The truth about high-resolution audio compared with std. CD 44k?

[Pluto]

It turns out that the kids didn't turn their ringers off at all. They merely switched to high frequency ringtones above the threshold of the teachers' hearing. A very simple and clever solution.

I think the teacher needs to acquire one of these ;-)

[Drdennis]

I inherited eleven year old Soundsticks from my daughters college system. After sitting in storage for several years, I connected them to my new Mac Mini ('10). They are amazing for very near field listening. There is no hum whatsoever. I have considered upgrading to separate amp and DAC with P3's. The cost would be about $4,000, so for now I will listen to this surprising system. Perhaps, Harbeth could improve on a compact desktop system. I'm sure that this is potentially a huge market.

My main system;

Compact 7ES3
REL B3
LFD MK IV
SONY CDP 5400ES, VSE mods
Shunyata PC, Cardas cables

[HUG-1]

I inherited eleven year old Soundsticks from my daughters college system...

Are they active i.e. mains powered?

The hum in these (active) pc speakers comes from the internal mains power supply and/or the transformer causing the plastic case to vibrate.

[Drdennis]

Soundsticks have an outboard power supply connected to mains.

[jplaurel]

{Moderator's comment: did they like most PC speakers emit a constant hummmmmmmm?}

No, they did not. The newer "Soundsticks II" version, however, are a step backward. They no longer have the integrated DAC. Instead, you plug a 2.5mm stereo mini jack into your sound card. And they do hummmmmm.

[steveinaz]

I have a few 24/96 (flac) albums I've down loaded from the Linn site. Realistically, I think it has more to do with the better mastering of these albums, than bit depth. I have many Redbook CD's that sound phenominal--so I know the potential is there. I haven't tried it, but my gut feeling is that if you downloaded the same album in both 16/44 and 24/96 (assuming good mastering), you'd be hard pressed to tell a difference.