop vs classical vs heavy metal etc).

---------- Post added at 06:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:08 PM ----------

................I smell a project... I want to do this... I must!!!

Oblivion isolated score was provided in 96kHz.
Let's prove that it's useless and 48kHz is just as excellent.
And let's see how it fares when resampled to 44.1kHz.

I got 6 for 6. Not luck or anything. It's easy to tell the difference if you know what to look for. Or should I say, hear for.
I guess good headphones help too.
And a trained ear.

bullpoop

Completely random change of subject, I know, but has anyone seen HDlossless around lately? Or even Ponyo?
YOU SPOKE TOO SOON



This must be a joke. Please tell me it's a joke.

Oh no. No. No!!!

Oh no. No. No!!!

But. That is lossy... not lossless so how is it him?

I got 6 for 6. Not luck or anything. It's easy to tell the difference if you know what to look for. Or should I say, hear for.
I guess good headphones help too.
And a trained ear.

Wow! I am seriously impressed.

Can you enlighten us mere mortals as to what it is that makes it so clear?!

But. That is lossy... not lossless so how is it him?

Account was created yesterday

But. That is lossy... not lossless so how is it him?

Because HDlossless is a troll, and he knows he winds people up the wrong way, so this is his latest brilliant wheeze. It's so funny. I'm laughing so hard right now.

Because HDlossless is a troll, and he knows he winds people up the wrong way, so this is his latest brilliant wheeze. It's so funny. I'm laughing so hard right now.

Like I said to Lockdown earlier. My sides are in Orbit. This is TOO funny XD

But was his original account banned or is he just setting a new one. And your screen print says mp3 link not lossless so i confused. (Not that it takes much)

Wow! I am seriously impressed.

Can you enlighten us mere mortals as to what it is that makes it so clear?!

Someone in the comments on the page said something about the same method I used. Listening to the transitions between notes and instruments. It's a lot harder when the Audio is brick walled though |: It's not clear at all. I'll admit I guess on ONE. But that's still 6 for 6 XD

---------- Post added at 12:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 AM ----------


But was his original account banned or is he just setting a new one. And your screen print says mp3 link not lossless so i confused. (Not that it takes much)

The only other reason would be that someone created HDLossy to spite HDLossless.

Congratulations. Us Mere Mortals Are Not Worthy of Such Hearing :)

---------- Post added at 08:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:08 AM ----------

Yes. I thought so. O well :p

Congratulations. Us Mere Mortals Are Not Worthy of Such Hearing :)

There's nothing non-human about it. I'm not a blacksmith but there are people out there who create god-teir Katanas for a living. It should be them you're not worthy of, not me XD

But was his original account banned or is he just setting a new one. And your screen print says mp3 link not lossless so i confused. (Not that it takes much)

Don't know who it is for certain, but either someone's making fun of HDlossless or he's making fun of himself...

And he's asking for MP3 because his name is HDlossy. That's the whole point.

Don't know who it is for certain, but either someone's making fun of HDlossless or he's making fun of himself...

And he's asking for MP3 because his name is HDlossy. That's the whole point.

It may be someone spamming. As it is literally the same cpmment posted on each thread.

3/6... not bad I suppose.

No More Regina!! Lol

No More Regina!! Lol

I'm sorry... but as soon as I saw Leto Joker he had to be mine.

I'm sorry... but as soon as I saw Leto Joker he had to be mine.

Leave Me In The Old, Its Not Wise to Upset the Dark One! LOL

Leave Me In The Old, Its Not Wise to Upset the Dark One! LOL

Oh I'm not gonna abandon ya. I'm gonna leave you in the cold. Really. Really. Bad.

Sorry I couldn't resist XD

Oh I'm not gonna abandon ya. I'm gonna leave you in the cold. Really. Really. Bad.

Sorry I couldn't resist XD
https://media1.giphy.com/media/bCC1mtPJYx4U8/200_s.gif

:awsm:

---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:06 PM ----------

I Must Admit The New Joker Does Look Awesome!!!

Someone in the comments on the page said something about the same method I used. Listening to the transitions between notes and instruments. It's a lot harder when the Audio is brick walled though |: It's not clear at all. I'll admit I guess on ONE. But that's still 6 for 6 XD

That's a funny observation because, to me at least, it's way easier to tell in a really 'high-content' style of music like metal or shoegaze. Maybe a matter of that's what I'm used to listening to so that's what my ear is trained to distinguish? I would be really curious to try a 320 vs lossless test on metal music.

Headphones might be a hard cutoff for me though. My current pair are designed for voice chat while gaming and that's sort of the polar opposite of what you'd want here.

Headphones might be a hard cutoff for me though. My current pair are designed for voice chat while gaming and that's sort of the polar opposite of what you'd want here.

Mine are designed for studio mastering, so there's a lot of give when it comes to analyzing sonic frequencies. For me, the hardest one to figure out is always Tom Ford by Jay-Z, the easiest is either Coldplay's Speed of Sound or Suzanne Vega's Tom's Diner.

MP3 ~ Anything below 320kbps I can hear a slight static noise in the background when I listen carefully. If somebody played a <128kbps clip I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and a clip with one of a higher bitrate unless I really listened hard.
FLAC ~ Sounds no different to 320 MP3.
AAC; OGG; WAV ~ Same really.