

"Even if I am skeptical now, there’s no doubt that down the road, streaming quality will be what we currently consider Hi-Res Audio. Still, Gideon suspects that if everyone had an amazing sound system and listened exclusively to Hi-Res Audio for year, that they'd hear a difference when listening to CD-quality tunes through the same system. The Hi-Res Audio ChallengesĪs Gideon explains, "the issue is: What else is part of the signal chain? Hi-Res Audio through laptop speakers or crappy earbuds will not sound like Hi-Res Audio, and even really decent speakers may not be able to convey the subtleties." Tim Gideon, PCMag Contributing Editor and resident audio expert, is also somewhat skeptical, but from a logistics point of view. In other words, Hi-Res Audio aims to deliver sound that comes close to what you'd hear in a recording studio. Hi-Res Audio, as defined by The Recording Industry Association of America (Opens in a new window) (and its Consumer Electronics Association, Digital Entertainment Group, and Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing partners), is "lossless audio capable of reproducing the full spectrum of sound from recordings which have been mastered from better than CD quality (20-bit/48kHz or higher) music sources which represent what the artists, producers and engineers originally intended." For most people, MP3- or CD-quality audio gets the job done, but if you have a thirst for audiophile-quality sound, you need to check out a service that offers Hi-Res Audio. Streaming music services typically compress audio into smaller, more manageable files that are easily streamed. That said, there's a price beyond monthly subscription fees. Pandora and Spotify are just a few of the many, many online streaming music services that let you listen to your favorite songs and compositions while jogging, driving to the supermarket, or just sitting in the laundromat watching clothes dry.

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