Funny, with CD we had actually very good quality...but made step back in time because the memory on devices was lacking and very expensive. So compression became new standard and finally....we're getting back to FLAC, WAV, CD and masters

@Superbouncybubble

3 жыл бұрын

It's like people going from vinyl to cassette back in the 70s/80s. Ultimately most people dont care about or notice the difference in quality and the convenience and cost is so much better that cassettes became very dominant. Caring about sound quality will always be kinda niche, because it's just not that important to the vast majority of people.

@pvanb291

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it's so sad that convenience wins most of the time. Good quality music (FLAC or WAV 1141 kbps or better) is such good therapy on a great system. You just need to allow some time to do it right!

@JoeNokers

2 жыл бұрын

@@pvanb291 I think it's about circumstance. Most people listen to music whilst doing something else be it a whilst commuting, doing work, exercise or partying etc. In all these circumstances practicality wins out. We (the audio community) listen to music in a different way, the music IS the focus and when it's the focus, quality wins out. Mainstream will always move towards ease of use and practicality over raw quality.

@Thros1

2 жыл бұрын

@@JoeNokers problem is tech has gotten so good that we can have the cake and eat it! The majority of people just don't care sadly.

@tomh4658

2 жыл бұрын

Silence boomer

You can't hear what's being thrown away 99.99% of the time but you can convince yourself 100% of the time you're missing out if you want.

@desotaku5202

Жыл бұрын

Right? Isn't most of the information thrown out redundancies to save the space?

@manamimnm

Жыл бұрын

Under controlled conditions, you can tell the difference. If you listen while taking a shower, then most likely you will not be able to tell the difference.

@NoName-to5xl

Жыл бұрын

I hear it on a 800$ system: sony a-s301, q acoustics 3030 , polk subwoofer , and a fosi 70$ dac. I plug my computer in the dac via USB: spotify sounds good, but if i have the flac of that music on my HD. GOD the difference is so massive it CANNOT be MENTAL.

@kyyuhl

Ай бұрын

​@@NoName-to5xlI agree. I recently downloaded flacs of all my songs I had on Spotify and I hear things now that I never heard before, almost sounds like a slight remix of the original song- but it's not. This is also with me just using a pair of HD 6XX plugged into my iPod.

Spotify has the option to reproduce uncompressed audio (I believe it streams like a WAV of the original song) so it may be worth upgrading. But first you gotta ask yourself these questions: - Do I have good headphones/speakers? - Do I listen to Hi-Fi music? - Can I hear the difference between a 320kbps mp3 and an uncompressed source? - Do my ears really deserve the upgreade? Are they telling me "this experience is poor quality, I want more" or is it just you wanting to buy more gear? Everyone likes a new piece of gear, but it’s a disease. I have 10 guitars, trust me.

@SnassySnoblin

Жыл бұрын

What do you mean by "Hi-Fi music"? You mean really well recorded music, or specific types/genres?

@muhammadshaheedshammodin9803

Жыл бұрын

@@SnassySnoblin the former

@Darkness251

Жыл бұрын

People really should just go out to a hi-fi or home cinema store and listen to different speakers, headphones and recievers in combinations. If they don't hear a difference they won't notice an upgrade. If they get tears in their eyes they do lol

@PvtAnonymous

Жыл бұрын

@AJ I can confirm. Just did some A/B testing and while I have pretty good hearing, I really couldn't hear a difference. I don't have ultra-high-end gear, but my K712 Pros reveal enough to make a difference. I just stopped worrying about the 0.001% nuance that you might miss when listening to lossy files. I'd rather enjoy music than having to think about what I might not catch or trying to make out some imaginary differences when listening to hi-fi gear because "there must be a difference, the people on the forum said so!"

@Im_too_old_for_this_shit

Жыл бұрын

When did they started offering that option? Is that something new?

Thank you for being open and non judgemental like many audiophiles out there. Really helps me who is just starting out and only looking for a budget set up.

Seems common to bash Spotify music quality. Personally I find it surprisingly good and you have to listen very hard on high quality equipment to hear flaws.

@Test-mq8ih

2 жыл бұрын

Tbf it's reasonable for ppl to bash on Spotify music quality, but in the end we got our own standard especially for music

@M4R1N3

2 жыл бұрын

I've been hearing bad mastering flaws or even bails in producing 6 years back with my Philips SP5300 100W RMS 2.1 Speakers without any DAC and just the internal soundcard of my Alienware M18x Laptop back then. It's just a matter of getting used to the equipment you're listening with and know it's limits. Then you'll know when it's the fault of your gear or the fault of producing bails or bad mastering.

@bjornelfsberg3518

2 жыл бұрын

Can't hear any difference to tidal and that's on 1 000 euro EQd headphone system and 10 000 euro 2.4 2-chan system.

@luizfelipedebritoprevedell2117

2 жыл бұрын

@@bjornelfsberg3518 Oh come on man, Tidal is far better than Spotify... on the marketing hehe.

@davidreith2663

2 жыл бұрын

@@bjornelfsberg3518 I hear the difference running dt 990’s but they are very subtle

Huge fan of your channel. With all the buzz on hi-res audio, it's great to hear an audiophile strip down the tech jargon for the man in the street. I've been an avid audiophile enthusiast for most of my life and we are living in exciting times with music being accessible anywhere, anytime and anyplace. There is an amalgamation of 2 domains, that being the internet and audio which was never heard of when I started buying serious audio tech and with mobile tech here to stay, it can only get better...glad to hear you mention ogg-vorbis as I tried explaining that to non-audio/tech/streaming people and they think I'm speaking a foreign language!

Bear in mind now that lossless audio will be coming to Spotify later this year which definitely makes a DAC worth it

@daveed7201

2 жыл бұрын

At this point my hopes aren’t high. I think Apple Music’s release of lossless at no extra cost put a kink in their plans bc they were gonna offer it as a premium feature with a price increase.

@plasmaglobe2850

2 жыл бұрын

great, now all the plebs are going to think they know what hifi is.

@Husky4848

2 жыл бұрын

@@plasmaglobe2850 LMAO fr

@samuelsulaiman

2 жыл бұрын

really? so does customer need to pay higher rate to enjoy that?

@tjl2836

2 жыл бұрын

@@plasmaglobe2850 **plays Spotify lossless through Bluetooth Airpods** "Ah yes, sounds much better"

Great video, agree with everything you mentioned. 3 years ago I bought my speakers and I follow the exact same direction you mentioned! Choose my speakers (though oversized to get the best I can afford - USHER Diamond mini 2) and I went with the amp the producer of the speaker recommended (USHER A8500) and got a Bluesound Node as a source. I was really lucky that reliable people helped me on the way, as even now I don't feel to change anything in my system. I listen to Spotify most of the time because after everything was set up, I really liked the sound and didn't feel Tidal worth the extra cost.

After watching some other videos about sound quality, I do believe you nailed it with a simple yet direct explanation about the impact of a proper equipment and sound quality.

Your channel - no fuss, no elitism, sensible audio advices. Good find!

i love your content alot, i went and learned all in the hard way but you have made it very simple and easy to understand, happy to be here and see more people care about there audio

Great video with a lot of great information. You just answered every question I had.

Honestly Spotify isn't quite as bad as people make it out to be. 320kbs ogg vorbis is pretty solid. Solid enough that you'd probably only notice the difference between that and lossless with a decent DAC and a relatively good amp. Or at least the difference wouldn't be obvious. That said, I don't think that's an excuse for them still not offering any kind of lossless option. I wouldn't blame them for not going the full master quality route like Tidal, there are very few people who would benefit from that, but they *at least* need to have a CD quality option. If Apple Music is already doing it, Spotify needed to be doing it several years ago. Supposedly they're going to, but they'd pushed it back multiple times.

@chinochimp

Жыл бұрын

apparently it’s just that they’re in licensing hell with record labels and that’s why they don’t have lossless yet

@PvtAnonymous

Жыл бұрын

Honestly, I've been so fed up with Spotify that I just ended up with Apple Music. And I don't regret it a bit. The UI looks phenomenal on Android, they have lossless (5.99 for students, it's a MUST) and now have added the last feature I missed in iOS 16: sorting playlists. When Spotify screwed up their library and how it works, that's when I jumped ship. Not regretting it at all.

You did good. I remember when I started 13 years ago and it’s been nice growing with you on tech.

Hi there, i have a question. I have a cheao hi-fi with a cambridge a1, mission lx2 and a chromecast. I use tidal in streaming. Should I considera to buy a "budget friendly" DAC or the DAC in the chromecast is already decent? Would my Experience be better with a DAC?

2:26 that is a bit misssleading the bitrate on lossless files does not work like lossy files, for example a 320 kb/s MP3 is clearly better sounding/higher quality than a 192 kb/s one, but with FLAC a 800 kb/s song doesnt sound worse than a 1000 kb/s one because bitrate in lossless codecs doesn't determine sound quality, it determines the complexity and average sound levels. A loud song has a higher bitrate than a quiet one.

What about audio from TVs and consoles? I use the Spotify app on my TV a lot, connected to a good stereo amp and speakers, but feel like I get better sound quality using my phone via a Dragonfly. Has anyone got experience with for example the Schiit Modi via the TVs optical out? Do you get sync issues with video?

@Risandi_Pradipto

2 жыл бұрын

I stream Spotify and KZread on PS4, connected to TV via HDMI. And then Optical out from the TV goes into DAC (Chord Mojo). No problem whatsoever.

@jakexd5524

2 жыл бұрын

It shouldn’t matter, Spotify will give the same digital signal no matter what its running on, what matters is what turns the digital signal into analog (built in DAC or separate one) and what you listen with.

the answer: if you're using Spotify you already have a DAC and chances are it's fine

I have Cyrus Soundkey DAC (for phone or notebook) + active speakers Edifier R1800TIII 2.0 (for about 100 eur). What can i upgrade if i want to hear better quality (possibly from FLAC files) ?

So a little question: i own a Turntabel and an old Receiver (Onkyo TX 9021). From the Onkyo I use an quarter inch to 3.5mm adapter to connect my wired headphones. But for my daily life I normally use Spotify on my PC. I don't own loudspeakers so I use my wired overears. Now how I understand it, I can use my PC as a streamer and an external dac(for example the shiit Modi 3) to convert it into analog. After this do i need a headphone amplifier/normal amplifier or anything like this? Or can I simply connect it to headphones/speakers / can I use my old Receiver as a music "hub" (where every music source and output are combined)? Sorry I don't have much hifi background? Thanks in advance.

This is a very well put-together video and gives great perspective. One thing I would've added is that a lot of DAC/Source file quality discussion and advice comes from the time when lossy compression was introduced and since then the algorithms have improved substantially so a lot of "you need to worry about your source files" talking points just doesn't hold true anymore. Also, audio engineers have learned a lot since then about mastering for digital and lossy compressed formats and it became the primary medium, so everything is optimised for that too.

I stream Spotify from my Mac Mini into a Schiit Modi 3+ (via USB), then into my integrated amplifier, then out some bookshelf speakers and I noticed the difference in quality immediately. Really pleased with the result.

Great video, especially loving the b-roll footage

What about the device? I currently have an Amazon Fire tablet set up to my Kenwood separate hifi. It sounds ok, got to turn the volume up higher on the stereo however. Would you recommend a better device?

I’m going to tell y’all right now. Listen to music on whatever you have access on. A lot of songs, especially underground songs and mixes can only be found on KZread.

@videblu

Жыл бұрын

so many songs that are near impossible to find high quality versions of. The four corners of the earth - the fire shall devour them Hindi Zahra - Stand Up (acoustic version) Royksopp - Eple (drum intro version, vinyl only) And the one that I simply cannot figure out the true source of: DJ AJA, Inc. - Yesterday... (Parts of this song show up in many other re-published versions and I have no idea who the true author is)

A quick couple of questions: (1) Which is better for sound quality, streaming Spotify through my Iphone 5 or macbook pro (2009) to my stereo (good NAD set-up). (2) Given that both are older devices, will a DAC noticeably improve sound quality? Thanks.

@TheSergio719

3 жыл бұрын

(1) The best audio hardware is the way to go. Look at the specs and audio comments for both devices if you can, because these specific technical features are usually difficult to find on general-purpose devices. Trust your ears and preferences as well. You can take the highest product price as last option. (2) Yes, a dedicated DAC in decent or good setups noticeably improves sound quality, compared to most generic-purpose devices (PCs, smartphones). Sound is typically better defined in tone and space, more detailed. As many guys said here in comments, around 100$+ you can get a very good DAC. No need to go far expensive here.

I just want to thank you for all your videos. So with that said, thank you for all your work.

Very nicely delivered. Your videos are so informative but calm and meaningful. Many thanks

I've had a Schiit DAC for a couple of years and was completely unaware that I could get better source audio on Amazon compared to Spotify. So thanks. That's fixed now.

THAT TRESOR STICKER LOVE IT

Thank you. This is pertinent, well explained, and I can't but agree with your conclusion.

Hi John - really love your channel - I'm stuck about whether to wire my iPhone into say, a Modi 3 the into the amp or stream over bluetooth to an ifi Zen Blue then into hifi - is there any difference in sound? Thanks!

Thank you, I have always said that the mastering is more important then the formate regardless of it been on vinyl CD or Stream.

Big agree on the later point: how the recording is mastered is often the key point. I have KZread premium that's 256kbps. The good DAC of the iFi Zen Blue V2 (on LDAC) handles the lossy stream well enough to show better remasters of the same material as preferable to some older CDs.

Thanks! Well explained and easy to understand for this beginner. Very very helpful and informative. New to streaming and dacs .

Thank you for this video John. I agree with you. I purchased a Schiit Modi 3 to run my Wiim Mini through using Spotify as the source and the Schiit Modi 3 saved my streaming as I have always been a vinyl/cd guy. I always enjoy your vid's. Please, keep up the good work.

@JoshNolasco

Жыл бұрын

Same setup. I love it and it's so cheap.

@chanslorvalorum6905

Жыл бұрын

If I get a Wiimini do I need to bypass the internal dac to get good sound

@chanslorvalorum6905

Жыл бұрын

@@JoshNolasco How does the Wii mini internal dac sound through its analog outputs

7:47 "So, choose the best speakers for your room, then choose the best amp for your speakers, then - don't fret about Spotify: Invest in an entry-level DAC, and then after that you can worry about what streaming service you use."

@mykeviper

Жыл бұрын

what if you have an active speakers?

@charlesurias

10 ай бұрын

@@mykeviper - That’s steps 1 and 2, move on to step 3.

Love your channel, value your honest opinion. My question is, is it worth the extra money for the schiit modi multbit 3 vs the $99 Modi? I'm primarily a analog listener ( vinyl and reel to reel ) but realizes that digital has gotten better. Thank you

@khabib29-0goat3

2 жыл бұрын

If i may auggest you, get the combo of E30 and L30 from topping. Its cheap, powerful, sounds way above its price. Basically if you just starting the hobby or doesnt want to spend too much its the best purchase for now.

@kenchong021

2 жыл бұрын

I have ordered a Schiit multibit DAC myself and waiting for it to arrive. Basically in hifi, you will get what you pay for as different chips will produce different sound characteristics. I use a vintage Marantz 95 multibit DAC and it sounded a lot better than the Meridian DAC though the Meridian DAC's sound is much cleaner. A lot depends on your personal preference and the type of music that you prefer and your sound system.

Great points well explained! Thank you.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience

Great video, with amazing info. Question: Is setting 24bit / 96khz going to affect audio quality if I am streaming music from spotify only? My usb sound card supports 24/96 but I am not sure if this setting improves playback quality or not. Should I keep the default settings (16/48)? Thanks in advance.

@akjm9177

3 жыл бұрын

It won't matter if you're not playing 24/96 media.

@snowmean1

3 жыл бұрын

Some DACs has sophisticated upsampling algorithms which improves quality... Artificially but whatever makes compressed file shine is a good option.

Nice info. I can confirm this information myself as I find Spotify sounding much better on LG g8x with the quad dac than my previous Xiaomi smartphone which used the DAC from snapdragon. Btw, could you also share the playlist you use in your videos. I always like the songs.

John, Love the information you provide. A question I have is what is your take on running a portable DAP with wireless headphones or in ear buds. I know that Sony claims LDAC to be 990 Kbps but after reading articles have found that in most cases it will not stream that over bluetooth. APT X HD or Adaptive is said to be better. So why do these DAP manufacturers promote LDAC and now we have headphones coming out with LDAC. MQA can not be streamed because the end point must have the software to unfold the compressed file. So what makes this different for streaming LDAC, APTX and being able to stream these lossless from say Tidal master. Are you actually getting the best Lossless form a streaming service wirelessly or is Bluetooth still to restricted to stream CD or better quality no matter the set up?

hey, i have a focusrite 6i6, i can use this as a DAC right? or do i need a dedicated DAC to listen to lossy music? :)

Love your videos, thanks! What about a DAC built into your processor, vs a dedicated streamer with DAC? For example, I use HEOS on my Marantz 7706 to play Amazon HiFi. Marantz has decent DACs, would I notice a difference with a $1,000 DAC?

Love this video, perfect for a newbie like me

great video and info! and nice music used

Hi im using kanto yu4 as desktop speaker for my macbook pro 16”. Im considering buy a fx audio x6 or topping d10s dac or a speaker stand from kanto. I know its a different category, but if want to have a big improvement in sound quality which one should i buy first. The speaker stand or dac ? Thankyou

Thanks, interesting. Coming back to listening to music after 40 years, in the 80's had a Linn LP12/A&R A60/Linn Kans. It seems that HiFi philosophy has changed from being all about the source, invest in that, then amp, then speakers to the reverse. So much to catch up on, and what to do with a large vinyl collection!

Good thing about streaming on Good equipment is you still get a good sound and still have loads of shelf space!!! not taken up by LPs, CDs Cassettes MDs DCCs, But on the other hand if you're a Certain age we grew up with and love a physical media. 😊

Really helpful video, thanks for sharing

Extremely enlightening, thank you

the amazing thing is that between the squeezebox and dacs today is that you can get all the dac youll ever (yes ever) need for $100. thats not true even like 5 years ago when hi-fi was hi budget. if you wanna get an amp with it youre looking at about $400 total for a lifetime. which is for sure still on the low end of things but ive noticed thats the point of drastically diminishing returns unless you want a very specific tone to your audio or youre a hobbyist. speakers and headphones are too personal to go into but i guarantee that a flat tone dac (akm chips) and amp (thx chips or topping, among others) will power whatever you throw at it and you can adjust tone with the eq on your computer or by using different sound making things. put the focus on your source (computer, cd player, whatever) and your headphones/speakers first, then work the rest out from there

@joelmcghee5265

2 жыл бұрын

@donison1968 I’m new to this too. Some advise, expect there to be no personalised info, it’s a pain but you might be in the same boat as me.

Hi I am aware that Spotify are working hard to improve the quality of their streaming, and because I like their app I am happy to wait. However, I wasn’t aware the DAC would have a impact on the sound, I thought it was the source, so this has been very helpful and I will look to upgrade soon. Thx Stephen

Great information, thank you 👍🏻

Lol great video. Those Wolfson dacs were the reason ppl were doing the iMod upgrade to their iPod Classics back in the day.. lol

LOL, this is me. I use mid - high end gear and most of my content comes from spotify

@ColbyJohnson303

3 жыл бұрын

watch out, the gatekeepers are gonna start attacking you any minute

@erikpayne8202

3 жыл бұрын

Same but I use deezer hifi

@eliweber724

3 жыл бұрын

@@erikpayne8202 well deezer is lossless, so

@LyK0sa

3 жыл бұрын

Same, I'm a bit of a newcomer to the mid fi headphone world. Most of my rekordbox library is WAV, I have a few special albums in FLAC on my PC, but 95% of my listening is through Spotify. I'll definitely be upgrading to Spotify hifi when I get the chance. I'd thought about tidal, but I'd be losing out on a lot of the more niche stuff that I listen to. Not sure how deezer compares, but to be honest I know that Spotify has most of what I want to listen to, so I'll make do with 320Kbs mp3 for now.

@davemonster2

2 жыл бұрын

Good thing Spotify will be going lossless x'D

thats amazing. I use spotify on my phone but i only use tidal when listening on my sound system with cabasse speakers.

@scootsmcdoots80

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve heard if you play over Bluetooth it won’t sound any different. Can you tell me if that’s true?

@rolandrohde

2 жыл бұрын

@@scootsmcdoots80 Bluetooth maxes out at somewhere around 250Kbit/s so lossless likely won't have any impact.

do high quality cabel improve listening quality too? for my pc im useing IFI Dac and Zen with the include assesori for my phone I'm using tempo tech sonata HD to lissenig spotify.

hi i was wondering if a portable DAC would improve the audio quality if im using a Audio 64 U6t IEM (around $1.2k USD) but currently only streaming on spotify (bitrate sucks) or shld i be focusing on downloading quality files instead? (using an iphone btw) or shld i get a DAP?

@TAMITRO

4 ай бұрын

the fioo portable dacs are good, after you get a dac try flac files

Very good info. The tuner on my receiver died and the radio reception is bad in that basement space anyway.... just looking for some kind of streamer I could use for internet radio stations and Spotify or Pandora... need to plug it into my stereo and don't need ultra high fidelity sound, but would like good sound.

I pulled all of my old lossy files mp3 files which is 320kbps into the raspberry pi streamer with an added optical spdif hat. I listened to it on schiit modi+ magni combo into hd650 Sennheiser and it sounds damn amazing. I wouldn't imagine I have been listening to music for so many years and missing so many details in the music. Especially the old songs I've been so familiar with. They are a refreshing experience!

@lucysyd2159

3 жыл бұрын

Good for u man, investing in audio is absolutely worth it, I just got a FiiO BTR5 that I connect to my phone and to my Sony XM4 and Sennheiser HD1 Wireless and WOW is everything I can say I can’t wait for my adapters to arrive

@steabert

3 жыл бұрын

I have the exact same setup :D

@croissant420

2 жыл бұрын

Hi I'm so noob and new info these audio stuff and I wanna get started to listen to high quality music. Where do I start?

I'm streaming from Anghami ( it is like Spotify, uses up to 320) on my phone with IEMs. Should I by portable dac like the fiio btr3/5/Q1? or will it make no difference? I'm using BLON 03 IEM.

@Lauramussss

2 жыл бұрын

Will definitely make a difference. :) I use the btr3k on my iPhone 6+ and it does improve sound quality.

I have a question. What about in the context of using something like the kef/ls 50 wireless speakers? If those speakers already have a DAC built in... Is there a need for a dedicated dock? In your opinion....

THIS is the video I was looking for.

man... You know, I see audiophiles who are super nice, who want people to join in on their hobby and understand! Annnnd this comments section is not full of them lol. Listen, it don't matter that much. There's no perfect way to listen to music. If you care, sure, that's fine. But you don't need to.

@aiden359

Жыл бұрын

I feel like you can just EQ anything to your personal preference and all you need is a semi capable setup. Idk anything about audio, but seems like people justify spending way too much

Newbie question here. I do own a Harman Kardon AV, coupled to a pair of Jamo S803's. For music listening I made the connection via HDMI from the PC, am I using the best method and with the largest sound quality, or do I need e separate DAC? What will change?

Very informative info, I have often wondered about the differences in sound using Spotify vs other lossless services.

Soundcloud/Spotify/KZread (Yt on at least 720p-1080p Audio Sources) always sound better as soon as i plug in any of my PreAmps/DACs. Even on a JBL Charge 4, the Astro Gaming 7.1 Headphone MixAmp for example, it totally transforms the sound and you can play around a lot with 4 customizable EQ presets. I tried something else too, used my Motu M4 and connected the headphone output onto my JBL Charge 4 speaker, guess what, the Sound was cleaner and still had crazy JBL bass, the Motu M4 headphone output even has so much PreAmp gain that 40-50% of the Knob are enough when the Charge 4 is already put to its maximal volume. The critiacal matter here is: Are internals inside your chosen product, PreAmp/DAC built well enough with good quality internals on the chipsets to drive your headphones/speakers and at the same time have clear sound or not. If you buy a quality product it will always sound better no matter how bad the source file you're listening to is.

Dude your no bullshit approach is music to my newbie ears...Wait....Neverminded....Subscribed!

I’ve just bought the FiiO KA1 and have spent a few hrs listening to Spotify on my MacBook through my KZ ZSN Pro’s and am impressed with the musicality and soundstage/ signature. I love the KZ’s and was happy just out of the headphone Jack on my old 6s plus. Ofcourse I’ve bought the USB-C KA1 so now I’m going OTG adapter route to see how things compare on the 6s and 12 mini. I think I’m more impressed with the KA1 sound than I was in my Schiit set up.

Hi, and what about amp with embedded eg. TIDAL inside like Yamaha RN602 (I mean listening music from TIDAL directly from amp)? Is it worse than TIDAL from laptop through DAC to amp (analog line)?

@Deadgray

3 жыл бұрын

As I have RN602 myself, I can just tell you, that Tidal/Spotify/whatever is streamed directly via network connection to Yamaha and uses its DAC, so you avoid unnecessary chain and signal degradation.

watching this with my $30 logitech speakers:

I was using the headphone output into my amp. It was only when I used my phone, and it sounded better, that I thought there might be a problem. I switched to an Ifi Zen v2. It's a lash up system - a wharfedale sub, JBL control 1's and a Rotel amp, all bits from Ebay. The difference is absolutely massive, between this and the headphone out. Interestingly - a lot of bass was going missing. I actually thought it might be a problem with the sub. I do have Spotify set to max quality. And yes, I know it's not lossless etc. etc. However, the dac in my Dell docking station was obviously not good. In short - the old hifi rule of having a decent source remains true.

Thank you so much for the logic of your speech. Very clear and informative. One last thing. I heard about something called Audirvana. It seems this software allows you computer to send the full capacity of your files to your external DAC. Does this piece of software between Spotify and your DAC help. Or is it only request of you use Tidal, Qobuz or equivalent. Best regards.

@TheDRAKE11790

2 жыл бұрын

Audirvāna only works with Qobuz and Tidal and another streaming service that’s called HIGH RES AUDIO. There’s also ROON which is similar to Audirvāna. So if you’re going to go that route, you’re limited to those streaming services and your own personal local library outside of streaming services.

I've been using the builtin DAC of my Cambridge audio 651R, i think is the CS43122, since.. ever. Are all this new DACs like schiit or tooping better than my old Cambridge DAC? I will notice the diference buying a new dedicated DAC?

I totally agree that the mastering matters WAY more than the bitrate as long as you compare 320kbps lossy to FLAC. Music recorded by chesky records on spotify sound AMAZING compared to some songs i have in FLAC. 330kbps i believe is the perfect compromise as long as recording and mastering is done beautifully

@lordofdoosh

2 жыл бұрын

I think the recording and mixing would be a more accurate way of putting it. Mastering is largely just EQing the already mixed file

I have an old and fine Yamaha amplifier and beautiful speakers. I use a Bluetooth receiver and it’s amazing! So… cheap solution and so much pleasure!!

Really stupid question. If I buy this to connect to my pc, I can connect to it my headphones directly (HD 599) or I ALSO need an AMP?

Another fine, very informative review.

I have Spotify and Tidal. Sometimes Spotify sounds better! Good recordings sound leagues better on Tidal. Average and especially below average recordings can sound more pleasant on Spotify though! Hearing a poorly mastered track on Tidal reminds me of when I first saw news anchors in HD 😂. All in all, it's been my experience that compression can help smooth over harsh qualities of bad mixing and mastering.

@SunilZishan

Жыл бұрын

TIDAL HiFi/plus is not lossless. They use what they call Master Quality Authenticated (MQA), not FLAC. Qobuz on the other hand does offer you true lossless with FLAC.

@mateuszzimon8216

Жыл бұрын

I have same feelings for TIDAL. And A/B on same song gives very mixed reviews, also if u think u need DAC buy first some cheap AliExpress special like eassager. What track have poor masters on TIDAL?

I used Apple music for 6 months or so but went back to Spotify.For me the Spotify UI is far superior and this is just as important, I am constantly finding new music through the Spotify recommendations that the other services just don't seem to do.I don't have a highly resolving system and spend many contented evenings listening to music.I think Spotify is excellent.

@ClareHehe

7 ай бұрын

also good news. spotify is getting lossless streaming sometime idk when. probably gonna cost extra but could be worth it.

@VSN-wb2ly

4 ай бұрын

Yeah nothing can beat Spotify in music's variety and seamlessness

What a great video. I'm starting myself in this world with a brand new pair of wharfdale 12.1 and I'm glad I see this video to start to do things in correct order ;) Let's go to the amp then :D

Loved hearing the tennis ball analogy after playing dubs this morning! Yes, it made sense. 😊

"Birthday" by Sugarcubes, always super top musical choices!

Get a DAC, by all means. I stream Spotify out of my Mac Mini, into my Schiit Modi 3, then into my (classic) Creek 4042s2 integrated amp then out my (vintage) Mission 70s, and it has made a noticeable difference to these ears. I was pleasantly surprised. No more iPhone into Creek 😉

Great video mate, I can’t believe I only just discovered you.

Hi there, I am going to buy a DAC and have chose between these two options: OPPING DX3Pro and Dilvpoetry DAC-X8. The latter is much cheaper. But my questions is how far worse off will I (with layman's ears) be with the cheap Dilvpoetry instead of pricier Topping?

This is an old video but I'd just like to share my own experience with Spotify/Tidal. So I got some new BT Headphones over the summer (Teufel Real Blue NC, 150€ - lesser known German brand) and initially I was a bit disappointed because they didn't really sound better than my previous ones (7 y/o 90€ open headphones from Teufel as well). But then I read about Tidal and thought I'd give it a shot and the difference was quite signficant. Even on high quality instead of HiFi, the instrument seperation and clarity is noticeably better than on Spotify with highest settings. So I can't say how it compares on speakers but on my bluetooth (!) headphones it makes quite a lot of difference. And for 5€ a months I can only recommend it. I don't own a DAC (yet) but I would assume it improves the audio, no matter if the source is Spotify or Tidal, but there's definitely more to work with on lossless streaming services.

@JustinMurray170fin

Жыл бұрын

You only pay €5 a month for Spotify - Student rate or some such?

Imo, Good musicianship and music recording triumph over high end equipment. I enjoy a good listening setup but bad music are always just gona be bad music…. Save up and listening live music is always a treat as well💪

And second question please, how bad is an idea to connect amp by using DAC but with using 3.5mm jack cable (instead 2rca-2rca)? thanks a lot!

@snowmean1

3 жыл бұрын

Well technically speaking single ground connection such as Jack3.5 introducea crosstalk which might affect stereo separation, so RCA is a better option, but honestly I don't think many people will notice any difference.

Anyone suggest what make of CD player to replace my knackered Technics SL-PG4? I have a Cambridge amp (A1 Mk 3) & Mordaunt-Short speakers. They only seem to have Tiba on Amazon now

Hello! What about external dac versus the dac from a reciver? Let’s say the Yamaha Rx V581. Would it be a difference? Thanks

@doubledark2

4 ай бұрын

would like to know the answer to this as well.

Spotify on maxed settings is surprisingly good imo. Im trying the service out at the moment and so far I like it because the quality is better than I expected, the library is just endless and they have a solid desktop client that is not resource heavy and "just works" . My setup is Sundara + Fiio K3 (soon to be a Topping DX3 Pro+) and that's enough to spot a difference between KZread Streaming, random MP3 files, Soundcloud and Spotify on 320kbit. The Sundara were a big purchase so 10 bucks a month really is all I am willing to pay for a streaming service.

@JoseRivera-rl3qv

Жыл бұрын

I mean, is for consumers rather than audiophile or actual audio enginners.

@vincentnguyen7271

Жыл бұрын

@@JoseRivera-rl3qv audiophiles are just snobby consumers

@JoseRivera-rl3qv

Жыл бұрын

@@vincentnguyen7271 🛐

@cloggedpitot1

Жыл бұрын

Heard the sundaras are good, how do you like them?

All a bit beyond me this but I stream my music from my phone to a decent Mission speaker via an Echo Dot for a Wi Fi rather than a Bluetooth connection. Would it be worth adding a DAC to this setup ?? and which item would I connect it to.... thanks

@jjjcmo

Жыл бұрын

I use a Schiit Modi and it sounds better. And I stream Spotify from my phone to my receiver.

@chanslorvalorum6905

Жыл бұрын

Do you have to give verbal commands to Alexa., To get the music you want or is there some app that goes with this thing

@chanslorvalorum6905

Жыл бұрын

Also how is the internal DAC on that?

John! Another great video, I wonder if you could put something together for people wanting to get the best out of spotify... Thanks!

I can totally attest to this theory presented at about 7:00. I was running Spotify from a laptop via Bluetooth to a Dayton DTA120BT2 To a Sony sub and an array of vintage, but upgraded bookshelf speakers. However, I recently bought a Schiit Hel2e DAC and pushed that into an Aiyima A07 to the same speakers and it was a profound increase in the quality. Everything was clear, mud was gone. Things were bright, sparkly and punchy. TV, Movies, Music, Videogames. Even songs that have been mixed poorly and sound decent on crap systems.... Their deficiencies were there and more apparent due to how clean and neutral everything was.

@flexo3333

2 жыл бұрын

bluetooth?

the first DAC units like the Neko D100 from years ago, where amazing, now we have the dongles DAC for 10 dollars who do the same thing

Hello, Mr. Darko. Random question for you... What glasses are you wearing, because I kind of love them. Thanks!

I am new to streaming and just using you tube at moment but i saw a bloke on a video saying that the windows audio is shocking and you need an app to divert round it such as audirvana what are your thoughts

@TheAceDread

Жыл бұрын

There is A LOT of information on this out there, and I'm in the process of learning about it myself. Windows really fucks with sound quality due to its "enhancements".