Pandora and Spotify are just a few of the many, many online streaming music services that let you listen to your favorite songs and compositions while jogging, driving to the supermarket, or just sitting in the laundromat watching clothes dry. They’re a musical convenience. That said, there’s a price beyond monthly subscription fees. Streaming music services typically compress audio into smaller, more manageable files that are easily streamed. For most people, MP3- or CD-quality audio gets the job done, but if you have a thirst for audiophile-quality sound, you need to check out a service that offers Hi-Res Audio.
What Is Hi-Res Audio?
Hi-Res Audio, as defined by The Recording Industry Association of America (and its Consumer Electronics Association, Digital Entertainment Group, and Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing partners), is “lossless audio capable of reproducing the full spectrum of sound from recordings which have been mastered from better than CD quality (20-bit/48kHz or higher) music sources which represent what the artists, producers and engineers originally intended.”
In other words, Hi-Res Audio aims to deliver sound that comes close to what you’d hear in a recording studio. That’s a big promise. Tim Gideon, PCMag Contributing Editor and resident audio expert, is also somewhat skeptical, but from a logistics point of view.
The Hi-Res Audio Challenges
As Gideon explains, “the issue is: What else is part of the signal chain? Hi-Res Audio through laptop speakers or crappy earbuds will not sound like Hi-Res Audio, and even really decent speakers may not be able to convey the subtleties.”
Still, Gideon suspects that if everyone had an amazing sound system and listened exclusively to Hi-Res Audio for year, that they’d hear a difference when listening to CD-quality tunes through the same system. “The ears get used to things,” he said. “Even if I am skeptical now, there’s no doubt that down the road, streaming quality will be what we currently consider Hi-Res Audio. But by then, we’ll have maybe have raised the bar again and Hi-Res Audio will have a new meaning or be outdated.”
There’s another HRA issue: catalog. Hi-Res Audio tracks only represent a fraction of what a streaming music service offers. So, you must determine if upgrading to a service’s Hi-Res Audio tier is worth the money. In addition, you should read the streaming service’s HRA requirements to know if you have the appropriate software and hardware to take advantage of the full, rich sound. All good? Grab a quality pair of audiophile headphones or fire up your home sound system and experience the best versions of your favorite tunes.
