Differences between FLAC and MP3?
Lossless vs lossy
“Here, of course, the question is not about the difference between MP3 and FLAC, it is broader: that lossy compression formats (MP3, AAC, WMA, Ogg Vorbis and others; that is, lossy) are They differ from “lossless.” ”(FLAC, ALAC, APE, WavPack and others; that is, no losses). Actually, with such wording, it becomes clear that in the first group of formats, the original data is not completely saved, and the second can be restored to the original format (for example, Wav or Aiff extracted from CD) without loss. What exactly is lost and in what proportions depends on the specific type of lossy files and their bit rate, that is, the degree of compression. But to say that all MP3s sound bad and that “flacks” are perfect is the height of arrogance and incompetence. Lossy audio formats have been developing for more than twenty years, and serious research laboratories (Fraunhofer Institute, for example, in addition to working on MP3, is also famous for the invention of the most efficient solar battery) and a group of enthusiasts. Mathematical encoding is constantly improving, and nowadays it is no longer so easy to distinguish files produced by different codecs by ear.
I would immediately make a reservation that not only the files themselves are important, but also the equipment they are to be tested on, the listening environment, and the examiner’s listening experience. In MP3 of any low bitrate, Ariel Pink will sing with the voice of Ariel Pink, of that there is no doubt. It is quite possible that a person listening to music as a melody through white headphones in a subway car will be enough for the eye, and the difference in codecs will come down to a file size comparison. A disc jockey who is embarrassed to buy or search without losses will also think that everything is in order with his MP3, as he prepares a set on the “Tractor” on the laptop’s built-in speakers. It is true that during a party in a big, loud and clear audio system of the club (sometimes they meet, believe me), it suddenly turns out that the guy who speaks immediately after for some reason, the music became big, clear and great . Lossy formats are developed for the convenience of transferring files over the Internet, for storage on portable audio players, and finally for personal playback. Okay, it’s silly to watch a gigabyte AVI movie on a big screen. Even in a home theater, this is not entirely decent. The same goes for MP3. On your iPod: listen to your health (although AAC from iTunes sounds better for sure), but if you go clubbing, don’t miss out, even if you start Skrillex. And when you’re listening to Christmas jazz with his girlfriend’s parents on their big lacquered speakers, buy FLAC or ALAC too. With MP3, you risk getting into an awkward situation. In theory, after a bit rate of 256 kbps, it will be quite difficult for your future audiophile father-in-law to know if he is lossy or not.
Usually when viewing an MP3 file, he isn’t paying attention to anything other than the bit rate. If he already considers himself a person with a taste for music and sound, he should look in the properties of the file for the data of the codec that was used during the conversion. Suppose you see “Lame 3.99” there, it means the latest MP3 codec was used and you’re in luck. But next to it is “Joint Stereo”, which is no longer great. This means that to save a couple of percent of the file size, the codec was allowed to add something to mono, although the recording is stereophonic and the sound image is slightly lost in depth and clarity. There are also fully botanical CBR or VBR, ABR and UBR, but if you’re ready to dig that seriously, do it yourself. Well, you figured out the properties of the file, everything is simple there. The difficulty is this: you hardly ever know what your 320 CBR Stereo is made of.
Scammed out of Internet radio? Made from an unremastered original Japanese CD? Recoded from 192? There is a lot of music on torrents or Soulseek, but there are few guarantees. Another complication is that lossy formats slightly increase the peak values of the audio signal. The so-called overshoot: thousands of micro-overloads along the entire length of the file. Again, you won’t notice this on a train with an iPod. And the future father-in-law can hear ”. The so-called overshoot: thousands of micro-overloads along the entire length of the file. Again, you won’t notice this on a train with an iPod. And the future father-in-law can hear ”. The so-called overshoot: thousands of micro-overloads along the entire length of the file. Again, you won’t notice this on a train with an iPod. And the future father-in-law can hear. “
