Itunes to offer 24bit audio files?
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  1. #1
    Tech Mentor jimbob5000's Avatar
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    Default Itunes to offer 24bit audio files?

    Okay guys, we've had plenty of mp3 vs. aac vs. flac vs. wav vs. whatever discussions on the forums here. Now apple and other retailers supposedly plan to offer 24 bit audio files, according to CNN and other sites:

    http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web...sic/index.html

    No details if it would be a lossy compression format or some lossless format.

    I personally would like that and think there's a lot of potential of finally getting a significant increase in audio quality. Although I have some doubts that that music productions especially in the EDM genres would actually benefit from that too much. Most people I know still use their 16bit sample libraries a lot.

    What do you think?
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  2. #2

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    OVERRATED 24bit audio is the same fight as the 44.1vs96Khz
    24bit audio is mainly used by people who need their epeens as large as possible and that have all their analyzers and whatnot. You wont notice a damn bit of difference in the end unless you're superman
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  3. #3
    Tech Mentor jimbob5000's Avatar
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    Now that's a scientific approach

    Honestly, I'm not so sure about that. I mean, I'm pretty much happy with 320kbit/16bit/44.1khz so far, but I admit that there are a tiny handful of older rock or vocal albums I actuallly bought again on vinyl, because I felt they somehow kind of sounded, well, better, from an analog source. I guess i'll only be able to tell if 24bit it will make a difference to me as soon as it's actually available. I think it's at least possible that there will be some improvement, at least if they also come in lossless formats.

    On the other hand, supposedly superior formats like SACD never really made it.

    Hmmm......
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  4. #4

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    umm just letting you know vinyl to mp3 can vary from an awesome rip to pure garbage you wont hear a difference from the most common 16bit.
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  5. #5
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    Thanks for sharing. I'd love to buy 24-bit/48kHz audio on iTunes and elsewhere.

  6. #6
    Tech Guru lethal_pizzle's Avatar
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    Audio is only as good as the weakest link in the chain. Audiophile obsession is a fool's errand I reckon. Although I would say that 'cos my hearing isn't what it was.
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  7. #7
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    ^^^ I'm really a layperson on this whole issue. What am I excited about this? Basically, I hope that 24-bit audio gives me additional headroom/dynamics. Over the last year, I've been able to grab a few original high-resolution masters here and there. All the 24-bit stuff I got felt less heavily compressed.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by itskindahot View Post
    ^^^ I'm really a layperson on this whole issue. What am I excited about this? Basically, I hope that 24-bit audio gives me additional headroom/dynamics. Over the last year, I've been able to grab a few original high-resolution masters here and there. All the 24-bit stuff I got felt less heavily compressed.
    wont change much also there are dsp converters which I think is stupid but the only things I see up at 24bit audio are things I wouldnt listen to such as orchestra and ambient stuff. otherwise you will usually only find mostly 16bit 44.1 also due to file sizes
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  9. #9
    Tech Guru lethal_pizzle's Avatar
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    I personally don't think it'll make the slightest difference in a club, the soundsystems generally aren't that good, even when they are in stereo.

    If you've got high grade stereo equipment set up properly at home and good hearing, maybe.
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  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by lethal_pizzle View Post
    I personally don't think it'll make the slightest difference in a club, the soundsystems generally aren't that good, even when they are in stereo.

    If you've got high grade stereo equipment set up properly at home and good hearing, maybe.
    That and do you think they are gonna hear the difference when there's other people making noise? People dont just sit down at a party to only hear the music and bicker back and forth about the quality of it. Also you would need proper sound setup in a studio like room to probably even tell the difference.

    Also
    Now lets get to the subjective side of how music sounds at these different bit depths and sample rates. No one can really quantify how much better a song is going to sound recorded at 24/96. Just because a 24/96 file has 250 times the audio resolution does not mean it will sound 250 times better; it won't even sound twice the quality. In truth, your non-musically inclined friends may not even notice the difference. You probably will, but don't expect anything dramatic. Can you hear the difference between an MP3 and a wave file? If so, you will probably hear the difference between different sample rates. For example, the difference between 22.05 kHz and 44.1 kHz is very clear to most music lovers. A trained ear can tell the difference between 32khz and 44.1. But when 44.1 and 96kHz are compared it gets real subjective. But lets try to be a little objective here.
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