High-resolution audio

High-resolution audio is a term for music files with bit depth greater than 16-bit and sampling frequency higher than 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz used in CD and DVD formats. The Audio Engineering Society (AES), Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and Japan Audio Society (JAS) set 24-bit/96 kHz as the minimum requirement to fulfill the standard.^[1][2][3] The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing also cites 24-bit/96 kHz as the preferred resolution for tracking, mixing and mastering audio.^[4] It is supported by media formats such as DVD-Audio, DualDisc and High Fidelity Pure Audio, download stores like Bandcamp, HDtracks and Qobuz, and streaming platforms including Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal. Research into high-resolution audio began in the late 1980s and recordings were made available on the consumer market in 1996.^[5]

Other bit depth/sample rate combinations that are often marketed as "high-resolution" include 1-bit/2.8224 MHz (DSD), 20-bit/44.1 kHz (HDCD), 24-bit/44.1, 88.2 or 176.4 kHz, 24-bit/48, 96 or 192 kHz,^[6] and 24-bit/352.8 kHz (DXD). Reference-grade digital-to-analog converters that oversample to very high rates such as 24-bit/384 kHz, 32-bit/384 kHz and 32-bit/768 kHz are also available for both consumer and professional use.^[7][8] Sony's LDAC, Dolby's Digital Plus and Lenbrook's MQA are marketed as "hi-res,"^[9][10][11] however, these codecs employ lossy compression and can often have lower bit rates than Compact Disc Digital Audio, and thus, cannot be classified as "true high-resolution."^[12][13][14]