Audio Quality and Formats~

[~SnowAngel~]

Here, we're going to talk about audio formats (flac, mp3, ogg, aiff, wav, aac, etc.) and their quality( 320kps, VBR, CBR, compression levels, how it can be used, etc.)

Try to explain why you choose what you do other than saying "because it's better." Feel free to post articles and other places if they help~ but try to keep them realistic and relevant.

1. What format do you listen to and why?
2. What format do you use to store music?
3. What do you use to listen to the music?
4. What is more important to you: file size, quality, or both?
5. What other formats have you tried? What have you not tried yet?

6. (optional) what audio related things do you not understand well?
7. (optional) what would you like to see in the future with audio?
8. other comments~


I usually use mp3 simply because my ipod touch can have more music at a good quality. The battery life isn't drained, and I can use it with almost anything. Most of my backups are mp3, but I do have some flac for a few things, simply because I may want to put it on a CD for a bigger speaker. I'm not sure if it'll sound better in my car :f I usually use a dock stereo, my laptop, earbuds, and my car to listen to my music. I don't think lossless would make a difference except in my car~ I like to have a balance of quality and file size. If it's 192kbs+ I'm fine with that~ though I do prefer 320. I have tried .Ogg .AIFF and .WAV, possibly others. I'm interested in Ogg since I heard how similar it is to mp3. The only downside is that it's pointless unless you convert lossless to ogg. I've also tried aac,, which is an option in itunes for the ipod. I think it would ruin the music because of the low bitrate and my car speakers :f

Generally, I don't quiet understand compression levels and lossless format differences. I've read online about them plenty of times, but don't see what the big deal is~ I heard you need top equipment to hear the difference between lossless and mp3 320. I've also heard that there isn't a noticeable difference between VBR and CBR at high quality.
I think I'd like to see flac and ogg supported on ipods and other devices. It would be interesting to see new formats that can combine the benefits of flac and mp3~ ogg is close to that.

 

[pumasrevenge]

I'm using mp3 with 320 kbps most of the time. If I downloaded something, then I don't convert this anymore, no matter which format or quality it is. If I have the original CD, I rip it and convert it to 320 kbps and full stereo. If there are more types for the download, then I download 320 kbps if possible.

I only download lossless if there aren't any other formats available. That's also the reason why I have a few albums in lossless. Lossless needs too much memory space and to be true, I can't hear a big difference in comparison to mp3.

 

[HatoriTakaya]

Quite frankly since I used to be a guitarist for several years, I dealt with most formats but now it just a distant memory. I enjoyed using and listening to FLAC or any LOSSLESS format due to the quality difference from LOSSY formats that usually may not be able produce. That when I have all my equipment there to listen to it and sometimes I used it to help accelerate my practice sessions in different guitars I use to perform. Be it Classical, Acoustic, Electric-Acoustic and Electric Guitars.

When I want portability, I take MP3 for listening and to help memorize the song or piece I'm learning and performing. I may convert the file from AAC, FLAC or other sources when the bitrate does not meet my expectations.

Having the original CD or Album where possible still tend to be the best but not so much in portability though.

 

[kactaplb]

CBR is fairly frowned upon inside ASL staff lol. Ask checkmate for the long complete version :3

I like to pretend I can hear the difference between lossless and lossy. With my high end setup, I can tell the difference a select few songs but otherwise meh. Flac for archiving storage and mp3 VBR for mobility.

 

[redecoded]

Flac if i can find it and if not i am sadly reduced to mp3s hopefully the highest quality mp3 i can get. Although if i had better
headphones or speakers i might not care as much and just try to boost the quality as much as possible to compensate when i play lossy files. Although I am not a super audiophile, i can tell the difference in quality and would take quality over file size. The only problem is finding portable audioplayers that support lossless formats.

 

[javascript]

You'll need the right piece of music and some investment on headphone or speaker to feel the difference.
VBR AAC at q=1.0 (~400kps) is pretty good for most.
If you are listening outdoor with noises, the requirement will be even lower.