How to become an audio snob?

You're on the wrong forum. Here in the audio forum we mostly stick to solid electrical engineering principles and theory. We measure first, then listen as well.


If you want t be an audio snob, go to the $20k plus forum. Over there specs don't matter. Technical measurments mean nothing either. The most important attribute of your gear is what you paid for it and who made it, you know, the label on the front means all. Now let's be clear on that point. Buying expensive gear used does not count. Even though it may be the same make and model the 20k guys have, it's just not as good because you bought it used. Ditto that for industry insiders that have access to high end gear at fire sale prices.


Recently I found the Theta thread especially worthy of my example. First, it's all about what you paid. Next you have to listen. But any discussion of engineering specifications is verboten.



Quote:
Originally Posted by moonpuncher  /t/1519480/how-to-become-an-audio-snob/0_100#post_24399795

 

Ah I'm sorry.  I thought this might be the place to quibble over bitrates and which source sounds the best, etc.  

Click to expand...

 

That you can quibble about here.  But it isn't the way to become an audio snob.

 

 

As for your original questions, FLAC can be equal to CDs, though it depends on the original file format that was losslessly compressed with FLAC:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLAC

 

If an inferior format was losslessly compressed, the result would be inferior.  If a CD file was losslessly compressed, it would be equal to a CD.

 

 

Spotify is not lossless, and so it is less than ideal (and therefore not suitable for archival purposes), though their highest bitrate option may be good enough for you to not hear any difference between it and a CD.  It would take some careful testing to determine that.  But a CD is archival quality.

 

 

As for vinyl, it isn't as good as CD at all.  It has massive distortion and many other problems, even with high end gear; see:

 

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles-and-editorials/technical-articles-and-editorials/a-secrets-technical-article63.html

 

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles-and-editorials/technical-articles-and-editorials/a-secrets-technical-article64.html

 

Of course, many audio snobs love it.  Being a snob and being right are not the same thing.

Hello moonpuncher,


I assume your thread title was at least partly tongue-in-cheek, and that what you're really after is the best possible sound from your setup. From your original post, it wasn't completely clear to me whether your audio and video system(s) would be integrated or separate. I'll assume integrated. You mentioned the Martin Logan speakers, I haven't heard them, but one thing to consider with virtually all electrostatic speakers is that their maximum SPL capability is not very high in home theater terms before audible distortion sets in. So you might run into the case where they sound great with music at typical listening levels but audibly distort when pushed to the high SPLs typical of home theater application. Just something to consider, especially if you watch movies with the sound at anywhere near reference level.


Regarding CD vs. computer-based audio, my own setup has about 1600 CDs ripped to FLAC. This whole ripping operation took a long time, so if you want to eventually transition to a computer-based setup, I'd recommend doing so gradually because of the effort required to rip all the discs. I'd say rip a small quantity of discs, then play around with different hardware and software alternatives until you feel comfortable, then take the full plunge if you like what you've found.