Episode Details

A 24-bit, 192-kilohertz studio master streams at 4,608 kilobits per second, yet blind tests show trained listeners barely beat a coin flip when telling hi-res audio apart from CD quality. Breaking down Music Assistant's spec tables, this episode separates lossless from hi-res across FLAC, ALAC, and Tidal's abandoned MQA, and compares ceilings at Qobuz, Deezer, Apple Music, Amazon Music HD, and Spotify. From Joshua Reiss's Audio Engineering Society meta-analysis to McGill University's expert trials, the numbers reveal where bitrate stops mattering. Key sources: • Music Assistant, Qobuz provider docs , retrieved 2026-11-14 — https://www.music-assistant.io/music-providers/qobuz/ • Music Assistant, Tidal provider docs , retrieved 2026-11-14 — https://www.music-assistant.io/music-providers/tidal/ • Music Assistant, Deezer provider docs , retrieved 2026-11-14 — https://www.music-assistant.io/music-providers/deezer/ Episode 6603 — myweirdprompts.com/n/6603 (permanent short link: myweirdprompts.com/530730) Listen on Android: MWP FM Player — myweirdprompts.com/apk