I feel like 192 is pretty low. I personally prefer V0/320 - I use FLAC to store but now in days I don't even bother storing. I could never hear any benefit of FLAC over 320, with my HD800 or my LS50s.
without any disrespect or snark, you must've lost some hearing as you have good kit.
without any disrespect or snark, you must've lost some hearing as you have good kit.
Yah, I'm 30, worked in the construction industry for a bit and used to blast death metal into my ears at extremely high volume levels - now I just listen to it at normal levels. I'm glad I can still hear at all honestly lol
it is not "transparent" by any stretch of the imagination as errors abound and it is still lossy.
Lossy and transparent are not the same thing. You can achieve transparency for many people at 96kbps using Opus, for example. And for the vast majority of people at 128. Listening tests have been performed over the years, these aren't statements I'm pulling out of my bum. At almost 500kbps, which is what AptX HD does, it is very difficult to imagine the audio not being transparent for pretty much everyone.
As for uncorrected errors, yes, that would obviously introduce artifacts. But you make it sound like this is the norm, rather than the result of a bad setup?
Disagree. A neighbor/friend of mine growing up owned the S750 and I owned the ProMedia 5.1 and Z5500 - Z5500 was the best. S750 had a better price/performance due to the extra channel but the 5500's were better sounding imo. The ProMedia had a better sub but the speakers were worse especially with higher frequencies. Also when I eventually replaced my sub I was able to just run the Z5500 speakers to a Marantz receiver because the earlier models used standard speaker wire and not RCA plugs like the S750. Plus the Z5500 had a cool knob control panel + optical input.
Either way I run KEF LS50's powered by a Parasound A21 + Marantz SR6012, KEF Q650c and KEF Q100 for surrounds now + SVS SB2000 sub. I don't miss any of those systems anymore but I do have fond memories of them.
I can second this. I had the Creative 7.1 set for 2-3 years before the Z-5500 and while the sound wasn't bad (and the extra channel was cool, but didn't really do much due to the shape of my room, 5.1 is the sweet spot), but the Z-5500 + Asus Xonar (iirc) was a big step up. The sub was a lot better in comparison too.
well i really could not tell at all .... sounded 100% the same for me using Logitech z533 2.1 speakers do i have no hope hearing difference with those or is me ?
It's probably tougher with speakers, especially PC ones like z533, but it can be tough in general depending on the mix/master and type of song that's being demonstrated. I've personally noticed that cymbals tend to take it rough on lower bitrates, you'll hear more sibilance at higher frequencies in general. Or in metal for example, bands that make heavy use of "wall of sound" type production tend to sound extremely muddy at lower bitrates.. a song like Devin Townsend Project - Pandemic has so many layers and just crap going on that basically anything under 256kb/s makes it unlistenable (although I think most people will find the song unlistenable from a writing standpoint anyway lol).
192 vs 320/V0 I can almost always tell the difference - like my Google Music will randomly swap back to "Normal" quality audio streaming and within a song I can tell - but typically anything higher than that, even 256 vs 320 I have to basically be trying to tell. 320 vs FLAC and I can spend all day and won't hear the difference but then again my hearing isn't what it used to be.
well i really could not tell at all .... sounded 100% the same for me using Logitech z533 2.1 speakers do i have no hope hearing difference with those or is me ?
I've used some of Logitech's cheaper speakers ($30-$90) and they have all felt/sounded more cheap than the price would suggest. I get that same feeling here, just on a grander scale.
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Speaking of 7.1, I also used to run a 7.1 Creative setup. The extra channel got put up within a year. Made little difference to sound immersion.
Logitech's greatest hit, the Z5500's main draw was it's big sub and that it can be played really loud. I have the replacement set now (Z906) with the same speakers (and smaller, 8" inch sub) and the only real difference is less bass. Still quite loud for PC speakers. The 5.1 satellites can get loud but don't sound that great when you compare them to even a $80-$100 shelf speaker (Edifier, etc), let alone the really good stuff.
I still like the Z906 mainly because it's simple (AIO) and loud. I think next time though, I'm gonna go with a custom setup instead. Something more fun to tinker with and sounds better.
Disagree. A neighbor/friend of mine growing up owned the S750 and I owned the ProMedia 5.1 and Z5500 - Z5500 was the best. S750 had a better price/performance due to the extra channel but the 5500's were better sounding imo. The ProMedia had a better sub but the speakers were worse especially with higher frequencies. Also when I eventually replaced my sub I was able to just run the Z5500 speakers to a Marantz receiver because the earlier models used standard speaker wire and not RCA plugs like the S750. Plus the Z5500 had a cool knob control panel + optical input.
Either way I run KEF LS50's powered by a Parasound A21 + Marantz SR6012, KEF Q650c and KEF Q100 for surrounds now + SVS SB2000 sub. I don't miss any of those systems anymore but I do have fond memories of them.
The z5500 had almost no mid range compared to other similarly priced systems from Creative at the time (who were the only multimedia speaker competitor of the time). Sounded muddy and used loudness to make them seem like the best things you could have, but if like me you're looking to hear all ambient sounds in a game the s750 was a no brainer.
@Astyanaxx
And the perfect speakers for ppl that "hate" midrange being overdone.
Im very sensitve to midrange freq/level (or less sens to low/high if you will) and prefer that type of sound on speakers, so i was happy with 5500 and the 2200 i had after that.
True, i would like LG to nail battery life better, with at least 4000mah, can't go back after the legendary Mate's 9 performance.
Sorry only just saw this, the battery life is pretty good honestly, had it a year and it lasts around day and a half or 2, but i am quite a light user so your millage might differ
I've used some of Logitech's cheaper speakers ($30-$90) and they have all felt/sounded more cheap than the price would suggest. I get that same feeling here, just on a grander scale. …
Speaking of 7.1, I also used to run a 7.1 Creative setup. The extra channel got put up within a year. Made little difference to sound immersion. Logitech's greatest hit, the Z5500's main draw was it's big sub and that it can be played really loud. I have the replacement set now (Z906) with the same speakers (and smaller, 8" inch sub) and the only real difference is less bass. Still quite loud for PC speakers. The 5.1 satellites can get loud but don't sound that great when you compare them to even a $80-$100 shelf speaker (Edifier, etc), let alone the really good stuff. I still like the Z906 mainly because it's simple (AIO) and loud. I think next time though, I'm gonna go with a custom setup instead. Something more fun to tinker with and sounds better.