Image via Complex Original
There’s been a lot of talk of “hi-def” or “hi-res” music recently, a lot of it thanks to the introduction of Tidal, Jay Z’s streaming-music platform that promises to bring high-quality versions of your favorite songs to Internet airwaves in exchange for a monthly slice of your paycheck. Those who gave Tidal a try had to choose if they wanted the HD package or the more affordable standard one, at which point, we imagine, a lot of people curious about the hype said to themselves, “Wait, music can be high-definition?” Well, yes, it can be.
One of the easiest ways to think of HD audio is as the music industry’s own version of Blu-Ray. Interestingly enough, while the way we consume music has evolved from physical media (records, tapes, CDs) into bite-sized—and affordable—MP3s and Internet streaming, we’ve actually lost quality along the way. Streaming files and MP3s are compressed—meaning, much of the original music data, like bass and treble, is stripped away so that they’re smaller, and we can fit more MP3s on our hard drives with less space, and stream music to smartphones without eating away our data plans. Those files typically don’t match the sound resolution that came with good ol’ compact discs, which clock in at 16bit/44kHz. But with $15 earphones, who’s going to notice the drop in clarity, right? That was true during the reign of the iPod, when hard drive space was hard to come by. But now that gigabytes and Internet data are as plentiful as Beys in the BeyHive, the time may have come for hi-def audio to go mainstream.
HD audio aims to turn resolution up—and get it closer or better—to the CD-quality that musicians originally intended for their music to be heard. HD means more bits and more data. You’ll find that many HD-audio files are measured at a 24-bit/96kHz encoding, which could be hefty in size and can typically run 100MB per song, or 1GB an album. Just like watching your movies in high definition, listening to your music in a greater quality than an MP3 (music’s equivalent of a VHS tape) is a one-two punch that involves the right kind of source file and the proper equipment—and not to mention a complementary environment where the music is being listened.
If you download a hi-res music file and then stick on the earbuds that came bundled with your smartphone, you’re not going to hear the enhanced sound. Just like a Blu-Ray disc needs corresponding Blu-Ray equipment, a high-quality sound file calls for the right hardware. And, vice versa, getting better equipment and listening to a standard MP3 won’t do the new gear any justice (unless you're stepping up from bargain-bin headphones).
The concept of HD audio is a heated issue for audiophiles and music enthusiasts alike—some say the difference is minimal, while others say there’s no other way to listen to music than in HD. But HD may end up being the future battleground for streaming companies, so you’ll likely hear more about it in the coming years as the equipment drops in price. If you’re a country music fan, you are probably already familiar with HD music since Neil Young announced that he’s going to remove his catalog from all streaming platforms that don’t offer an HD option—a likely effort to get more people to sign up for his own HD service, Pono. Well, if you’re thinking about taking a trip down the HD rabbit hole, we’re here to get you started with the basics.
The Files
You can get hi-def music in a few formats: WAV, AIFF, DSD, ALAC, and FLAC (the latter two known as lossless-compressed format). As we mentioned earlier, you can download songs at a 24-bit/96kHz encoding—higher than the 16bit/44kHz found in CDs—but there’s debate around whether the extra data in 24/96 can even be heard by the human ear (so your dog might be the only one who notices the difference), but some audiophiles swear by it; do a blind test of each to figure out what might be best for you.
Your Equipment
In order to get the most out of your HD music, it would be wise to invest in a digital-to-analog converter that bypasses the standard-quality sound card of your computer or smartphone for better sound clarity.
Sony's NW-ZX2 Walkman ($1,200) and Neil Young’s PonoPlayer ($400) are prime examples of portable players that are tailored for high-resolution audio. If you have an iPhone or iPad, and a library of CDs sitting in your garage, you’re in luck. You can rip your CDs to iTunes and choose the Apple Lossless (ALAC) setting (under General Preferences > Import Settings) to get your digital rip very close to CD-quality. Choosing the AIFF format means you’ll get CD-quality, but it’ll eat up a lot more of your hard drive space than ALAC. If you download FLAC files from other services (we’ve included a list of some sites below) you’ll have to convert those files into Apple Lossless if you want to play them on an iOS device.
Headphones
You’ll need top-tier headphones to experience lossless music at its best, and your Beats headphones and Apple earpods aren’t going to make the cut. If you want to see what’s best for your taste, see if you can try out different models at a local retail store and do your own test. For now, wired headphones fair better than wireless headphones when it comes to lossless quality, so if you're stuck on wireless, that’s something to consider before shelling out some dough.
You can grab a pair like the Grado SR225i for a little over $300. It’s a much better price than the almost $4,000 Grado PS1000. But it’s your choice—we won’t judge either way you go.
Speakers
Let’s face it—you’re not going to want to have headphones on all of the time. So good quality speakers will be a good investment, like the Definitive Technology W Studio sound bar system ($1,300) or Wren V5US ($500).
To stream HD music from a device to your speakers while hanging around your house, you’re better off doing it over Wi-Fi than Bluetooth (since Bluetooth will compress the file). Consider speakers featuring DTS Play-Fi technology, which works through your Wi-Fi and lets you stream from practically any device—you can even play different songs in different rooms.
Stream It or Store It?
Just like with standard-quality music, there comes the choice between buying your HD songs or streaming them. If you’d like to purchase your HD music for safekeeping, there are a number of places to buy them, but unfortunately you can’t expect to find everything you want, like what you’re accustomed to with iTunes. It might take some searching, but there’s a rich library of HD songs available online. HDTracks.com, Bandcamp, Blue Coast Records, Linn Records, and 7Digital are just a few places where you can look.
If you’d like to go the streaming route, you’ll have to be ready to drop a monthly fee. Some of the popular services for this are Deezer Elite, Rdio, and the aforementioned Tidal.
If you want to find out if you can hear the difference between standard and high-quality music with the equipment you have now, try out this test. Happy listening.