Learn how music source plays a role in the overall quality of your hi-fi system

If you have a hi-fi audio system in your Westchester, NY home, then you’re invested in achieving the highest-quality listening experience. Your hi-fi system allows you to listen to streaming music, CDs, MP3s, vinyl records, and other music sources as the most faithful recreation of the artist’s intent in the recording studio.

As you’ve delved deeper into the world of high-fidelity music, you’ve probably stumbled across the concept of “lossless audio.” But what is lossless audio, and does it truly impact the listening experience with a hi-fi sound system? We break it down below.

 

SEE ALSO: Choosing Hi-Fi: Why You Should Always Try Before You Buy

 

What Is Lossless Audio?

Uncompressed audio files (what’s recorded in the studio) are quite large. Too large to fit onto CDs or be streamed without a lot of buffering. These large files are compressed into a format called MP3 to fit onto CDs and streaming platforms. Unfortunately, the reduction in file size requires a sacrifice in quality. Some of the sounds are plucked out during compression, meaning the songs that end up on your CD are good but lack details from the original recording.

This type of compression is called lossy audio. In contrast, lossless audio compresses files to a manageable size without removing any data from the songs. The most popular lossless format is Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC). To sum it up: lossless audio formatting ensures that songs remain as faithful to the original recording as possible.

 

Does Lossless Audio Make a Difference for Hi-Fi Sound?

Yes, lossless audio has an impact on the sound quality of your hi-fi system. Clean, high-quality audio formats that contain all the details from the original recording deliver an immensely satisfying music-listening experience. If music is your passion, you’ll revel in hearing every pluck of the guitar strings, every bright, cutting sound from the crash cymbals, and every croon that’s held to the final note. Listening to high-fidelity music creates a more dynamic, immersive experience that makes you feel like the artists are right beside you.

Optimizing lossless audio requires you to have equipment that can handle it. That’s why lossless streaming is a fantastic source to add to your hi-fi audio system at home. Hi-fi audio depends on high-quality, high-performing speakers that make the most of clean, lossless sources.

 

Music Source Recommendations

If you’re interested in streaming lossless audio to your hi-fi system, you have plenty of services to choose from. Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music HD, Apple Music, Spotify HiFi, and Qobuz are all subscription-based streaming platforms that offer access to CD-quality audio. Tidal is one of the oldest and most well-known lossless streaming services. A subscription gives you exclusive access to over 70 million tracks, 250,000 videos, concert live streams, and artist-curated playlists in high-quality sound. If you already have an Apple Music subscription, their lossless service is a fantastic deal — it’s being added as a tier available to all Apple Music subscribers at no additional cost.

 

Are you interested in deepening your enjoyment and appreciation of music with a hi-fi sound system? Electronic Concepts can help you with all your system design and installation needs. Give us a call, fill out an online form, or stop by our showroom to view our selection of hi-fi speaker brands. We look forward to working with you!