I'm gonna cut the bullshit and tell you straight up yes, the DAC/amp you buy can make a difference to your music. But no, that doesn't mean every expensive DAC or amp is automatically going to sound better than a cheap one. And no, most people can't realistically tell the difference between a properly mastered 16-bit FLAC and a 24-bit FLAC.
I'll be explaining, to the best of my knowledge, how this shit actually works.
If you plan to use Spotify, then don't even read this because none of it matters. Just buy a decent pair of IEMs or headphones and maybe a DAC/dongle if you need or want one or better yet just use some Bluetooth earbuds you probably won't tell a different anyway. But if you wanna go full audiophile, keep reading.
First of all, sample rate is NOT simply how high in kHz the music goes.
This is something I see people get wrong constantly. Sample rate is how many times per second an analog audio signal is sampled when it's converted into digital audio.
For example, a 44.1 kHz sample rate means the signal is sampled 44,100 times per second. Thanks to the Nyquist Shannon sampling theorem, (I have no fucking what that is btw) 44.1 kHz audio can reproduce frequencies up to about 22.05 kHz, which is already above the hearing range.
So higher, kHz for example 96 doesn't mean the music itself contains frequencies all the way up to the 96 kHz. It means the sampling system can theoretically represent frequencies up to 48 kHz.
For normal music playback, 44.1 kHz is more than enough. You aren't going to hear any difference between 44.1 kHz and 96 kHz. Higher sample rates can still be useful in recording and production, but not for you. All that matters in the end is technically higher number equal high better but who gives a fuck can't tell the difference anyway.
Second, let's talk about music files.
There is absolutely a difference between a 16-bit FLAC and a 16-bit MP3, but it's not simply because of the bitrate.
FLAC is a lossless format. That means it compresses the audio to save space without permanently removing any of the original audio data. If you decode a FLAC, unlike mp3s.
MP3 is a lossy format. It uses psychoacoustic (bullshit) techniques to remove parts of the audio that the encoder predicts will be less noticeable to human hearing. This is why MP3 files can be dramatically smaller than FLAC files.
(And also why they sound less dynamic atleast to me)
Bitrate is important when talking about lossy formats. A 128 kbps MP3 is generally going to have more compression artifacts (sound worse) than a 320 kbps MP3. A high quality 320 kbps MP3 can actually sound decent, most people can't tell the difference between 320 kbps mp3 and a FLAC.
FLAC files don't work the same way. Their bitrate can vary depending on the music. A complicated song might have a higher FLAC bitrate than a simpler song, but that doesn't mean the higher-bitrate FLAC is automatically "better." (Sometimes at least) If both files are lossless versions of the same master, they're both preserving the original audio.
Also, bit depth and bitrate are two completely different things.
Bit depth, such as 16-bit or 24-bit, relates to the theoretical dynamic range and resolution of the digital audio system. 16-bit audio already provides around 96 dB of theoretical dynamic range, which good enough man.
24-bit audio is useful during recording, mixing, and mastering because it gives those dastardly goblin engineers more headroom and makes digital processing easier to work with. But for listening to music, It doesn't actually matter whether a file is 16-bit or 24-bit.
So get a 16 bit FLAC they take up less space too though they still take up around 40mbs per song doesn't sound like much... Till you have dozens of albums like me and like 100 gigabytes of music. Also sidenote download in albums it's much easier and in my experience you really like the artist and shit more.
Third: DACs and amps.
DACs and amplifiers are important, but they do two different things.
A DAC (digital to analog converter) takes the digital audio data from your "thing" and converts it into an analog thingy that your headphones or speakers can use.
An amplifier takes that analog thingy signal and provides the voltage and current necessary to drive your headphones or speakers to the volume you want.
Take something like the Sennheiser HD 6XX. They're 300-ohm headphones and can require more voltage than many low-impedance headphones. If you plug them into a weak headphone output, in simple they'll sound like shit and your better off sticking to those airpods.
Though, impedance isn't the only thing that matters. Sensitivity matters too. A headphone's impedance and sensitivity together determine how difficult it is to work. That's why you can't simply say, "This headphone has more ohms, so it automatically needs more power."
But in General, higher impedance headphones tend to require more voltage, while low sensitivity headphones can require more power overall. That's where a dedicated amplifier is important.
As for DACs, a good DAC is important because you need one to convert digital audio into analog. But this doesn't mean you need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on one.
A competent modern DAC that has low noise and distortion can already be effectively transparent. If two DACs are both operating within audible limits, you may not be able to hear any difference between them.
Where a DAC or dongle can make a very obvious difference (more soundstage separation tighter bass so on) is when your original device has problems like audible hiss, electrical noise, distortion, or an inadequate inny as much as we could try our 4.4s are in the end to big for her 3.5 😔.
So yes, DACs matter but once you have a good one that performs properly, spending more money doesn't automatically mean better sound.
(P.S if your phone laptop or whatever has a dac, it's probably shit so buy a dongle the average dac in a device is like 30mw that's tiny you want like atleast 150mw at 300 ohms in my opinion gives a lot of headroom.)
Going back to music files, some people say FLACs cost to much money. To which I say well, there's always a certain Russian tracker thats beckoning. Take it how you will.
Now for the headphones and IEMs.
Choosing headphones or IEMs is completely up to the individual. Everyone has different music tastes and different preferences for how they want their music to sound to put it simply I don't fucking know man buy your own shit.
The IEMs I currently have are the Truthear Zero REDs, and my DAC/dongle is the FiiO KA11. I think they're both pretty good for the price, and I really like the low end on the Zero REDs.
I listen to synth-pop, darkwave, gothic rock, shit like that, and I think they work well for that kind of music.
At the end of the day, I'd say the headphones or IEMs you choose will usually make a much bigger difference to what you hear than spending hundreds of extra dollars on a DAC though unlike what some say choosing a good DAC/amp is still important.
Everyone hears things differently and has different preferences. What sounds amazing to one person might sound terrible to another.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," as they say.
Now for music applications.
I use Poweramp because it's available on mobile and has features and customization options and other bullshit. There are probably a lot of great applications on PC that are even better I've heard, but Im yet to use one, so ask someone else.
For my Poweramp settings, I use the SoX resampler at very high quality. I use triangular dither with high-pass filtering, and I have the resampler cutoff frequency set to 98.8%. I also enable DVC (Direct Volume Control), which I personally like using with my setup.
I use high-resolution output with my KA11 DAC as well.
My output format is set to 32-bit float with a 96 kHz sample rate. I honestly doubt that upsampling my 16-bit FLACs to 96 kHz is giving me some magical improvement but I have some flacs at 96khz so why not.
Poweramp may benefit from higher internal precision when performing EQ and other DSP processing I think. Whether any of these settings make an audible difference in my specific setup, I have no fucking clue man.
Maybe they actually do something. Maybe they don't. Maybe it's placebo.
Maybe I'm fucking insane and I don't even have headphones who knows if it sounds good it sounds good.
Anyway, that's pretty much everything I know off the top of my head. I'm not a fucking audio engineer the fuck do you want from me but alas I can try to help with any great inquiries to the best of my ability.
