streaming music quality?

[cmptrgydv]

Hi all I have been reading a lot about the quality of the streaming services. I have Amazon Prime people say that MP3 files are not very good quality for streaming on Amazon. at least not CD quality. But nobody talks about if you buy the MP3 and download it. is that CD quality? I will buy MP3's on sale and download them. but have always wondered if they are CD quality. I have a onkyo AV and love that I can put all these MP3 CD's on a USB drive and plug it in to the USB port on the onkyo and not have CD's and cases everywhere. and finding CD's IN MP3 on sale on Prime is really nice. I mean I paid $4 for pink floyd dark side of the moon and got pink floyd The wall for free. so is buying and downloading MP3's CD quality? 

[hemster]

MP3 is a lossy audio format. Lossy audio formats, like MP3, remove some audio information to reduce file size, resulting in a loss of sound quality.

Lossless compression requires that data is not discarded, which in turn uses more space or bandwidth. Unlike lossy compression, lossless compression doesn't result in data degradation, and decompressed data is identical to the uncompressed original.

Some examples of lossless compression include the FLAC and ALAC audio codecs. Audio files that use lossless compression are roughly half of the size of the uncompressed original at the same sample rate. Many audio streaming services now offer lossless streaming including Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Spotify's new HiFi tier.

[monkumonku]

Sept 11, 2024 3:10:53 GMT -5 cmptrgydv said:

Hi all I have been reading a lot about the quality of the streaming services. I have Amazon Prime people say that MP3 files are not very good quality for streaming on Amazon. at least not CD quality. But nobody talks about if you buy the MP3 and download it. is that CD quality? I will buy MP3's on sale and download them. but have always wondered if they are CD quality. I have a onkyo AV and love that I can put all these MP3 CD's on a USB drive and plug it in to the USB port on the onkyo and not have CD's and cases everywhere. and finding CD's IN MP3 on sale on Prime is really nice. I mean I paid $4 for pink floyd dark side of the moon and got pink floyd The wall for free. so is buying and downloading MP3's CD quality? 

MP3 files are not CD quality. But what matters is how they sound to you. If they sound good, then that's all that matters.

An alternative to your downloading all these files, even if they are on sale, is to subscribe to a streaming service like Tidal or Qobuz. They have a huge selection, all of which are at CD quality or better. The only drawback is you don't own the file so if it is removed you can't play it anymore but the likelihood is remote.

[cmptrgydv]

Thanks for the replies. that's one thing that really bugs me about streaming services paying all that money and then never owning the music.
there needs to be someplace like a online record store LOL were you could go buy CD quality files and download them. you would think the artists or the recording
comp[anys would come up with something of that nature not even a streaming service just someplace to go buy the music even one song at a time or the whole CD file.  

I have a 2 TB M.2 drive in a USB adaptor that I store the MP3's on I even have it partitioned so one side for full file and the other for a play list. I can stack individual
songs and make a play list type thing and have like 4 hours of music. it's so nice not having to go change CD's  in a player or having to store all the CD's   

[foggy1956]

Sept 11, 2024 11:33:51 GMT -5 cmptrgydv said:

Thanks for the replies. that's one thing that really bugs me about streaming services paying all that money and then never owning the music.
there needs to be someplace like a online record store LOL were you could go buy CD quality files and download them. you would think the artists or the recording
comp[anys would come up with something of that nature not even a streaming service just someplace to go buy the music even one song at a time or the whole CD file.  

I have a 2 TB M.2 drive in a USB adaptor that I store the MP3's on I even have it partitioned so one side for full file and the other for a play list. I can stack individual
songs and make a play list type thing and have like 4 hours of music. it's so nice not having to go change CD's  in a player or having to store all the CD's   

Google hdtracks and prostudiomasters, there are others also.

[KeithL]

Exactly... there are a whole bunch of online stores where you can buy albums as downloadable files.
You just have to be VERY careful to look at ALL of the details.

For example HDTracks actually sells you files, which you can download, and you then own and can play.
And HDTracks offers their downloads in several formats... including a variety of lossless and hi-res formats.
I'm pretty sure that QoBuz also offers actual album downloads that you can purchase.
(Note that most of the places that sell "high-definition tracks" also sell "plain old CD quality" as well... usually for a few dollars less. )
There are also places that support "Indie artists", including the option to purchase both actual CDs, and file downloads... like BandCamp.

One hint is that, if you like a current artist, then you should check out their website.
Many will include a list of both "where their music is playing" and "who is selling it for download"...

But sometimes there are unexpected "limitations".
For example, Amazon Music offers streaming in lossless hi-res formats...
But, when you click that button to PURCHASE an album, your only "purchase and download" choice is MP3 (unless something has changed).
 
Some other streaming services allow you to "download music for offline listening"...
But, when you do so, you are still required to play your downloads through their music client...
(And you will no longer be able to play your "offline downloads" if you cancel your streaming subscription.)

There are also various programs that will allow you to download and save copies of streaming content...
Some of them work well... some not so well... and many do not give you a true lossless copy of the content...
And they're probably illegal to use... although some claim to live in various "legal loopholes".
(Of course, I can't recommend one... but, if I could, it would probably be Audials .)

Sept 11, 2024 12:28:26 GMT -5 foggy1956 said:

Sept 11, 2024 11:33:51 GMT -5 cmptrgydv said:

Thanks for the replies. that's one thing that really bugs me about streaming services paying all that money and then never owning the music.
there needs to be someplace like a online record store LOL were you could go buy CD quality files and download them. you would think the artists or the recording
comp[anys would come up with something of that nature not even a streaming service just someplace to go buy the music even one song at a time or the whole CD file.  

I have a 2 TB M.2 drive in a USB adaptor that I store the MP3's on I even have it partitioned so one side for full file and the other for a play list. I can stack individual
songs and make a play list type thing and have like 4 hours of music. it's so nice not having to go change CD's  in a player or having to store all the CD's   

Google hdtracks and prostudiomasters, there are others also.

[KeithL]

Just a note...

You REALLY SHOULD rip your CDs to some lossless format... like FLAC or WAV.

Most ripping programs offer this option.
MP3 files are lossy compressed - which means that they have lost sound quality which cannot be gotten back.
(Although, in return, they save you a lot of space compared to lossless files.)

Sept 11, 2024 12:28:26 GMT -5 foggy1956 said:

Sept 11, 2024 11:33:51 GMT -5 cmptrgydv said:

Thanks for the replies. that's one thing that really bugs me about streaming services paying all that money and then never owning the music.
there needs to be someplace like a online record store LOL were you could go buy CD quality files and download them. you would think the artists or the recording
comp[anys would come up with something of that nature not even a streaming service just someplace to go buy the music even one song at a time or the whole CD file.  

I have a 2 TB M.2 drive in a USB adaptor that I store the MP3's on I even have it partitioned so one side for full file and the other for a play list. I can stack individual
songs and make a play list type thing and have like 4 hours of music. it's so nice not having to go change CD's  in a player or having to store all the CD's   

Google hdtracks and prostudiomasters, there are others also.

[cmptrgydv]

Sept 11, 2024 13:26:19 GMT -5 KeithL said:

Just a note...

You REALLY SHOULD rip your CDs to some lossless format... like FLAC or WAV.

Most ripping programs offer this option.
MP3 files are lossy compressed - which means that they have lost sound quality which cannot be gotten back.
(Although, in return, they save you a lot of space compared to lossless files.)

Sept 11, 2024 12:28:26 GMT -5 foggy1956 said:

Google hdtracks and prostudiomasters, there are others also.

thanks everyone for the info I signed up with Qobuz just for download not streaming service just need to figure out the download format buy a CD I already have and test it with my ears against the MP3 can I hear a difference I'm 65 years old so maybe I won't I still have a lot of questions about stuff on this forum so stay tuned for some more what am I doing posts LOL 

[cmptrgydv]

OK for anyone interested I signed up with qobuz bought and downloaded my first Hi rez better than CD quality in FLAC format and my first purchase was wait for it eric Clapton 461 Ocean Boulevard the MP3 of this disc really sounded crappy so wanted to see what happened with FLAC way way better. the MP3 was 72.0 MB the FLAC is 890 MB so just a little Bit bigger LOL