I read many praises of Blu Ray audio.

Of course you need a Blu Ray player.

Not too sure I really need one.

How does a generic Blu Ray player compare to a high end CD player?

Is it worth it, or do you have to invest in a high end blu ray to hear the difference?

Thank you!

C

Why at all BluRay-Audio and not HiRes-Downloads with a much wider range of titles?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-11-24 19:40 by Irix.

Already tried the High Res download.

Was curious about the BR for the many praises they receive.

But if BR versions are the same as what you can find on HR download sites, well, of course I shall trash the blu ray project!

C

Quote
liddas

But if BR versions are the same as what you can find on HR download sites, well, of course I shall trash the blu ray project!

Technically it's exactly the same, e.g. PCM 96kHz/24bit. The difference is only the medium - BR-Disc vs. HDD/SSD.

And the frequencies of music that can be heard by the human ear diminish drastically with age. If you are over 50 it is probably a waste of money to even think about Blu ray. If you are 20, then it is another story.

As an example, I took a test to see what bit rate of mp3 I was able to hear, and I could not tell the difference between 196 kbps and Flac. So all the files on
my mp3 player are 196 kbps. I have no other hearing problems of any kind. I am elderly.

Old people "believe" they can hear a difference, but when tested they cannot.

This subject can be googled to read more than I am willing to type about it here.

Quote
Chacho

If you are over 50 it is probably a waste of money to even think about Blu ray.

But BluRay-Audio or HiRes-Download is not only about frequencies of music that can be heard.

The sonically differences between CD and HiRes are more details, transparency, spatiality. It can already be heard between CD 44.1kHz/16bit and HiRes 48kHz/24bit (same Mastering).

Let it bleed sounds fantastic on bluray

Quote
Whale

Let it bleed sounds fantastic on bluray

No BluRay required - [www.Qobuz.com] , [Store.AcousticSounds.com] ....

A decent blu-Ray with 5.1 surround sound speakers can be had for relatively shore $. Opens up a whole new world of listening and watching possibilities.

Wasn't there talk a decade or more ago about Blu-Ray taking over for CD? That a box set could fit on one disc? I recall hearing that Garth Brooks' catalog was pulled and there was going to be a box set on one BR of EVERY album.

Not sure I would put out the money for one disc... no matter who it is.

He changed his mind (or Capitol Records did) and he wound up rereleasing everything on his own label via Walmart, back when that was the big deal.

I love Blu Ray CDs. Exile, and Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East. They are far and above the best format I've heard for those two works. And of course numerous concert Blu Ray-DVDs. I can hear the difference between the DVD sound of Some Girls Live in Texas, and the Blu Ray.

Of course you only get out of them what is put into them. A Blu Ray CD isn't going to make an uninspired mix sound any better.

The biggest disappointment about Blu Ray CDs is that they didn't make very many of them. It just seems to have been a very short window, like quadraphonic in the 70s.

I have found a few SHM CDs that have fantastic surround sound. The recent GHS 2020 stereo mix on SHM CD is a revelation. And the good thing is that they continue making them. Again, it's only great if what does in is good. I was expecting audio fireworks with Steely Dan's 'Aja', but it was just good. Every note was perfect, but it didn't jump off the disc and dance around in my head.

Quote
liddas
I read many praises of Blu Ray audio.

Of course you need a Blu Ray player.

Not too sure I really need one.

How does a generic Blu Ray player compare to a high end CD player?

Is it worth it, or do you have to invest in a high end blu ray to hear the difference?

Thank you!

C

I bought a BR-player after I got the GHS-box set. I only have two speakers, so I've only tried the stereo-option.

It sounds really good, and there are details that appeared I've never heard before. At the same time it sounded a tad "sterile" and "nice".

So I'm still chewing on this one...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-11-25 14:47 by DandelionPowderman.

We all get old(er) and our hearing worse all the time.

I can tell 128 / s mp3s still -> they are very bad.

16bit / 44kHz <-> HighDefinition / the second a tad better for sure -

you will need a very good Stereo.

Quote
DandelionPowderman


It sounds really good, and there are details that appeared I've never heard before. At the same time it sounded a tad "sterile" and "nice".

So I'm still chewing on this one...

Hmm.. you description sounds like what happened once upon time ago when CDs came along... we know what happened with that one...

- Doxa

Quote
glimmertwin1
We all get old(er) and our hearing worse all the time.

I can tell 128 / s mp3s still -> they are very bad.

16bit / 44kHz <-> HighDefinition / the second a tad better for sure -

you will need a very good Stereo.

I would agree that 128 kbps sounds poor.

I could tell the difference between 128 and 192,
but I could not tell the difference above 192 kbps.

If you do the math though the jump from 128 kbps to
192 kbps is a 50% increase in bit-rate, which is
a large jump.

The normal line-up of bit-rates is: 96, 128, 192, 320, Flac, and CD
in ascending order.

I just looked up Flac and CD bit-rates and there
seems to be a difference of opinion on bit-rates,
but one source said they are approximately 900
and 1400 kbps respectively.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-11-25 15:57 by Chacho.

If you really want to know how much better BLU_RAY AUDIO can be, get the Doobie Brothers QUADIO set that includes 4 of their classic albums in DTS high-resolution Stereo and Quad. All you need is a blu-ray player and 4 speakers. As good as CDs are in terms of sound, they don't have the capability to produce this kind of playback.

The biggest difference is actually the audio. Nothing sounds better than blu-ray... not your iPod, not CD, none of it. Even if you were only going to listen and not watch, blu-ray would be the way to go. The sound on the blu-ray is not even close to everything else.

"You'll be studying history and you'll be down the gym. And I'll be down the pub, probably playing pool and drinking."

Quote
mickjagger1009

Nothing sounds better than blu-ray...

Except HiRes-Files and SACD ....

Quote
Irix

Quote
mickjagger1009

Nothing sounds better than blu-ray...

Except HiRes-Files and SACD ....

And vinyl sourced from original analogue tapes

> All you need is a blu-ray player and 4 speakers

Huh. You hook your speakers directly to the blu ray player, do you?

Thats a new one on me.



>Nothing sounds better than blu-ray...

Thats another sticky wicket. Highly dependent on the quality of the source material, and the way the thing is mastered, just like anything else. I have yet to have the revelation necessary to jump on the bandwagon full on. I suppose I might agree with the statement "nothing sounds better than blu ray given equal source quality" but right off hand I would say any properly mastered 60s UK vinyl sounds better than blu ray translation of that same material, to my ears anyhow.

I do have one blu-ray audio only (might be some video files on it somewhere though) and that is XTCs Drums and Wires. I basically bought the blu ray to be able to play all the bonus material on it. It always was a great transparent sounding record and I guess the blu ray sounds a little better than my original vinyl, but not astoundingly so. Now the bonus material, like hours and hours of demos, rehearsals, live performances and all kinds of stuff, that is well worth having the player around for. If there was more like this I could see investing in the technology more. But sadly, I have yet to find it.

It would be a great way for the Stones, for instance, to release a bunch of crucial but underrecorded live shows from the sixties and seventies while having a major album release as the main attraction, with some sympathetic mixing and mastering of course.


jb

Quote
jbwelda

Highly dependent on the quality of the source material, and the way the thing is mastered, just like anything else.

Yep, that's the decisive factor - for all Media. If the Recording and/or the Mastering is poor then no HiRes, BluRay or SACD helps to make it better.