High Fidelity Music Streaming: Can You Tell the Difference?

Music production instructors share their take on high fidelity music streaming and its relevance for professionals, the average listener, and audiophiles. InspirationforMusicMakersSearch×publishedbyBerkleeOnlineArticle,FacultySpotlight,Features,MusicProductionHighFidelityMusicStreaming:CanYouTelltheDifference?ByTaliaSmithAudiophilesarelikesommeliersofmusic.Youneedanexperiencedpalatetoknowhowtopickupnotesofpearandoakinafinewinejustlikeyouneedanexperiencedeartolistenforcrisphi-hatsandfull-bodiedreverbinasong.ThisbecameapparentwhenIheardaboutAmazonMusic’snewhighfidelitymusicstreamingservice.Istartedthefreetrialandexpectedtobeblownawaybythesoundquality.Tomydismay,IcouldnottellasignificantdifferencebetweenhighresolutionandthenormalresolutionsoundqualityofthestreamingservicesIwasusedto.WonderingifIwastheonlyone,IsentanaudioqualityquiztomyBerkleeOnlinecoworkers,aprettymusicallyinclinedgroup,ifwedosaysoourselves.NPRreleasedthequizthatyouseebelowwhenthelosslessmusicstreamingservice,TIDAL,launchedin2015,todeterminewhetherlistenerscoulddecipheranuncompressedWAVfile,froma320kbpsMP3,froma128kbpsMP3.Ouraveragescoreasagroupof10was48percent. Afterthehi-fistreamingserviceTIDALlaunchedin2015,NPRcreatedamusicquiztoseeiflistenerscouldtelllow,medium,andhighqualityrecordingsapart.BerkleeOnlineinstructorsSeanSladeandPrinceCharlesAlexanderhaveusedthequizintheircourses.TheBerkleeOnlinecreativestaffscored48percentoverall.Iftherewereanyoneintheworldwhowouldbeabletotellahighqualityrecordingfromalowqualityrecordingandeverythingbetween,itwouldbeourmusicproductioninstructorsatBerkleeOnline.Ispokewithfourinstructorstogettheirthoughtsonhighfidelitystreaming,itsrelevanceintheirlives,andinthelivesofaveragelisteners.Asitturnsout,SeanSladeandPrinceCharlesAlexanderhavebothusedtheNPRquizwiththeirmusicproductionstudentsandsawsimilarresults. “WhenIincluded[theNPRquiz]inadiscussioninmyonlinegraduateclass,everybodyhadthesamereaction,”saysSlade.“‘Whoa,IthoughtIwassocoolandyetIgotalotofthiswrong.’Sothattaughtmesomething.”IspokewithSladeandAlexander,alongwithErinBarraandJonathanWyner.SladeandAlexanderbothsaytheycanhearthedifferencebetweenahighfidelityrecordingandanonhighfidelityrecording,butagreethatthedifferencesareminute. “Ifthere’sanydiscernibledifference,it’ssosubtleandsoslight,youwouldhavetobesomebodywho’sbeeninthebusinessfordecadeslikemetohearit,”saysAlexander,whoasarecordingandmixingengineerhasworkedwithclientslikeMaryJ.Blige,Destiny’sChild,theNotoriousB.I.G.,Sting,ArethaFranklin,andothers.Hehasgarneredmorethan40platinumandgoldcertificationsfromtheRIAA(RecordingIndustryAssociationofAmerica)andhasmultipleGrammyAwardsandnominations.Ifthere’sanydiscernibledifference,it’ssosubtleandsoslight,you'dhavetobesomebodywho’sbeeninthebusinessfordecadeslikemetohearit.—Producerand@berkleeonlineinstructorPrinceCharlesAlexanderonhi-fistreamingClickToTweetToprepareforourconversation,Sladesayshetreatedhimselftoapairoftop-of-the-lineheadphones.Hegainedworldwiderecognitionco-producingRadiohead’sfirsthit,“Creep,”andlatertheband’sdebutalbum,PabloHoney.Sladeconductedaside-by-sideanalysisofTIDAL,Spotify,andAmazonHD. “Icouldtellthedifference,butthedifferencesweresosubtlethattheymightbemeaningless,”hesays.“TIDALhadthebestsoundstageandAmazonHD,whichwasCDquality,wasaclosesecond—Icouldhearit.Itdidn’tquitehavethespaceinthehighendthatTIDALdid,butthedifferenceswereminimal.AndthenSpotifydidsounddifferent.Ithadalittlebitmorekindofmid-range,alittlelessHi-Fi-ycrystalclearhighend,butithadmorepunch,andIthoughtmusicallifeinthemidrange.”BarraandWyneragreewiththeircolleaguesthattheaveragelistenerlikelycannothearthedifferencesinlosslessaudio,however,theyseeitsvalueformusicindustryprofessionalsandaudiophiles. Clockwise,fromtopleft,SeanSlade,PrinceCharlesAlexander,JonathanWyner,andErinBarra.PHOTOGRAPHSBYJOHNDAVENPORT“Somebodywhohasearsthataredevelopedinthatway,theyprobablycanhearabigdifference,anditisameaningfuldifference,”saysBarra.“Buttomostpeople,they’rejustnotabletoreallyhearthat,orthey’renotevenlisteninginthatway.”Barra,anexpertincreativemusictechnologyapplication,saysthatshewasraisedbyanaudiophile.Asaproducer,composer,andsongwriter,shehasrepresentedcompaniessuchasAbleton,ROLI,MusicTech,Moog,andiZotope.Barracanforeseetheaveragelistenercaringaboutmusicplaybackquality,especiallysincepeopleareinvestinginmoresophisticatedaudiotechnologylikeBeatsheadphonesandAirPods. “Igrewupinthatenergythat,‘look,recordingqualityreallydoesmatter,andlisteningissomethingthatshouldbetakenseriously,’”shesays.“Ifeelabunchofdifferentwaysaboutit,butIthinkthathavinghigherfidelitystreamingwouldbeawesome.Andtheworldischangingalotbecausepeoplearecaringaboutthetypeofplaybackscenariosthattheyhaveaccessto.”Wynersaysthatforthevastmajorityoflistenersandthecontextinwhichtheylistentomusic,hedoesn’tthinkthatmusicstreamingqualitymattersthatmuch.“That’snottosayitisn’timportant,”Wynersays.“Idothinkit’simportantandformepersonally,I’malwaysinterestedingettingasmuchoftheexperienceandresultsoftheartistryaspossible.”Whenaskedwhichmusicstreamingserviceshesubscribesto,Wyneranswers,“Allofthem.”HestreamsSpotify,TIDAL,AppleMusic,andthenewAmazonHD.AstheownerofMWorksMasteringStudiosinCambridge,Massachusetts,hehasmasteredcommercialreleasesbythelikesofJamesTaylor,DavidBowie,Aerosmith,PinkFloyd,Cream,andmore.Wynerhasrecentlybeenappointedpresident-electoftheAudioEngineeringSociety(AES). “Ithinkhighresolutionaudiowithinreasonisfantastic,”hesays.“Forme,wouldIbehappytohave96kHz/24-bitversionofeverythingIlistento—absolutely.BecauseatthatpointI’dhavenoconstraintaboutmyabilitytohearallofthenuancesthatwentintomakingtherecord.”Wynerpointsoutthatinternetbandwidthwasonceabarriertohighfidelitystreaming,butthathaschangedoverthepastdecade. “Highspeedinternetaccessmeantsomethingverydifferent10yearsago,”hesays.“Thesedays,atleastinmajormetropolitanareas,peoplehavereallywidepipes.It’sactuallynotthathardtoservepeoplelosslessaudioorprettydarnclosetolosslessaudio.Oncethetechnicalrestraintgoesaway,wecangivepeoplereallyhighqualityaudio.Sowhytheheckdon’twe?”TAKEAMUSICPRODUCTIONCOURSEWITHBERKLEEAlexanderforeseestechnicalrestraintstohighfidelitystreaming,includinginternetbandwidthandredistributionissues. “WeareinagenerationwheretherehavebeenmanyhigherresthingsthathavealreadybeensampleddowntoMP3s,andthentheMP3isnowup-sampledtohighres,”hesays.“So,amIreallylisteningtoahighresfile?No.Soevendiscerningwheretheoriginalmusiccamefromwouldbeajourney;togototheoriginalrecordcompany,findtheoriginalmaster,getitprintedinsomehighresformat.Andthenuploadtosomestreamingsite...That’sjustalotofwork.Whowantstodothat?”CurrentlyleadingthedialogueabouttheimportanceofmusicqualityandplaybackisNeilYoung.Overthepastdecade,hehasfoughtadamantlyagainstcompressedMP3musicstreaming,arguingthatnotonlydoesitleavelistenersonlyasliverofarecording’spotential,butthatitispoisoningourbrains,ashediscussesinaNewYorkTimesMagazinearticle.Afterthedownfallofhisowndigitalmusiccompany,Pono,YounghaslaudedAmazon’snewhighfidelitymusicstreamingservice. “EarthwillbechangedforeverwhenAmazonintroduceshigh-qualitystreamingtothemasses,”saidYounginapressrelease.“Thiswillbethebiggestthingtohappeninmusicsincetheintroductionofdigitalaudio40yearsago.”IntheTimesMagazinearticle,authorDavidSamuelscomparedYoung’sfeelingstowardmusicstreamingqualitytowalkingintotheMetropolitanMuseumofArttoseethatartworkbyGustaveCourbetorVincentvanGoghwasreplacedbypixelatedthumbnails.DavidSamuels’sSeptember2019NewYorkTimesMagazinefeatureaboutNeilYoungandhisfightforhighqualitymusicstreaming.LikeYoung,Barrasayssheisconcernedthatthelistenerswillmissoutonhighqualityplayback,eveniftheydon’tknowwhatthey’remissing.Barraworriesthatpeoplewillnotbeabletoexperiencethefullcapabilityofahighfidelityrecording,especiallywiththeincreasingpopularityofsmartspeakers.“Ononehand,Ithinkthatit’sareallyimportantconversationtobehaving,andthatit’sineveryartist’sbestinteresttogivepeoplethebestrepresentationoftheirart,”shesays.“Butinthesamebreath,there’sahugespectrumofplacesthatyourmusicisgoingtobeplayed.Andmostpeople’splaybacksituationisgoingtolack.They’renotevengoingtobeabletohearthatfiletoitsfullestfidelity.”Whetherornotthefourinstructorswillusehighfidelitystreamingissplit.SladeseesthehighfidelityfeatureasmoreofamarketingdevicethananythingandsayshewillbestickingtoSpotifyfornow. “ThedifferenceintermsofwhatI’mhearingis,one,notgreatenoughformetopaytheextramoney,”hesays.“Two,somebodymightputmedownforthis,butIactuallypreferredtheSpotifysound.…Ijustlikeditbetterandtheplatformiseasyandit’s10bucksamonthanditgivesmeeverythingIneed.”Alexanderwouldratherfocusonartistryratherthanincreasingfidelity. “Idon’tknowthatit’sworthit,”hesays.“I’dratherspendmyenergymakingagreatsongthanfightingabouthowyou’regoingtoreceiveit.Ifit’sagreatsong,itshouldcutthroughallplatformsinawaythatcommunicatestotheindividual.”ThoughBarrasaysmostpeopledon’tpickupthedetailsonhighresolutionplayback,itdoesn’tmeantheycan’tlearn. “Idothinkit’sourresponsibilityasthemusicmakers,orthepeoplethatareleadingthisdialogue,tothinkaboutwaystoswingbackinthatotherdirectionsothathighfidelitymusiclisteningisimportantandculturallyrelevantagain,”shesays.“SoIthinkthatit’simportantthatweencouragepeopletolearnhowtolistenandcare.” Shesaysonewaytoimproveyourlisteningskillsisto“A/B”asong,meaningconductaside-by-sidecomparisonwithahighresolutionrecordingandaregularMP3recording. “Youcouldlistentothehighs,andjustfocusontheshimmerysortofhi-hats,andsynths,andjustfocusinonthosetypesofsounds,”shesays.“Thenlistentothenextrecording,andtrytofocusinthesamewayandseeifyoucanhearthedifference.”AsforWyner,hesayshighfidelitystreamingisamoveintherightdirectionforthemusicindustry.Inanidealsituation,hesaysstreamingqualitywillcorrelatewithappropriatepricingfortheconsumerandcompensationforartistsandcreators.“Anytimeamusicdistributor,whetherthatbeApple,TIDAL,orinthiscaseAmazon,seesvalueintalkingabouthighquality,thattheythinkpeoplemightwanttospendmoneyonqualityofmusic,Ithinkthat’sareallypositivemessagefortheworld,”hesays.“Gettingpeopletopayformusicisreallytheissuehere.” ExplorecoursesauthoredandtaughtbyPrinceCharlesAlexander(VocalProduction),ErinBarra(MusicProductionFundamentalsforSongwriters),SeanSlade(MusicProductionAnalysis),andJonathanWyner(AudioMasteringTechniques). EnhanceyourcriticallisteningskillswiththeBerkleeOnlinecourseBasicEarTraining1.RelatedArticlesTop10CareersintheMusicBusiness(andHowMuchMoneyYouCanMake)WhattheMusicModernizationActMeansforMusicStreamingMusicDistributionintheStreamingEra(CDBabyGuestPost)RonPopeTalks‘ADropintheOcean,’‘OneGrainofSand,’andMassiveStreamingNumbersFilm,TV,andGameScoresthatBerkleeOnlineFacultyareStreamingNow3LessonsH.E.R.’s‘HardPlace’canTeachusaboutSongwritingBerkleeisaccreditedbytheNewEnglandCommissionofHigherEducation"NECHE"(formerlyNEASC).BerkleeOnlineisaUniversityProfessionalandContinuingEducationAssociation(UPCEA)award-winnerfourteenyearsinarow(2005-2019).©Copyright2001-2020BerkleeCollegeofMusicTerms • PrivacyPolicyClosethismodule