The ability to hear accurately does of course differ between people, but what I have found in A-B testing is that most people can hear the difference between CD-quality versus records on a high end stereo system. More recently, I decided to develop a digital collection recorded from my records. I started out with 384 kHz/16-bit files, and I thought that was the best I could hear. I was wrong. I purchased an RME ADI-2 Pro converter capable of 768 kHz/32-bit. I was expecting and hoping to not hear any difference between 384 kHz and 768 kHz. I was amazed that I immediately heard more details: space between instruments, clearer sounds in general, more specific instrument locations (better sound stage). That was with my Koss electrostatic headphones. I did not hear the difference with my Sennheiser HD600 headphones. I have since upgraded cables and power supplies, and the sound has improved more. I find that a stereo system is like a chain: the chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and a stereo system is limited by it’s weakest (noisiest, slowest, etc.) component. So my answer to HD sound is, you can only hear the difference if your total system is capable of reproducing the detail available in the recording, and your ears are capable of discerning it . . . like a chain. In my case, I am lucky (or unlucky) enough to be able to hear the details. In that sense, my hearing has cost me a lot of money over the years.
As for “science”, people generally ignore the fact that humans are capable of perceiving high frequency harmonics way beyond what they can hear as a clear tone. I can’t seem to hear a 10 kHz tone, but I can easily identify details (high frequency harmonics) exposed at 300 kHz . . . but only with electrostatic drivers that accurately reproduce those frequencies. So bottom line: I think a person has to match the digital quality with the chain: their complete stereo system plus their hearing.
As for my source, I have about 800 records, some of which are really good recordings using pure analog mastering. Most of my records from the 60’s and 70’s are analog, and they benefit from super high-res digitization. In the last few weeks, I added a Synology NAS with 30TB of space, because I’ve been recording more than I had planned to. As I said, good hearing can be expensive, especially if you enjoy the natural sound of instruments as much as I do: records such as Solti/London playing The Planets from Original Master Recordings. I use CD-quality music strictly for background music. I’m not an elitist. I just love music.
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