Hi-Res Audio on the Cheap!
3,823This is a video that I meant to be a short little side thing but that just seemed to balloon over time with discussions, tangents, and rants on various music-related topics. I considered not even publishing it, but what the heck - think of it more like a vlog. The original question: is it possible to get true high resolution audio playback on a home stereo system without spending big bucks on "audiophile" components? I had accumulated a bunch of hi-res music over the years with no real ability to play it properly, so I decided to find out.
This video both promises and requires a bunch of links if you want to dive deeper into things, so here are some:
First, if you'd like to purchase the NW-A55 or NW-A105 Walkman, or the STR-DH190 receiver, I'd love it if you'd use my affiliate links to help support my channel:
NW-A55: https://amzn.to/3vQiKWg
NW-A105: https://amzn.to/3wQO7Ap
STR-DH190: https://amzn.to/34yydyn
By the way, I didn't mention it in the video but the NW-A55 can be used as an external DAC. So if I did want to use it as a DAC for my iPhone, as far as I know, I could... though I don't know why I'd want to.
I wrote this video assuming that most viewers would at least know what Hi-Res music is, but if you need a basic primer:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/music/what-is-high-resolution-audio/
I also didn't really attempt to explain much about waveforms and spectrograms, so...: https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/understanding-spectrograms.html
Techmoan's video that convinced me to buy an NW-A55 - note that the US version does not have the volume limit to begin with like the European version does: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VPaXdQoKXs
Here's that study on ultrasonic sounds: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jn.2000.83.6.3548
Tangentially related but I mentioned it in the video and it's an interesting story - read about the guy who survived putting his head into a particle accelerator while it was running: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31616/man-who-survived-proton-beam-brain
On MQA:
GoldenSound's analysis of MQA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRjsu9-Vznc
MQA's response: https://bobtalks.co.uk/a-deeper-look/all-that-glitters-is-not-golden/
GoldenSound's response to MQA's response: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHkqWZ9jzA0
On Bluetooth:
This is a little informal but really thorough and debunks a lot of Bluetooth myths: https://habr.com/en/post/456182/
SoundGuys' basic info on BT codecs: https://www.soundguys.com/understanding-bluetooth-codecs-15352/
SoundGuys' AAC codec tests, which prove that AAC re-encodes for transmission like every other codec: https://www.soundguys.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-bluetooth-headphones-aac-20296/
If you want to read about the Hi-Res Audio badge: https://www.jas-audio.or.jp/english/hi-res-logo-en
00:00 Intro
01:09 The Goal
03:38 Why Hi-Res?
08:33 Not all Hi-Res is created equal
12:56 The Sony NW-A55
14:43 Why not just use a cell phone?
16:04 The NW-A55, streaming NW-A105 and MQA
17:56 The Sony STR-DH190 receiver
22:32 Using the NW-A55 with the STR-DH190
24:35 Bluetooth - good but goofy
28:03 Other functions and outro