Hi-res streaming could be tricking your brain more than your ears.
For a long time, we have been led to believe that bigger numbers and “better” specs are the best way to get the best sound quality. That’s why a lot of people believe that hi-res streaming has made CDs obsolete.
But are we getting too caught up in the numbers game? Let’s look at what actually matters for sound quality in the real world.
The Science Behind CD Quality Audio
CDs weren’t just designed randomly. specifically designed to deliver all the audio detail the human ear can detect.
Every spec was carefully picked to match what our ears can actually hear. That 16-bit, 44.1 kHz standard you see on CD players? It’s there because it captures the full range of human hearing, which maximizes from 20 Hz to 20 KHz. In fact, it even goes beyond that.
The Nyquist-Shannon theorem tells us that to accurately capture a signal, you need to sample at more than twice the highest frequency you want to record. Since CDs sample at 44.1 kHz, they can faithfully capture frequencies up to 22.05 kHz, which is comfortably above our hearing range.
As for the 16-bit depth, this gives us 65,536 different levels to capture sound variations, which works out to a 96 dB dynamic range.
Don’t worry if those numbers sound big. What matters is that 96 dB easily covers all the quiet whispers and loud sounds you’ll hear while listening at home. Most living rooms only need about 75 dB of range anyway.
Bottom line? CDs give our ears everything they can actually pick up, with no unnecessary extras.
Why Higher Resolution Numbers Don’t Equal Better Sound
You’ve probably seen those impressive-looking numbers on high-res audio formats like 96 kHz, 192 kHz, 24-bit audio. But, if CDs already give us more than our ears can handle, what’s the point?
Here’s the truth about those ultra-high frequencies above 20 kHz: we just can’t hear them. Period.
Sure, high-res formats can capture them, but most of your audio gear can’t even play them properly. In fact, trying to reproduce these super-high frequencies can sometimes even mess up the sound you can actually hear.
The marketing folks love to talk up 24-bit audio and its massive 144 dB dynamic range. But let’s put that in perspective. This extended range mainly benefits recording and mixing, where extra “headroom” helps prevent quality loss during editing. But for listening at home? The CD’s 96 dB range is plenty.
Plus, most modern music doesn’t even use the full range that CDs offer. Producers dynamically compress the music, making quiet parts louder and loud parts quieter. So, you end up using way less range than even a CD provides.
That extra bit depth in high-res audio isn’t adding more “detail” to your music either. It just reduces some technical noise that you already can’t hear in CD-quality audio anyway.
So while those high-res numbers might look impressive on paper, they’re not doing much for your ears in real life.
The Real-World Advantages of CDs
Beyond the technical details, CDs offer practical benefits over streaming.
First, no matter how good (or bad) your internet is, CDs have one big advantage: they just work. Every time.
You get clean, uncompressed sound without any hiccups.
Sure, services like Tidal and Apple Music promise “lossless” streaming. But they’re only as good as your internet connection.
Having a video call in the next room? Your music might start buffering. Weak Wi-Fi? Say hello to lower-quality audio.
CDs don’t care about any of that. Pop one in, and you get exactly what you’re supposed to hear. No ifs, ands, or buts. No dealing with those annoying quality drops when your router decides to act up, and no waiting for songs to buffer when you’re in a spotty coverage area.
Also, streaming services sometimes play songs at different quality levels to save bandwidth. But with CDs, you get consistent sound quality every single time.
Meaning, if you’ve got decent playback equipment, you’ll hear the music exactly how the artist wanted you to hear it.
There’s also something satisfying about actually owning your music. Streaming services give you millions of songs at your fingertips. But they can also take them away when licensing deals expire.
That said, streaming services shine in their own way. They’re fantastic at helping you discover new music through personalized playlists and recommendations. Plus, there’s something to be said for having your entire music library in your pocket.
The good thing is, it’s not an either/or situation.
The Truth About Perceived Differences
Blind listening tests reveal what many don’t want to admit: most people can’t tell the difference between CD-quality and high-res audio.
Even in controlled ABX tests with high-end equipment, listeners struggle to distinguish between CD-quality (16-bit/44.1 kHz) and high-res audio (24-bit/192 kHz).
So why do some people swear they hear a difference? It’s mostly about what’s happening in our heads.
When we know we’re listening to high-res audio, our brain tells us it sounds better, even if there’s no real difference.
This mental trick is called expectation bias, and it’s a big reason why high-res audio has become so popular. Those fancy marketing campaigns definitely know how to use this to their advantage.
Your playback gear matters way more than file resolution anyway. A well-made CD playing through a quality player and audio system can sound way better than a high-res file playing through basic equipment.
Your room setup and how well the music was mastered in the first place also make a bigger difference than choosing between CD or high-res formats. These factors affect what you hear much more than any difference in file resolution.
In short, CDs already deliver everything your ears can actually pick up.
High-res formats might look better on paper. But, what really counts is the quality of your gear, your listening space, and most importantly, how well the music was recorded and mastered in the first place.
My favorite thing about cd is you aren’t forced to choose the latest (and maybe loudest) mastering of a release that hs been issued multiple times over the years. Do you want the 2-disc version with all the demos on disc two? It might not be on streaming. I prefer the pre-1995 Sire cd releases of the Pretenders catalog, the Rhino reissues which is what’s on streaming is louder and hotter sounding, harder for me to enjoy.
Yes! Exactly! I hate remasters. That’s where LPs and CDs shine the most 😊👍
Large parts of the Hifi world exist only because of expectation bias, as well as pre and post-purchase rationalisation. Actually this extends to nearly all hobbies. In some ways it’s a good thing, or the amount of choice in products would be reduced.
What is missing here is some info about quantization noise and how it affects music with high dynamics (i.e. differences between loud and soft) and playing low sound levels, such as very soft passages in classical music or the fading out of an instrument.
With 24 or 32 bits, the resolution is higher, so the quantization noise is much smaller compared to the signal, especcialy for these low-level passages . Quantization noise is also more audible (dirtier) than white noise, so the signal-to-noise ratio must be interpreted differently.
The reason that noise is used in a conversion from 24 to 16 bits (downsampling) is to reduce annoying conversion effects. Not only noise can be used, also other signals. But recordings that are made and remain at 24 bits or 32 bits have nothing to do with that.
Nyquist filters that only have to filter at higher inaudible frequencies (because of the higher sample rate) give less phase effects in the audible range, and our ear is certainly sensitive to that. So it doesn’t necessarily have to do with audible frequencies.
Furthermore, the quality of the timing (jitter) and sampling (voltage to number) of the AD and DA converters is also important.
Unfortunately, this article does not address these aspects.
I just have all my CD’s ripped to flac and stored on a NAS. It’s perfect. I’ve never understood the whole Hi-Fi audio crazy. 16 bits / 44.1kHz is enough.
Although we obviously can’t hear outside the audible range, the frequencies outside this range create the illusion of space around instruments, singers and depth of soundstage. Of course this is more obvious on quality systems.