Sound Quality


First off, I am pleading ignorance here, so my apologies up front, but I need some help on figuring out what this digital stuff is all about. It was simple, just to pull out a CD and play it, but with streaming and such, it seems to be a whole different ball of wax.

After finally finishing the remodel on my home, I've have had a bit of time to sit down and listen to my system. My Aurender N200 came with an SD card loaded with music. Most of it is ripped from hybrid SACDs or at 16bit- 44.1kHz "Original Mastering Recording" CDs, (some are DSF files some WAV files, but all sound the same to me). The music sounds flat and dull but when I play the equivalent song on Tidal in 16bit-44.1 kHz it sounds much better.

I have a second SD card  with some HD Tracks CDs at 24 bit-96 kHz that I which sound really good through the N200. Maybe understandable being hi-res, but some say they can't hear a big difference between the two, but I sure can in this instance.

I understand that up sampling, DSD and HQ Player can even bring better sound to the table, but I'm having enough trouble with just the basics here, that stuff is way over my head. 

I'd like to rip a couple of my own CDs to a new SD card and try it to compare with the SD card that came with the N200. What is the best method to do this?

As always, your thought & comments are much appreciated!

128x128navyachts

 

@navyachts 

Any good recommendations for a DSD 256 CD to purchase for a test drive, maybe something a little more obscure that the run of the mill "Top 40"?

Little Weevil

Yes, the above recording is definitely not top 40 😁 One guy, one guitar, recorded live non-stop in a small room.

I bought it, I like it, if you want a pure DSD recording this is it. Read the recording process, sample the tracks to see if it appeals. Looks like it is 15% off, and one more day for 20% storewide for Native DSD’s 10 year anniversary sale.

At the risk of sounding like a pedantic a**hole, there is a difference between an SD card (secure digital) and an SSD (solid state drive).  The OP keeps using the term SD card.  I realize the confusion has been cleared up, as it was asked twice, but it’s important to use the correct language in order to get relevant answers.