What is Hi-Res Audio? Everything You Need to Know Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
Why You ll Love Hi-Res Sound — and Don t Have to Pay a Lot to Get It
Some streaming services will help you remember the hi-fi quality of stereo records
Canvan Images / Getty Images Nothing can like music, especially when you can't go out. But when digital audio debuted, it sounded harsh and tinny, souring a lot of us on the new format and making us . Fortunately, you now can get that hi-fi sound — and fun — back. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Newer, more advanced digital music formats can capture the dulcet tones of Brian Wilson's voice, the subtle trills of Itzhak Perlman's violin and even the clarion call of Miles Davis’ horn. It means the latest so-called high-resolution audio is not only good enough for rock ‘n’ roll but also great for classical or jazz, and it makes oldies but goodies sound a whole lot better, too. Better still, you don't need a whole new stereo system to enjoy high-resolution audio, although plenty of expensive components are available to buy if you must. All you need to improve your home entertainment is an inexpensive accessory or two and access to a streaming or download service with hi-res audio. So what is high-resolution audio? MP3 music solved a 90s problem
Originally, the digital MP3 music file format came about in the 1990s because of the paltry computer storage and tardy internet connections available 25 years ago. MP3 files compressed the music to save space but in the process made it sound like it was being blasted out of a tin can. Now, terabytes of storage are available on drives that can fit in the palm of your hand, and high-speed internet connections are available even on smartphones. So today it's easy to store or stream CD-quality songs (at a 16-bit sample size and a 44.1 kilohertz sample rate for the technically minded). That's fine, but most of us recall that when CDs were introduced in the 1980s, they also diminished sound quality. Many listeners complained that CDs sounded cold and many discs sounded worse than the vinyl originals. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > Fortunately, you don't need to remember the acronyms or learn the differences among them — unlike the 1980s Sony Betamax vs. VHS video wars. What's important are the hi-res audio services themselves. 3 places to find hi-res audio
To get higher-quality music tracks, you have to pay for a subscription. The monthly cost is usually less than the price of a single . The three dominant high-resolution streaming music services are Amazon, Qobuz and Tidal. • Amazon Music HD boasts it has “millions of songs in the highest quality audio” format, which it calls Ultra High Definition but is in the FLAC format. Amazon's interface isn't as aesthetically pleasing as Tidal or Qobuz, but it works. Like other services, it touts some “immersive” tracks in so-called 3D Audio. People having been pushing such formats since the days of expensive quadraphonic sound systems in the 1970s. Monthly prices for unlimited streaming are $12.99 for Prime members, $14.99 for everyone else. • Qobuz (pronounced KOH-buhz) started in Europe and came to U.S. shores last year. It, too, offers excellent music quality and includes many of the same new albums as Tidal, such as the latest Pretenders record. (Chrissie Hyde still sounds sultry.) It has a dedicated app for your smartphone or PC, as does Tidal. Qobuz uses the Hi-Res Audio logo to label its streaming high-resolution files, which are in FLAC format. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe More on home-family AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS