I ask b/c I noticed some of the HD stations from Naim’s HD section stream at 16 bit 44.1Khz. For example Radio Paradise HD streams at 16 bit 44.1khz. I’m under the impression 16/44.1 is CD quality not HD. The SQ is great and sounds like it could be HD.
Perhaps my understanding is incorrect but I’m curious what metric(s) determine if a stream is HD.
Radio paradise offers the following stream formats
I think they said some time ago that they were concentrating on lossless FLAC (CD quality) until more HQ content became available. Not sure if that is still the case.
We tend to use our nDAC to determine whether something is true HiRes (higher sample rate) - light comes on for anything ABOVE 48kHz. There is a lot of 24 bit content at 44.1/48kHz out there which sounds fab though.
Tidal considers 24bit 48kHz to be “Max” and highlights in yellow. Most radio stations broadcasting anything at or above CD quality would also likely be considered HD.
Of course it all depends on the content. A CD quality recording can sound better than 192kHz if it’s a better master, whether that be local streaming, Tidal or internet radio. I think some of the “HiRes” content out there is just upsampled CD. And who knows what pre processing radio stations apply.
I understand there are different streaming rates available at RP.
I’m trying to understand generally how Naim determines if a station stream is Hi Res/HD? The RP station under the HD section from the Naim menu is streaming at 16/44 so doesn’t seem like it’s true hi res but maybe it is.
What on earth is “FLAC (processed for background listening)”?
No idea, perhaps removing any dynamics to make it elevator music!
It’s all relative. Lossless 16/44.1 is pretty high def compared to what most iRadio stations offer. Note Naim’s use of the term high def as opposed to high res which is normally used to describe music streamed in 24 bit.
Thanks for the clarification, Chris. That makes sense. I wonder why Naim doesn’t grab the hires stream if RP is serving it up.
Hi @ElMarko
On radio streams we use the term ‘HD’ relatively, so it’s the best quality stream that is available from a range of streams from that broadcaster.
Examples:
Radio Paradise: best is FLAC 44.1kHz 16bit. We consider their SD the lossy AAC 44.1kHz 320kbit
BBC, UK HD is AAC 320kbit 48kHz, their SD is AAC 128kbit
NPO, Netherlands is AAC 320K 48kHz, their SD is MP3 192kbit
NRJ France HD is AAC 576kbit, their SD is AAC 128kbit
2XS Radio HD is OGG Vorbis 500kbit, SD is MP3 192kbit.
We offer both for compatibility (eg. Some customers have terrible network connections / listening from other side of the world) but in most cases the ‘HD’ one is definitely worth using. NPO is a great example of that.
In the dedicated ‘Hidef’ category off the internet radio main menu the minimum requirement for that view is that it’s a lossless stream.
It’s one area where the Naim radio directory shines out as most radio directories just offer the SD streams, which on higher quality audio equipment is a wasted opportunity.
Best
Steve
It is a shame that the BBC differentiates its content for consumption outside the UK, which is only offered in lesser lossy quality and no method to access iPlayer.
As a UK exPat resident in Dublin, Ireland, I hold a TV licence and subscribe to paid Virgin Media services where BBC TV & Radio content is provided, including HD TV channels, with royalties paid for the content distribution.
Yet, I am unable to have access to internet based Radio content at the higher rates nor iPlayer access for on-demand viewing or UHD formats.
With more content being provided through internet services for on-demand consumption, surely a pay wall or authenticated access could not be provided to those not UK resident but wish to access.
