The best way to tell is to try some of these hi-res files yourself and see what you think. In other words, whether the bigger expense and larger files are worth it will depend a lot on your ears, your gear, and the types of music you listen to. In some cases, there was more depth, the music was more subtle, the soundstage a bit fuller, and the dynamic range broader. In my listening, I found that some of the files sounded better than standard CD-quality files of the same music, but it’s hard to put a finger on why.
To get the most out of them, you need to have good stereo equipment if you want to go to the absolute best quality, 192kHz files, you’ll need a DAC hooked up to your Mac. 24/96 files can cost up to twice as much as MP3s or even CD-quality lossless files. High-resolution files cost more than regular downloads. (Note that you won’t be able to copy these files to an iPod or iOS device for playback.) For some files I tested, those in 24/96 format displayed bit rates of 2400 kbps to 2800 kbps, while those files converted to normal lossless files at CD quality (in Apple Lossless format) showed bit rates of 500 kbps to 600 kbps. If you do so, you’ll be able to see the effective bit rate of the files.
#DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYER MAC FREE#
But you can convert these FLAC files to Apple Lossless, if you wish, using tmkk’s free XLD, and add them to iTunes.
#DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYER MAC SOFTWARE#
You can play these files as-is using software like Stephen Booth’s free Play, Vincent Spader’s free Cog, which hasn’t been updated in a while, or the Songbird open-source player. Generally, high-resolution files are sold in FLAC format. You can also stream these files using a Logitech Squeezebox (such as the Touch ) and some other streaming devices. Some examples of DACs are the $429 Cambridge Audio DacMagic ( ), the $299 HeadRoom Micro DAC, and the $129 NuForce uDAC-2. Ideally, you’ll want to use the Mac’s digital audio output to connect to an external DAC (digital-to-analog converter) that is, in turn, connected to a stereo. High-resolution files have a bit of the cachet of vinyl, but in the digital audiophile sector, so a lot of artists are jumping on this train.Ĭhange the Format settings in Audio MIDI Setup to 96000.0 kHz and 2ch-24bit.Īlso, running the music through your Mac’s built-in audio hardware means you’re probably not getting all the benefits of higher-resolution files. Search the Web and you’ll find other labels and bands selling files in these formats. Some sites, such as Gimell Records, offer a variety of formats from MP3 to high-resolution surround-sound. The band Phish now sells its concerts in MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, and FLAC-HD (24/96) formats, and some people trading live recordings circulate them as 24/96 files as well. Other classical music stores, such as eclassical and The Classical Shop, offer a number of high-resolution files from the many labels they sell. Some of the most interesting to explore are Channel Classics, Gimell, Linn Records, and Da Capo, all of which are small, but provide high-resolution files. Others are record labels themselves, many of which are classical labels. Some of these are “stores” such as HDtracks (Rolling Stones, John Coltrane, Eric Clapton) or iTrax (San Francisco Symphony, Afro Cuban Latin Jazz Project), which sell a variety of albums from different labels. The files sold are often called “studio masters,” because they are the format that is used in the studio for the actual recording process.Ī number of websites now sell such files. For new recordings, this is easy, because they are now commonly recorded in 24/96 format. But the growth in this sector has led to many pop, rock, and jazz albums being released in these formats. Initially, classical music was the first genre to offer such files, as many classical labels were already recording in high-resolution for SACDs (super-audio CDs) and and DVD-Audio discs, and needed to simply convert their existing files to the appropriate formats. The market for high-resolution audio files is clearly one for audiophiles but, while a niche within a niche, it is growing, and more and more labels and websites are selling files in these formats. How does this translate into file size? As an example, a 9-minute and 25-second live recording from the band Phish weighs in at 18.4MB for a 256-kbps MP3 file, 67MB for a CD-quality FLAC file, and 126.2MB for a 24/96 FLAC file.
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