What’s HRA? The Sickroomrecords team is here to clear things up. Whether you are an audiophile or casual music listener, you’ve probably heard of HRA or high resolution audio. But what does it mean? In this article, our experts and passionate music lovers break down the basics.
The Basics: What Is HRA?
What is it? HRA is high-resolution audio, which, in its turn, refers to a digital audio with a higher sampling frequency. The audio has a higher bit depth than the CD. The “hi-res” term came from the industry association the Consumer Electronics which demands high resolution files to be 24bit/192kHz or at least 24bit/96kHz. In general true hi-res files are defined as anything greater than 24bit/48kHz. Streaming services often tag them as “studio quality”.
Pros and Cons of HR Audio
Not too long ago, “high resolution audio” was just a term dreamed up by marketing folks to sell gear. Now, it’s actually something you can experience from the comfort of your home. To begin with, high resolution audio… has several advantages but there are some disadvantages too. We’ll let you be the judge after checking the highs and lows of “hi-res” audio for yourself we’ve discovered so far.
Pluses of Hi-Res Audio
Using Hi-Res audio could open up possibilities for music addicts. Fine resolution music is a lot like fine wine – it has to be savored! The taste, the aroma, and of course the finer details in the music all come through with hi-res audio. And they’re not just more precise – they are so natural that it’s as if you are listening to the music in the original recording studio itself.
Were you aware that you can listen to the HR music from different devices like your phone or portable player these days? The choice is up to you!
Also, if you want to hear the most from your hi-res audio rig but don’t know what format to choose, Sick Room records team has collected audio file formats in the list below:
- AIFF
- ALAC
- DSD
- FLAC
- WAV
The last type of audio file, and perhaps the world’s most popular, is WAV or PCM. It is a large size copy of the original source material. Among uncompressed formats there is also Apple’s AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format). The advantage of AIFF is that you can actually decrease the size by compressing the file using the Stuffit Deluxe program for example.
Among compressed formats, there are also FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec). In reality, only FLAC is widely used. However, ALAC works well on both a Mac and iTunes. Both formats are designed to be “lossless”. It means they do not discard any data from the original source during compression.
What makes FLAC and ALAC better than WAV and AIFF is the smaller size which adds on to their fast downloading ability. People can store much more music on the music server and hard drive and stream it over the network.
Minuses of Hi-Res Audio
We also know about some disadvantages too. Here are some of the challenges you’ll face. First, not all devices are compatible with high resolution audio formats (yet). Secondly, most wireless headphones and similar devices aren’t all compatible with HRA. Unfortunately, not all sound files even come in the formats just yet.
At 24-bit, music files are about six times larger than the 16-bit files we typically hear on CDs or download from iTunes and other popular online stores. A song that takes up 5 megabytes of storage space when it’s an MP3, for example, would take up 35 megabytes of space as a 24-bit file.
So how do we get it to something of the CD size? By throwing away lots of data. The process we use today is called lossy compression, and it’s the reason why digital music has been able to provide the rich sound that you hear in live performances or on analog recordings.
Why Do You Need HRA or High Resolution Audio?
The music specialists who record the music in the studio make it sound different from the sound of a living room — that is, until now. The rise of high-resolution audio (HRA) is changing everything. That original 24-bit song can now fit on your iPods or smartphones and sound exactly like it did when the artist first sang it.
In other words, people who listen to music in high-resolution feel like they are stepping up onto a new level. It’s the difference between listening to streaming mp3 files and listening to the same files on vinyl. But unlike vinyl, people don’t have to make a special trip to the music store, and people don’t need a special player.