Struggling to hear difference between FLAC and Google Music Bose QC35 wired

[torbach1]

I have connected by Bose QC35 headphones with their cable to the V30 and played a few songs on Google Music side by side with the same songs I purchased from HDtracks.com in FLAC 24 bit/192KHz.

Obviously the HiFi setting is on. They both sound terrific. I can barely tell the difference. Are my ears just not that sensitive, or am I missing something? I'm using the LG Music player for the FLAC files and obviously Google Music for that music, downloaded at the highest quality it supports.

 

[JkdJedi]

I have connected by Bose QC35 headphones with their cable to the V30 and played a few songs on Google Music side by side with the same songs I purchased from HDtracks.com in FLAC 24 bit/192KHz.

Obviously the HiFi setting is on. They both sound terrific. I can barely tell the difference. Are my ears just not that sensitive, or am I missing something? I'm using the LG Music player for the FLAC files and obviously Google Music for that music, downloaded at the highest quality it supports.

Could be your headphones dude. Get some serious cans like Philips X2, Sennhieser 650, or Hi-FiMan 400i. They're all under $250 if you search hard enough..

 

[torbach1]

Could be your headphones dude. Get some serious cans like Philips X2, Sennhieser 650, or Hi-FiMan 400i. They're all under $250 if you search hard enough..

I knew there were headphones better than the Bose since Bose has always been about noise cancellation first, but figured these would still be good enough to tell a difference. I'll see how it sounds in my car connected to aux tomorrow morning. I'll also go somewhere where I can try some of these out and find out. Thanks.

 

[JkdJedi]

I knew there were headphones better than the Bose since Bose has always been about noise cancellation first, but figured these would still be good enough to tell a difference. I'll see how it sounds in my car connected to aux tomorrow morning. I'll also go somewhere where I can try some of these out and find out. Thanks.

Yeah you should hear a difference. Try using Tidal, i think they have a free trial, they have MQA recordings you can listen to as well as Flac files.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Rather than using Google Play Music, I'd recommend using the LG Music app. What is the impedance of the headphones you have? I can hear a difference in FLAC files using Sony MDR-7506 cans.

 

[torbach1]

Rather than using Google Play Music, I'd recommend using the LG Music app. What is the impedance of the headphones you have? I can hear a difference in FLAC files using Sony MDR-7506 cans.

Thanks, I am using both. I'm comparing the same songs downloaded in Google Music's highest quality, to FLAC 24 bit 192KHz versions played in the LG Music player. I switch back and forth and can barely notice a difference. I have a good sound system in my car, and honestly that's where I'm hoping to hear the biggest difference even though car systems are inherently flawed.

 

[torbach1]

Yeah you should hear a difference. Try using Tidal, i think they have a free trial, they have MQA recordings you can listen to as well as Flac files.

Would Tidal be better quality than 192/24 FLAC? Each song is about 300MB to give a you a sense, and it's lossless.

 

[TheMarcus]

Using the eaebuds LG gave away with the V20, I cannot tell a difference between having the hifi DAC on or off.

 

[darkehawke]

Using the eaebuds LG gave away with the V20, I cannot tell a difference between having the hifi DAC on or off.

I think this depends where and when you bought the phone.
Carriers started giving out bog standard headphones after a while

 

[JkdJedi]

Would Tidal be better quality than 192/24 FLAC? Each song is about 300MB to give a you a sense, and it's lossless.

The MQA recordings are, and yeah your flac files are lossless so they should sound better. I had great luck using the stock player with an external dac/amp (iDSD Black Edition) but never really tested it straight from the phones headphone jack. Good luck man.

 

[torbach1]

Quick update. I tried Google Music for the same identical song and recording (Hotel California from the original album), which I uploaded to Google Music from my CD, and then a FLAC version of the same song from the same album. Difference is noticable in my car.

What was more interesting was playing the same song from my Note 8. Difference between even Google Music on the LG V30 and Google Music on the Note 8 is night and day. It's so much better on the LG. Then when you play it through the LG player and FLAC, it's beyond night and day.

I got the V30 as an experiment. I'm trying to decide whether to stay with it because of the music and wide angle camera, video camera, or stick to my Note 8 (which I got on a BOGO). Not an easy decision.

 

[MA2GA28]

Quick update. I tried Google Music for the same identical song and recording (Hotel California from the original album), which I uploaded to Google Music from my CD, and then a FLAC version of the same song from the same album. Difference is noticable in my car.

What was more interesting was playing the same song from my Note 8. Difference between even Google Music on the LG V30 and Google Music on the Note 8 is night and day. It's so much better on the LG. Then when you play it through the LG player and FLAC, it's beyond night and day.

I got the V30 as an experiment. I'm trying to decide whether to stay with it because of the music and wide angle camera, video camera, or stick to my Note 8 (which I got on a BOGO). Not an easy decision.

Glad you heard a difference. Though, I am surprised the QC 35s failed to highlight the improvement. My wife has a set, and I could tell the difference between a regular set of headphones and those. However, I didn't test FLAC files, just mp3s I downloaded to my phone. Though you are correct that even Google Play music sounds better on the V30.

 

[TheMarcus]

I think this depends where and when you bought the phone.
Carriers started giving out bog standard headphones after a while

V20. Not V30. LG gave away B&O headphones as a promotion.

 

[mlknez]

The problem is not in the hardware, it is the content. You have not tested music that was RECORDED in high-res. All of your music was recorded in standard or LOWER than standard CD res. The content was then digitized into a large high-res container and filled with zeros. HDtracks makes you pay extra for the zeros on the majority of the music that they sell. There is no real difference! If you REALLY want to test, please go to 2L High Resolution Music .:. free TEST BENCH

Their music was RECORDED in high-res.

 

[torbach1]

The problem is not in the hardware, it is the content. You have not tested music that was RECORDED in high-res. All of your music was recorded in standard or LOWER than standard CD res. The content was then digitized into a large high-res container and filled with zeros. HDtracks makes you pay extra for the zeros on the majority of the music that they sell. There is no real difference! If you REALLY want to test, please go to 2L High Resolution Music .:. free TEST BENCH

Their music was RECORDED in high-res.

The Eagles are perfectionists in this area. They have remastered their recordings, but even back then they were about as much of a perfectionist as you would find. I also have their Hell Freezes Over album which I can try, and just to be safe, I used Coldplay's latest album too.

 

[torbach1]

The problem is not in the hardware, it is the content. You have not tested music that was RECORDED in high-res. All of your music was recorded in standard or LOWER than standard CD res. The content was then digitized into a large high-res container and filled with zeros. HDtracks makes you pay extra for the zeros on the majority of the music that they sell. There is no real difference! If you REALLY want to test, please go to 2L High Resolution Music .:. free TEST BENCH

Their music was RECORDED in high-res.

I just re-read your response. So you're saying that some of HDTracks' music was not originally recorded in high quality, so can't be upgraded to high quality just because they put it into FLAC? If so, what do you use as your primary music source? TIDAL?

 

[mlknez]

The Eagles are perfectionists in this area. They have remastered their recordings, but even back then they were about as much of a perfectionist as you would find. I also have their Hell Freezes Over album which I can try, and just to be safe, I used Coldplay's latest album too.

The Eagles recorded most of their music on Studer A800 2 inch tape decks. These were the best tech at the time. This particular machine can record up to 17.8khz max when staying under 1% distortion. The max dynamic range was equivalent to about 9bits. That isn't even accounting for drift, wow, flutter, etc. of tape. CD frequency max is 22.1khz and 16 bits.

I am NOT making a claim about quality of the recording. I am just saying that it does not meet the definition of high-resolution. Mastering can't put quality back into the recording. It can change the quality of the content that is delivered to you. Once something is recorded, that is the best that it can ever be.

 

[torbach1]

The Eagles recorded most of their music on Studer A800 2 inch tape decks. These were the best tech at the time. This particular machine can record up to 17.8khz max when staying under 1% distortion. The max dynamic range was equivalent to about 9bits. That isn't even accounting for drift, wow, flutter, etc. of tape. CD frequency max is 22.1khz and 16 bits.

I am NOT making a claim about quality of the recording. I am just saying that it does not meet the definition of high-resolution. Mastering can't put quality back into the recording. It can change the quality of the content that is delivered to you. Once something is recorded, that is the best that it can ever be.

Thanks man. I really like you. You clearly know what you're talking about. I appreciate your input and advice on this. Good to have folks like you on here. So where do you get your music?

 

[JkdJedi]

One more suggestion is that if you have any external equalizer apps I'd delete them, they do no justice to flac files from my experience.

 

[SupraLB]

On Google Play, you need the Equalizer FX app. For some reason, the Equalizer settings are disabled on Google Play and it makes the sound terrible and flat. Been like that every generation.

I was amazed how much difference it made by controlling the EQ. Equalizer FX will work right from within the Play app, so you don't have to open it separately.