CD vs. 24-bit streaming - Sound of the past vs. sound of the future (Turntable tips)

Comments · 2.2K

• MI

  @millzee60 · 3 years ago

  In my experience, how a CD is mixed/produced has a much bigger impact on how it sounds than whether it is 16 or 24 bit. But maybe that is not the point of this video.

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• RS

  @rs8197-dms · 3 years ago

  I used to be an audio designer. &nbsp;I designed some of the best commercial digital to analogue converters, amplifiers and speakers I or my customers had ever encountered. &nbsp;I hold 3 international patents on different aspects of audio reproduction technology.<br>As you rightly say, CD is good enough. Not only because 16 bits is sufficient to store enough levels for even 20 year old ears, let alone 60 year old ears, but also because the magic of D/A upsampling actually gives you more virtual headroom than the original signal contains, due to the fact that musical instruments only produce smooth waveforms when viewed above about 6 KHz or so, most of them much lower than that. &nbsp;So 20 bit D/A is actually quite standard from a 16-bit signal.<br>So, you are absolutely right. &nbsp;CD is not only good enough, if you (as a human) are listening to the very best audio equipment (everything through to the speakers, very important) you will not be able to hear the difference between a CD reproduction and 24-bit streaming reproduction of the same original audio master.<br>As a comment below from &quot;tweaker man&quot; says, the mastering (and recording) is much more important than the medium.

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• PE

  @pellepop100 · 1 year ago

  Normal people uses their hifi to listen to music. Hifi enthusiasts uses music to listen to their audio equipment

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• SU

  @superspeeder · 2 years ago

  It’s almost like the CD had some deliberate research behind it. &nbsp;Shocking they didn’t just wing it! 😂

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• TW

  @tweakerman · 3 years ago (edited)

  It&apos;s all about the mastering of the music, I have Lots of redbook CD&apos;s, that are mastered extremely well &amp; they sound outstanding , I have lots of CDs that sound poor, same goes for sacd and Vinyl, so for me it&apos;s all about how good the recording &amp; mastering is, no matter what format its on, great video👍

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• DA

  @daanw6270 · 1 year ago

  Do you need 24 bit? <br><br>Short answer: No.<br>Longer answer: Noooooo.

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• J.

  @j.t.cooper2963 · 3 years ago

  I have some 16 bit CD&apos;s that blow away 24 bit. It all depends on mixing and mastering. I&apos;m not ever going to give up my CD collection for a streaming app.

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• A_

  @A_RosnerNZ · 3 years ago

  The fact that Red Book CD format is still the Gold Standard for end-user audio in 2023 is a testament to those Sony and Philips engineers of the late 70s / early 80s who settled on the format at the time. <br>Does a listener need 80dB of dynamic range? look at the dynamic range of most recorded music, and situate that in the context of the ambient background noise level where it&apos;s being listened to, and how loud it&apos;s socially acceptable to have the peaks so that that quietest parts are still above the ambient noise level.<br>Put another way... CD is a building with 96 floors, but probably only the first 20 or so are in use.

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• PH

  @philbiker3 · 2 years ago

  Excellent summary of why 24 bit audio is so important in the studio but not so important for the consumer experiencing the final mastered mix. &nbsp;Well stated.

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• KA

  @KangoV · 3 years ago

  While working for Dolby Labs, we had an awesome listening rooom with some very expensive Meridian kit. We often did blind listening tests and we could not tell the difference between CDs and higher bitrate. A lot of this was done when designing the original Dolby Digital codecs (6 channels stored as digital info stored between the sprocket holes). It had to be highly compressed so lots of listening tests were conducted. But, it had to be damn good.

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• LE

  @lexiconthx1 · 3 years ago

  Have to agree with you. I have found that the mastering of many “hi-res” recordings to be much better so they should better. I have also heard some amazing 16bit 44khz recordings. Wish they would focus more on better mastering and less on bits and sample rate.

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• JO

  @joso5554 · 3 years ago

  Good analysis. In summary, 24 bits allows for comfort in recording, without having to bother about recording level, and 16 bits are enough to reproduce the actual dynamic range once the recording has been processed and fine tuned for optimal digital storage taking full advantage of a 16 bit range. <br>Some graphic illustration would have been useful to ease the non engineer viewer’s understanding, though.

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