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I can’t tell 160kbps vs 320kbps. Are my ears bad? (alien.top)

submitted 10 months ago by HowDidYouKillMe@alien.top to c/headphones@hi-fi.community

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Apologies for the stupid question, but recently I have gotten a spotify subscription, hoping to notice some improvement in the songs I listen to.

From what I’ve read, most people should be able to tell 128 to 320/Lossless, and 96k and below is obvious.
But what I noticed was… nothing.

The songs i listened to sounded incredibly similar, if not the same to the free spotify quality (which was 160kbps)
I doubt it’s my equipment (LCD X + JDS Atom Amp), so I would have to assume all thats left are my ears. Should I be worried?

Thanks in advance!

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[–] IAmAgainst@alien.top 1 points 10 months ago

No, your DAC probably is.

[–] deshan79@alien.top 1 points 10 months ago

Once you know what the difference is it's hard not to tell the difference. For me its the dynamic range, the contrast between the soft or loudest sounds. Something like Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon is a good album to use to test dynamic range. The more compressed a track is the closer all the different sounds are in volume.

[–] patheticorganic@alien.top 1 points 10 months ago

To me it sounds overall the same but the details get lost, almost like they sound a little dirty. Especially on bigger sound systems, you will for sure be able to tell the difference. You'll notice if a DJ has a 160kbps track vs a 320kbps track.