CD vs FLAC/ALAC Quality

mwplum
mwplum Posts: 1,545
in The Porch
I've always just purchased mp3 downloads from 10C for shows I've gone to in the past. However, since getting a pono and (trying) to educate myself about quality, I'm trying to determine whether there is any difference in quality between the bootleg CDs and the ALAC downloads. I went to more shows on this tour than in the past, so was going to opt for CDs to have something tangible, but are the CDs of the same quality or better than the ALAC downloads?

Thanks, Matt
1992-07-21 Vancouver
1993-9-4 Vancouver
1996-9-16 Seattle
1998-7-19 Vancouver, 7-21 Seattle, Memorial Stadium
2000-11-6 Seattle
2001-10-22 Seattle
2002 -12-09 Seattle
2009-8-17 Manchester, 9-25 Vancouver
2011-6-16 Seattle (EV), 9-3/4 PJ20, 9-25 Vancouver
2012-6-27 Amsterdam (#2!)
2013-11-29 Portland, 12-4 Vancouver, 12-6 Seattle
2014-AUS - 1-26 Sydney, 1-31 Adelaide, 2-11/12 EV Sydney State Theatre, 2-13 EV Opera House
2014 - USA - Memphis, Detroit, MOLINE, St. Paul, MILWAUKEE, Denver, 25/26 Bridge School
2016 - Lexington, Philly x 2, MSG x 2, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto x 2, Pemberton, Fenway x 2, Wrigley x 2
2018 - Seattle x 2, Missoula, Fenway x 2
«1

Comments

  • 2-feign-reluctance
    2-feign-reluctance TigerTown, USA Posts: 23,461
    http://www.stereophile.com/features/308mp3cd/
    www.cluthelee.com
  • JohnnieBeBlue
    JohnnieBeBlue Posts: 630
    2-feign-reluctance said:

    http://www.stereophile.com/features/308mp3cd/

    This seems to show why MP3 and AAC suck compared to uncompressed codecs, but doesn't really talk about FLAC or ALAC vs CD. Am I missing something?
  • lolobugg
    lolobugg BLUE RDGE MTNS Posts: 8,195
    FLAC/ALAC = CD = WAV quality > MP3, AAC
    FLAC HD > CD, FLAC/ALAC, WAV

    livefootsteps.org/user/?usr=446

    1995- New Orleans, LA  : New Orleans, LA

    1996- Charleston, SC

    1998- Atlanta, GA: Birmingham, AL: Greenville, SC: Knoxville, TN

    2000- Atlanta, GA: New Orleans, LA: Memphis, TN: Nashville, TN

    2003- Raleigh, NC: Charlotte, NC: Atlanta, GA

    2004- Asheville, NC (hometown show)

    2006- Cincinnati, OH

    2008- Columbia, SC

    2009- Chicago, IL x 2 / Ed Vedder- Atlanta, GA x 2

    2010- Bristow, VA

    2011- Alpine Valley, WI (PJ20) x 2 / Ed Vedder- Chicago, IL

    2012- Atlanta, GA

    2013- Charlotte, NC

    2014- Cincinnati, OH

    2015- New York, NY

    2016- Greenville, SC: Hampton, VA:: Columbia, SC: Raleigh, NC : Lexington, KY: Philly, PA 2: (Wrigley) Chicago, IL x 2 (holy shit): Temple of the Dog- Philly, PA

    2017- ED VED- Louisville, KY

    2018- Chicago, IL x2, Boston, MA x2

    2020- Nashville, TN 

    2022- Smashville 

    2023- Austin, TX x2

    2024- Baltimore

  • ikiT
    ikiT USA Posts: 11,059
    HD FLAC = Blu Ray audio = DVD-A
    Bristow 05132010 to Amsterdam 2 06132018
  • Nick Namenone
    Nick Namenone Posts: 72
    Short version. CD's, ALAC and FLAC files are all the same resolution/quality. HD ALAC and HD FLAC are higher resolution/quality. MP3's are lower resolution/quality.
  • lolobugg
    lolobugg BLUE RDGE MTNS Posts: 8,195
    the tiki bomb said:

    HD FLAC = Blu Ray audio = DVD-A

    and this ^

    livefootsteps.org/user/?usr=446

    1995- New Orleans, LA  : New Orleans, LA

    1996- Charleston, SC

    1998- Atlanta, GA: Birmingham, AL: Greenville, SC: Knoxville, TN

    2000- Atlanta, GA: New Orleans, LA: Memphis, TN: Nashville, TN

    2003- Raleigh, NC: Charlotte, NC: Atlanta, GA

    2004- Asheville, NC (hometown show)

    2006- Cincinnati, OH

    2008- Columbia, SC

    2009- Chicago, IL x 2 / Ed Vedder- Atlanta, GA x 2

    2010- Bristow, VA

    2011- Alpine Valley, WI (PJ20) x 2 / Ed Vedder- Chicago, IL

    2012- Atlanta, GA

    2013- Charlotte, NC

    2014- Cincinnati, OH

    2015- New York, NY

    2016- Greenville, SC: Hampton, VA:: Columbia, SC: Raleigh, NC : Lexington, KY: Philly, PA 2: (Wrigley) Chicago, IL x 2 (holy shit): Temple of the Dog- Philly, PA

    2017- ED VED- Louisville, KY

    2018- Chicago, IL x2, Boston, MA x2

    2020- Nashville, TN 

    2022- Smashville 

    2023- Austin, TX x2

    2024- Baltimore

  • NewJPage
    NewJPage Posts: 3,324
    lolobugg said:

    the tiki bomb said:

    HD FLAC = Blu Ray audio = DVD-A

    and this ^
    Blu ray is better than DVD. 192/24 vs 96/24
    6/26/98, 8/17/00, 10/8/00, 12/8/02, 12/9/02, 4/25/03, 5/28/03, 6/1/03, 6/3/03, 6/5/03, 6/6/03, 6/12/03, 6/13/03, 6/15/03, 6/18/03, 6/21/03, 6/22/03, 7/12/03, 7/14/03, 10/3/04, 10/5/04, 9/9/05, 9/11/05, 9/16/05, 5/16/06, 5/17/06, 5/19/06, 6/30/06, 7/23/06, 8/5/07, 6/30/08, 8/23/09, 8/24/09, 5/4/10, 5/7/10, 9/3/11, 9/4/11, 10/11/13, 10/17/14, 8/20/16
  • lolobugg
    lolobugg BLUE RDGE MTNS Posts: 8,195
    edited November 2014
    NewJPage said:

    lolobugg said:

    the tiki bomb said:

    HD FLAC = Blu Ray audio = DVD-A

    and this ^
    Blu ray is better than DVD. 192/24 vs 96/24
    and this too ^
    but I think he was referencing DVD-Audio/SACD
    Post edited by lolobugg on

    livefootsteps.org/user/?usr=446

    1995- New Orleans, LA  : New Orleans, LA

    1996- Charleston, SC

    1998- Atlanta, GA: Birmingham, AL: Greenville, SC: Knoxville, TN

    2000- Atlanta, GA: New Orleans, LA: Memphis, TN: Nashville, TN

    2003- Raleigh, NC: Charlotte, NC: Atlanta, GA

    2004- Asheville, NC (hometown show)

    2006- Cincinnati, OH

    2008- Columbia, SC

    2009- Chicago, IL x 2 / Ed Vedder- Atlanta, GA x 2

    2010- Bristow, VA

    2011- Alpine Valley, WI (PJ20) x 2 / Ed Vedder- Chicago, IL

    2012- Atlanta, GA

    2013- Charlotte, NC

    2014- Cincinnati, OH

    2015- New York, NY

    2016- Greenville, SC: Hampton, VA:: Columbia, SC: Raleigh, NC : Lexington, KY: Philly, PA 2: (Wrigley) Chicago, IL x 2 (holy shit): Temple of the Dog- Philly, PA

    2017- ED VED- Louisville, KY

    2018- Chicago, IL x2, Boston, MA x2

    2020- Nashville, TN 

    2022- Smashville 

    2023- Austin, TX x2

    2024- Baltimore

  • ikiT
    ikiT USA Posts: 11,059
    Stereo DVD-A can be up to 192/24
    Bristow 05132010 to Amsterdam 2 06132018
  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Posts: 40,248
    what in the fark is ALAC?
    Your boos mean nothing to me, for I have seen what makes you cheer



  • ikiT
    ikiT USA Posts: 11,059
    Apple FLAC
    Bristow 05132010 to Amsterdam 2 06132018
  • KV4053
    KV4053 Mike's side, crushed up against the stage Posts: 1,514
    To sum up, you should be able to hear / feel the difference of HD-FLAC on the Pono.
    I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine.
  • MedozK
    MedozK Tennessee Posts: 9,212
    You can tell the difference usually between 16 and 24 bit, but a good mastering beats bad mastering every time.
  • darthvedder
    darthvedder Posts: 2,692
    MedozK said:

    You can tell the difference usually between 16 and 24 bit, but a good mastering beats bad mastering every time.

    This is a good point. The recordings are only as good as the weakest link. And there are a lot of links to go through.
  • CROJAM95
    CROJAM95 NEW YORK Posts: 11,349
    I bought Leeds Flac HD and listened on my Pono.... Wow it's so fucking good.

    Both on my home stereo and my Sennheiser Momentums..... A little pricey at $20 a pop but I'll def buy a few each tour, so dynamic in what you can hear.

    Hopefully Black Friday sale includes Flac HD, I'll buy a few more (Denver and another)

  • BF89905
    BF89905 Posts: 1,449
    Can iTunes play ALAC HD ......thanks for the feedback
  • MedozK
    MedozK Tennessee Posts: 9,212
    BF89905 said:

    Can iTunes play ALAC HD ......thanks for the feedback

    Yes, but it's downsampled
  • MedozK
    MedozK Tennessee Posts: 9,212
    edited November 2014
    BF89905 said:

    Can iTunes play ALAC HD ......thanks for the feedback

    Yes, but it's downsampled when you play it through Apple hardware.

  • mwplum
    mwplum Posts: 1,545
    Thanks for the great response everyone! So just so I'm sure, are CD/FLAC/ALAC 16 bit? ....and HD FLAC/ALAC is 24 bit?. It's somewhat confusing because when you go to buy boots that it says "ALAC, ALAC-HD (24 bit/96KHz)"...which when I read it tells me the bit of the HD version, but not of the standard ALAC.

    ....also the Vienna show is the first one I bought on HD and it absolutely blows away the lower quality files I have on my Pono. I also went out and bought Sennheiser Momentums a few months ago, and they sound so much better using the Pono with that Vienna show than anything I've ever hear before!!! Very stoked to get to revisit these shows in this format.
    1992-07-21 Vancouver
    1993-9-4 Vancouver
    1996-9-16 Seattle
    1998-7-19 Vancouver, 7-21 Seattle, Memorial Stadium
    2000-11-6 Seattle
    2001-10-22 Seattle
    2002 -12-09 Seattle
    2009-8-17 Manchester, 9-25 Vancouver
    2011-6-16 Seattle (EV), 9-3/4 PJ20, 9-25 Vancouver
    2012-6-27 Amsterdam (#2!)
    2013-11-29 Portland, 12-4 Vancouver, 12-6 Seattle
    2014-AUS - 1-26 Sydney, 1-31 Adelaide, 2-11/12 EV Sydney State Theatre, 2-13 EV Opera House
    2014 - USA - Memphis, Detroit, MOLINE, St. Paul, MILWAUKEE, Denver, 25/26 Bridge School
    2016 - Lexington, Philly x 2, MSG x 2, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto x 2, Pemberton, Fenway x 2, Wrigley x 2
    2018 - Seattle x 2, Missoula, Fenway x 2
  • MedozK
    MedozK Tennessee Posts: 9,212
    Sounds like your enjoying the Pono, that's great to hear.

    All I know is since I have gotten more into hi-res audio, I have become a lot more picky about what I buy. I do a lot more research and have found that in many cases the digital versions are better than the analog... And most times because of mastering. In some cases a redbook CD will sound better than the vinyl version.

    I have educated myself enough now to be able to pick and chose carefully what I buy.... Especially now with vinyl prices high. Yet there is still one group that i will buy anything... U can prolly guess that one .. Lol

Categories