Recommended music sources? | I have a Google...

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Recommended music sources?

Mar 6, 2019

I have a Google Play Music Subscription. I like Google Play Music. The automatic (cloud-storage) integration with your own library (first 50,000 songs free) is fantastic. And the "free perk" of commercial-free-youtube is *the* reason why we have a Google Play Music family plan rather than any other alternative "lossy" streaming option. I got kids. Kids love youtube. And I want them to love music too. And compared to the kind of files I was listening to in high school and college (128 kbps MP3, if not worse...), Google's library of 320 kbps is giving my kids access to a much-higher-quality file for which to form some music-appreciation. Under "ideal" listening conditions and with access to "better" ("Mid-Fi" or higher) gear, I like "lossless" FLAC files. The majority of my own personal collection is CD-quality (16-bit, 44.1 khz) "redbook" rips that I make using a program called Exact Audio Copy. A small percentage of my collection is CD-quality (16-bit, 44.1 khz) "redbook" purchases that I've made from online stores like 7digital, and a small percentage of my collection is "Hi-Rez" (24-bit, at sampling rates at least as high as 44.1 khz) FLAC files that I also purchase from online stores like 7digital and HDTracks. I stream those around my house to my Android phone/tablet and Windows Laptop, and then from there either out to various headphone rigs OR cast to my speaker setups (using Chromecast Audios) using my Plex Media Server for now.... I might start a 30-day-free-trial on Roon this weekend though. It's appealling..... I also have a Qobuz Hi-Rez subscription. The majority of my use-case for it involves streaming at CD-quality (I only have access to the Firefox web player while at work, which doesn't support HiRez; and a majority of my listening at home is casting to my Speakers via Google Cast, and currently 24 bit 96 kHz casting to my Chromecasts is botched due to a wanky firmware update, and a good chunk of Qobuz HiRez isn't available at sampling rates below 96 kHz that don't foul up when being cast to Chromecast).... but occassionally I sit down with a Coffee or a Beer and plug my phone/tablet/laptop directly into my best Headphone DAC/AMP, at which point 24/96 plays back without dropout/error... Supposedly Roon will allow my Server to downsample all 24/96 content to 24/48 before casting to my Chromecasts, which is part of the appeal and reason to start a trial this weekend. For modern/synthetic music (stuff that was "played" through a digital system before it was recorded) I generally find the difference between Google Play Music (320 kbps) and CD-quality FLAC to be pretty minimal/almost zero. But for anything with strings that are plucked (piano's, acoustic guitars, violin/cello/etc), and for very complex or nuanced vocals, I think the difference between 320 kbps and CD-quality is pretty significant if/when it's "well-recorded." I think the law-of-diminishing returns kicks in to high gear when I go beyond-CD-quality and into the world of HiRez, *EXCEPT* when the HiRez version is "different" then the CD version in more ways than just the bitrate; if the HiRez version is a better-recorded "mastering" that has more dynamic range (http://dr.loudness-war.info/), the difference between the HiRez file and the CD file can be quite significant for me. If you want to try it out for yourself, I suggest you just rip a couple CDs to a lossless format (like FLAC or ALAC) and A-B compare the result against Google Play Music... it helps to have a spouse/significant other/relative/friend administer the test for you, and have you pick the one you like more without knowledge of which one is the "lossless" one.... I generally do quite well in this test (only when using my "better" more "mid-fi" gear), even when comparing MP3's and FLAC files that were created from the CD rip (and therefore neither file having any sort of inherent "GAIN" or "loudness" boost, which is a claim skeptics will make).

(Edited)

Mar 6, 2019

ILikeAcid

285

Mar 6, 2019

psuKingerThank you. The impartial "administrator" is a great idea. I'll take your accumulated knowledge into consideration.

Mar 6, 2019

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