The Verge:
When a song is compressed, an algorithm removes bits from the track that it believes the human ear can’t pick up, which reduces the overall file size. So objectively speaking, there’s less audio there for your ear to interpret. Lossless audio cuts less bits.
But in actuality, the difference is very difficult to discern. Couple that with a range in the quality of soundcards and speakers, and it’s almost impossible for the average listener to pick which is which. Can you tell the difference?
Jim posted about this back in March but now Spotify has posted an actual audio test for you to try to see if you can actually hear the difference.
3 for 3 picking out the lossless track, listening through desktop speakers. And I’m over 50, with some high frequency hearing loss from playing in punk bands when I was younger.
I don’t think I have golden ears. I think the average person could hear the differences, if sound quality was valued more by the average person. These days people almost seem to take pride in not caring much about sound quality when it comes to listening to music.
I could not tell the difference listening on my iMac speakers. Going by the waveforms, I correctly picked all of the “lossless” tracks.
I was 1 for 3. I’m pretty sensitive to separate, distinguishing parts of a song (Rush comes to mind), so I was a bit surprised. Listened with over-the-ear cups at work.
One issue that people never mention in tests like these is the source material. The more manipulated and compressed the song is, the less likely I think it is that people will be able to tell the difference consistently. Conversely, something that’s recorded simply, by a recording engineer who knows what they’re doing makes it more apparent. I think back to Eva Cassidy at Blues Alley and how often I’ve used that to test gear…. An amazing record, recorded to try to capture a great singer in a real environment.
It depends on the quality of the speakers the music is playing through. On crappy speakers, you won’t hear almost any difference. On excellent quality speakers, you will definitely hear the difference.