Unintended Consequences? Digital Streaming


My system has become more revealing through gear upgrades over the past year.  This is a good thing right?  Well perhaps yes and no.  I've begun noticing that even while streaming 24 or 32 bit/44khz files over Qobuz that many albums now sound compressed to me and that I don't lose that "compressed" sound until I move up into the 32 bit/96 kHz files and above.  This certainly adds to the magic I realize while playing through my vinyl front end which sounds humongous, open, and vibrant but much of my streaming digital experience has become less than satisfying. 

Am I imagining this compression while streaming supposedly lossless files?  Can anyone else relate or have similar experiences?
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Showing 1 response by duckworp

The main problem with streaming services is that they will only have the latest version of the album released by the record label.  This means the most recent remaster.  Remastering almost always ends up with a more compressed, less dynamic, master (cf the Loudness Wars).  This master is also often used for the equivalent new vinyl cuts too.

So if you are comparing a streamed master with an old cut of vinyl (or an old CD release from a previous master) then it is almost certainly going to be more compressed.   Nothing can undo this so the file size, the resolution, the bit rate, they are all irrelevant if a master is overly compressed.

In the future this is really the one reason why it is worth holding onto your old CDs or at least ripping them, as streaming services will always provide the latest master which will often sound poorer on high-end hifi equipment.