The difference between hi-res and lossless music

Many online music streaming services are appearing on the market, advertising lossless or hi-res lossless audio, which can make many people hesitate.

In reality, most listeners cannot clearly distinguish between regular audio and lossless audio. To recognize the difference between lossless and hi-res lossless, users need high-end audio equipment costing tens of millions of Vietnamese dong. Especially, most users today use wireless headphones like AirPods, which cannot play lossless music via Bluetooth. So what are the differences, and should users pay attention to them?

Many people may be spending money extravagantly on lossless or hi-res lossless music.

The first thing users should know is that a typical 3-minute song takes up about 6 MB, while a lossless song can be up to 36 MB, and hi-res lossless up to 145 MB. These numbers not only take up a lot of phone storage but also internet data, yet don't significantly improve the listening experience.

A few words about lossless music and hi-res lossless

Streaming services typically offer audio at a bitrate of 256 kbps. To be considered lossless music, an audio file needs to be played at 16-bit/44.1 kHz. Apple Music offers lossless audio at 24-bit/48 kHz and Hi-Res Lossless at 24-bit/192 kHz. These numbers represent the compression level of the song; the larger the file, the more information it contains. However, this doesn't necessarily mean users will have a better listening experience.

To play high-quality music on an iPhone, users need compatible USB-C headphones and a supported music streaming service. While lossless audio may sound clearer, an Apple executive once admitted that most listeners can't tell the difference between regular and lossless audio.

To achieve true hi-res lossless audio, users need a dedicated digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to process data between the audio source and the headphones or speakers. However, this experience can be expensive and the benefits are unclear, as the human ear is generally not that sensitive.

In general, experts believe that to achieve lossless or hi-res audio, users need to set up a sound system that focuses on the listener, often costing tens of millions of Vietnamese dong. Even when buying AirPods Max 2 that support lossless audio, many audio experts admit that it hardly makes a difference. Therefore, it's probably not worth spending money on a high-end pair of headphones to enjoy music quality where the difference is barely noticeable.

According to Thanh Nien Newspaper

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/su-khac-biet-giua-nhac-hi-res-va-lossless-a487484.html