Hi-Rez theory versus my DAC

[Charlie Jefferson]

Will my DAC, any DAC for that matter, tend to make all versions of the same material in differing formats sound the same?

I was playing a friend's copy of Grrrr by The Rolling Stones on Blu-ray audio (PCM 24/96) and it sounded very, very good.

Then I remembered I'd bought an iTunes version of the same LP, which we used for comparison purposes. It sounded pretty good too.

The Blu-ray was played via the HDMI into my DAC and the iTunes version into the optical input of my DAC.

Is it a strength or perhaps limitation of my DAC that they sounded similar? Not identical, I'll concede the hi-Rez version had "something" favourable the lower resolution didn't have, but not miles apart.

We also played compared the CD to the 24bit version of King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King. Again, the two sounded similar, not exactly the same, perhaps, but not oceans of difference.

Is this because, in these cases, there's little difference between high and standard resolutions or is it more a case of my DAC bridging the sonic gap?

 

[BigH]

Could be because these are old recordings, so don't think 24 bit will get the most out of them, maybe you could try something more recent?

 

[Charlie Jefferson]

Could be because these are old recordings, so don't think 24 bit will get the most out of them, maybe you could try something more recent?

Yes, it's a salient point.

I've got a few recent 24bit LPs, and they do sound good, but I can't directly compare them to other formats.

Still intrigued by the possibilities of hi-rez.

 

[Overdose]

We also played compared the CD to the 24bit version of King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King. Again, the two sounded similar, not exactly the same, perhaps, but not oceans of difference.

Is this because, in these cases, there's little difference between high and standard resolutions or is it more a case of my DAC bridging the sonic gap?

It is simply a case of the high resolution recordings being different versions of the lower resolution ones. If you compared the files directly you would notice exactly what differences were evident.

 

[Charlie Jefferson]

We also played compared the CD to the 24bit version of King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King. Again, the two sounded similar, not exactly the same, perhaps, but not oceans of difference.

Is this because, in these cases, there's little difference between high and standard resolutions or is it more a case of my DAC bridging the sonic gap?

It is simply a case of the high resolution recordings being different versions of the lower resolution ones. If you compared the files directly you would notice exactly what differences were evident.

Without sounding facetious, do you mean the actual files, when graphically, visually compared on a computer screen or do you mean sonically when played?

 

[Overdose]

We also played compared the CD to the 24bit version of King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King. Again, the two sounded similar, not exactly the same, perhaps, but not oceans of difference.

Is this because, in these cases, there's little difference between high and standard resolutions or is it more a case of my DAC bridging the sonic gap?

It is simply a case of the high resolution recordings being different versions of the lower resolution ones. If you compared the files directly you would notice exactly what differences were evident.

Without sounding facetious, do you mean the actual files, when graphically, visually compared on a computer screen or do you mean sonically when played?

A visual graphical representation. Software such as 'Audacity' can do this.