How much are more bits worth?

"A bit less."  I get it.

I don't buy bits.

Reasons why.

I still like media that comes with artwork I can hold in my hands and read.

Still two thirds or more of the Hi Res downloads people are buying off sites for silly money are just up sampled digital remasters that sound pants.

When you can take a quality SH 50p CD and convert to DSD for free?

Each to there own and be happy.

Its my reason why i don't buy bits.

In the last week I have bought Simon & Garfunkel and Bruce Springsteen 24 bit downloads which are better than I believe I can hear via any other medium.

David,

Give it a few years,

You wont have to pay a medium.

DIY 

Judging by your system profile, I am really surprised you prefer downloads to vinyl considering your setup. You're really going against the grain, aren't you?

Let me know if you want to get rid of that Aro.

Tony,

Is Ekos a nicknaim for a Aro now?

Depends on the sample rate  - nothing if 24/44.1kHz,  24/96kHz yes I do pay a premium.

I won't pay for anything less than 16/44.1. Past that it's whatever I can get at the best price. Steve Wilson's Yes remixes and remasters are not available via download. Ditto Aqualung 40th anniversary. Rush's 2112 in 24bit is cheaper on CD/DVD-A twin pack than it is to download. Other albums are download only. I buy according to wants, what I'm prepared to pay for something (which will vary a lot depending on artist and album) and peer review/analysis when available. It's not a black and white situation for me. My dad used to say that he'd give up driving when petrol reached a certain (periodically upwardly revised) price level, but he never did.

I never buy downloads either. Having in the past tried a couple from HD Tracks that some here raved about, I found they didn't sound as good as the CD versions I had, never mind the vinyl!

The whole thing's a real minefield; stuff's often upsampled from a lesser master and it's extremely difficult to make a proper comparison. I've yet to hear any of these 'HD' recordings that sound as good as an original CD. Nope, I'm happy to buy CDs at the bargain price they are at the moment. I've a fair number of  DVD/BluRays of HD stuff that I've ripped & they sound very good but then I don't know the provenance of the source material. Could be the original recording sounds as good or better.

Time to change them glasses! 

Nothing, if the source of the recording is an analogue tape or low res master recording. All musical information on those can be captured with regular rbcd 16-bits

only if the master recording has been recorded as 24-bit will I pay more.

Nothing. there is far too much new music out there (or old music I have yet to discover) to spend more cash on stuff I already own.

A few days ago I was playing my ripped version of Ike Quebec's Soul Samba (Blue Note, 1962). Awesome album, terrible SQ. If a better download exists and somehow lands on my desktop I would listen to it. but that's just about it.

Tony, vinyl became unavailable in a practical sense more than 20 years ago, supplanted by CD. I am currently listening to the 24 bit download of Born in the USA, and it is far better than any version available up to now. I have bought more than 200 24bit releases in the last 6 months, and most of them are high quality. I think I'm actually going with the grain, but that doesn't matter to me. What matters is that I'm more interested than ever in listening to music. 

To others who say that they will buy only 96/24 upwards, think again. The key is 24 v 16. 

David

David,

I am really happy you're enjoying your music.  I had a break from vinyl around 1985 then came back to it in the 00's when I got disenchanted with the silver format. I have  for the past  three years been dis/rediscovering music via streaming.

A lot of time is spent on this forum discussing the best bit stream. To tell you the truth, I still prefer my old records, whenever possible originals,  on the LP12 but  new music tend to sound better when streamed. I was just curious and I thank you for your reply. At the end of the day music is what  really matters whatever the replay format.

Happy listening!

ATB,

Tony

You have to exercise due diligence but the Hires obstacle course is no different from the joys and pitfalls of any other format, past or present. I will give 24bit the benefit of the doubt unless I can get solid background info. It often pays to hold back until end user impressions are published, which is something I find more easy the older I get. You'll still have to sift and you'll still makes mistakes. To say this behaviour is unique to Hires is wrong. Providence is paramount and it has always been thus. We just have more scope for wasting money nowadays - again, not a situation unique to music buying.

I think a well done album at 24bits is unbeatable. But I wouldn't expect universal agreement. How boring would that be?

The 24/192 Simon and Garfunkel albums on HDTracks really are quite stunning.  IMHO of course.

But how much of that is due to the remastering and how much due to the xxx/24-bits?

Given the fact that S&G wasn't recorded in high res in the studio, I would say it is 100% of the remastering you like and 0% of the 24-bit format.

I have replaced a number of CDs with 24bit studio master issues (original high res recordings) and I have to say, in most cases the difference is stunning, so much so that I don't feel too bad about the substantial cost involved. However, I only do this with discs that I regularly listen to, and if the hires issue is discounted (both qobuz and eclassical do discounts all the time, though). 

As before, I don't stream these - I use small memory sticks and save them in CD cases, so that I retain the possibility to rummage in the bookcase, and the physical element. And it keeps me from bulk adding to my library.

EJ

Ditto, and if its music I that I love I certainly don't begrudge a few quid to get such a significant improvement.  Compared to the price of an interconnect or better speaker cable its good value for money to replace my fave albums with 24 bit in my view

Same here too. It may not be as black and white as 24bits versus 16bits but there is some superb Hires stuff in circulation. Why wouldn't I want to try it at the highest possible resolution?