@user-removed wrote:
Hey,
I totally agree with this. I've just started Spotify Premium trial, and downloaded the desktop app for Windows to make use of the 'Extreme' 320kbps quality setting. However, the sound is tinny, lacks depth and bass compared to what I get in the web player, even though the web player is capped at 160kbps. I don't understand it. I'd like if the web player had the 'Extreme' quality setting for Premium subscribers, since the web player sounds a lot better.
Kind regards,
Matej
For most music 160 and 320 kbs Ogg/Vorbis will sound the same in a properly done blind listening test. And they will even sound the same as a CD or a 24/192 hires file in the same blind test. And even the 96 kbs Ogg/Vorbis will sound very close or even identical with many music tracks.
But 160 kb is a bit borderline for being fully transparent. Transparent means you have no chance to distinguish the compressed audio from the uncompressed original. At 160 kbs you can find samples where you can still hear artifacts in some cases with music that is difficult to handle for the codec. 320 kbs is on the safe side. But for most practical purposes you will not notice the differences.
In a non blind test identically sounding music will still show differences in your imagination. The device or file you think should sound better for whatever reason you imagine will indeed sound better. Until you start blind testing. With that simple change the differences will magically disappear in most tests of audio electronics audio file formats cables and tuning products.
If the differences stay under those conditions you found equipment that has faulty design or is not working properly.
Or you need to improve your testing procedures. Absolutely identical sound level is crucial. You need to measure the sound level because you will notice minimal sound level differences in a blind listening test. But not as difference in sound level but as the louder equipment sounding better.
Differences will stay with loudspeakers headphones turntables tape machines and often with the audio electronics built into computers. Often you will hear what your graphics card is doing with cheap mainboard sound.
What you definitely will hear is when there are differences in the DSP processing that might be applied to your audio. This is the most likely reason if you hear differences between different Spotify releases or spotify on different devices.
Of course you need to use an identical amplifier and headphone or loudspeaker for those tests. A bad match between a headphone and the electronics powering it will change its frequency response. Therefore it will sound different most of the time if you use the same headphone with different devices.
kind regards Andreas
