24-bit? Do you use it?

[John Duncan]

Direct connection or Squeezebox for starters. Gerrards media centre thingie may do 24 bit, I dunno?

 

[Anonymous]

Vinny7, that's a tough question, and to be honest, one of the reasons I posted on here originally was to find out the answer to it!

There are a variety of options, as John alludes too, we're just not sure what ones are the most popular.

We're currently asking the users of our service how they use the files they download - so I'll post back some results when that's in if nobody minds.

Cheers

Shaun

 

[Gerrardasnails]

JohnDuncan:Direct connection or Squeezebox for starters. Gerrards media centre thingie may do 24 bit, I dunno?

I don't know whether my Linksys box can stream 24-bit content. The support for the DMA-2100 is awful and as I don't have any 24-bit files (to my knowledge), I won't be able to tell.

 

[pete321]

I connect my PC to my DacMagic via optical SPDIF, so as long as I set my soundcard to output a 24bit signal the DacMagic can handle it (as long as it's not connected by USB).

 

[Anonymous]

Shaun Marin:
Vinny7, that's a tough question, and to be honest, one of the reasons I posted on here originally was to find out the answer to it!

There are a variety of options, as John alludes too, we're just not sure what ones are the most popular.

We're currently asking the users of our service how they use the files they download - so I'll post back some results when that's in if nobody minds.

Cheers

Shaun

Once you have information that would be very helpful for you to post this back here. Some people have suggested below/above using squeezebox or a direct conection. AFAIK - the squeezebox box would have some effect on the sound quality due to its internal DAC & the direct connection is via the soundcard, which would have some effect on the sound as well. (Not 100% about my above comments, im a technology NEWB!

)

I suppose I want to know the "high end/no compromise" solution to getting 24bit music on your Hifi.

 

[Anonymous]

I would like to listen to 24bit music. I own SACD's and they're fabulous. There doesn't seem to be at a glance anything I would like more mainstream downloadable.

When you look at the back of a CD I usually see that the master recording was made in 24bit. Is the album mixed from this in 16bit or would it be a simple case of rereleasing material in the higher format for download?

I live in Ireland with 1MB broadband. Spotify and so on would not be practical for me at the moment.

 

[PJPro]

Gerrardasnails:As a side, I disagree with PJ.
I'm shocked!

Gerrardasnails:What happens if the internet goes down or you want to take your music on holiday?
The internet is mega-resilient, so along as the supplier has a server farm over a number of sites, the internet won't be going down any time soon (although I understand your connection to it might become wobbly for many reasons).

As far as holidays, I can imagine that the solution will be access the online content by plugging your phone into your laptop. Nokia are already trying to muscle in on music....and it won't be long before a number of suppliers replicating the Spotify business model emerge......assuming to it can be shown to work over the longer term.

Of course the other route is wifi hotspots although they'll need to lose the "spot" to satisfy your needs.

 

[gregvet]

Interesting thread.

Currently I cannot listen to 24 bit files in their full glory (Apple TV to Arcam AV9/P7 is my primary music source), but as the music readily available in this format is not my bag, I have not felt I was missing anything.

However, the other day I discovered that if you register on the Nine Inch Nails website, you can download their new album, legally, free of charge in 24 bit 'Hi Res'. Which I promptly did but cannot play in 24 bit form!

If this starts happening with other bands I like as well, I am all of a sudden going to have to find a way to play these files.

Is Squeezebox the only option that doesn't cost a bomb?

 

[PJPro]

gregvet:
However, the other day I discovered that if you register on the Nine Inch Nails website, you can download their new album, legally, free of charge in 24 bit 'Hi Res'. Which I promptly did but cannot play in 24 bit form!

That's a pity cos it's a great album. Can't you convert it to 16 bit? Which format did you download it in?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm currently looking into a Mac Mini for 24/96 duties as my SONOS won't play them, which is a great shame because I love the SONOS system. The Mac Mini seems to becoming a popular choice for a small quiet music/video/media system, my only gripe is that I need an ipod touch to use as a remote control for it.

As for 24bit music, there's plenty of stuff out there that I would buy but it does annoy me that most companies are charging a lot more for it. I do feel that 24bit will be a niche market though. Even if we do get more mainstream music available, I imagine that you will only hear the full benefits of 24bit on mid to high end systems.

 

[gregvet]

"That's a pity cos it's a great album. Can't you convert it to 16 bit? Which format did you download it in? "

The apple TV automatically converts it to 16 bit for playback, so I can play it ok just not the 'full fat' version. As an aside you are allowed to download it in as many formats as you like, these include MP3, FLAC 16 bit and WAV 24 bit. Not bad for free, and as you said, a bloody good album to boot.

Are you listening all you successful bands who care about how we hear your music you sweated blood and tears for? How about more of you giving us the option at least to hear it in even more of its glory?

Rant over

 

[Anonymous]

Shaun Marin:
Hi,

Just wondering if anyone on the forum listens to music in 24-bit? If so, what software and hardware do you use?

Cheers

Shaun

Any luck finding out relevant answers for streaming 24bit yet Shaun? Thx

 

[VoodooDoctor]

Songbird on the Mac will play 24-bit files.

 

[Anonymous]

VoodooDoctor:Songbird on the Mac will play 24-bit files.

Thats one of the good things about Mac users - they can output full 24bit via its optical out direct from the PC. Unfortunately for PC users that isnt an option at the moment. I wonder if the new Apple TV (all rumours atm) will upgrade the sound to full fat 24bit

 

[Anonymous]

Excuse my ignorance but what is 24-bit? Is it related to the sample rates?

 

[Anonymous]

Bit Depth .....

http://www.tweakheadz.com/16_vs_24_bit_audio.htm

 

[Anonymous]

I use my digital out on my pc to listen to a few hi-res tracks through my Beresford. Using media monkey and kernel streaming I get the full 24-bit. I like the improvement over 16-bit but just wish more content was available. My PC is in the same room as my hi-fi so this makes the job a bit easier.