Better audio formats

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You have decided to digitize the music tracks in your audio CD collection by transferring everything to your computer. You started to examine the possibility of converting it into a format that is more convenient for you.

With a little experience in this area, however, you would like to get some advice on the subject so you can make the best decision. How do you say? Things are exactly the same and you want to know if I can help you by giving you the best audio formats? Of course yes, that’s exactly what he wanted to do.

If you allow me a few minutes of your free time, I can actually use threads and characters to tell you which audio formats are most popular, what strengths and weaknesses they have and what purposes they may be more or less convenient for. Contact. Condition to choose those who you think are actually right for you. To complete the information and give you an even more comprehensive overview of the topic, I will also indicate at the end of the article which tools you can use to carry out various conversion processes. You will find that once you have read this manual, there is no longer any doubt about what to do.

In order to? How about putting the conversation aside and finally getting to the point? Yes? Excellent! So I suggest that you don’t waste any more time and immediately focus on the topic. Make yourself comfortable in front of your trusted computer and read everything below. I am sure you can say that you are happy and satisfied with what you have learned. As always, I hope you enjoy reading.

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MAIN AUDIO FORMATS

Even the audio formats differ in their versatility and level of compression, and even if they are not as numerous as the video formats, it is better to look at the properties to get satisfactory results according to the requirements of our work.

Microsoft Wave [Extension: WAV] It is Microsoft’s proprietary format and is certainly the most widely used. This diffusion depends on commercial aspects and the fact that it is the most supported among the competitors. It has various compressions and is a versatile and highly editable format. For this reason, it is suitable for general digital audio, both for multimedia publications (although there are certainly better formats) and for desktop video (real standard). An excellent program for processing wave files (but also other formats) is CoolEdit.

MPEG Audio (extension: MPG / MP3) MP3 stands for MPEG1 Layer3. The MPEG algorithm, the basis of MP3, emerged from the need to develop a world standard for the representation of moving images and audio. This standard was developed in 1988 for the treatment of audio and video signals and has the special feature of compressing files and reducing them by 12 times compared to their natural size.

This high-compression format is based in particular on theories of psychoacoustics: each individual has a hearing that is sensitive to frequencies from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and in particular the man perceives sounds between 2 and 4 kHz better. In addition, some sounds mask nearby frequencies so that you cannot hear all of the sounds.

These considerations have led to the development of an algorithm that eliminates all “redundant” noise for the human ear and achieves a high level of file compression and sound quality that is comparable to the digital and can be downloaded directly to your PC.

MP3 enables good results, making small and high quality playback compatible. An established audio standard is the MPEG Layer3 version, which produces very small files of excellent quality, an excellent compromise when duplicating and creating audio files on CD. The XingMPEG encoder is an excellent software for creating MP3s.

Given the prevalence and importance of the topic on a legal level, let’s find out what it is and what benefits we can achieve by using this MPEG format.

An audio CD generally contains 60 to 78 minutes and is characterized by a quantization level of 16 bits and a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, ie 44,100 samples per second. The quantization level describes the maximum number of intensity levels that a single sample can hold: for example 8 bits = 256 levels (28), 16 bits = 65,356 levels (216). The higher the number of levels that the signal can assume, the more precise the signal reproduction.

There is approximately 650 MB of data on a normal audio CD.

Conventionally, to reduce the size, we can work in two ways: 1) Reduce the quantization: that is, convert the samples from 16 bits to 8 bits, but lose the dynamics, quality and get a lot of noise; 2) Reduce the sampling frequency. As a result, the frequency range would decrease in the event of a loss of resolution.

The MPEG format, on the other hand, reduces the amount of information stored and therefore significantly reduces the size of the files by filtering out unimportant audio information according to the models developed on this basis. From research on the perception of the human ear, you decide which information is important and which is not . These studies have enabled us to know how our brain analyzes sounds, except irrelevant ones that are imperceptible (e.g. ultrasound).

The MPEG audio format also performs this process of removing intelligent weak signals. So if there is a strong signal, the weakest signal is not perceived.

When using a high compression rate, the MPEG encoder eliminates parts of audible information that are still of minor importance. With a slight compression rate, the difference to the uncompressed original is minimal.

Layers I, II, III can be viewed as the layers through which the MPEG format has evolved. All layers are based on the same perceptual coding scheme, the complexity of which increases for each of them. Layer II has superior quality at lower bit rates than Layer I; However, the most complex coding system currently available is Layer III,

MP4 (Extension: MP4) is an audio compression technology recently launched by Global Music Outlet (GMO) under license from AT&T Labs (January 99). As you understand, it is a further development of the MP3 format and seems to offer the ability to offer it a higher compression factor, which should even reach a factor of 16. Although the name is very similar, conceptually it has nothing to do with layer 3 and is actually in direct competition with it. Compressed MP4 files are presented as executable Win9x or WinNT files and offer the relatively encapsulated player.

Audio exchange (extension: AIF / AIFF) Format created to standardize the various audio standards between PC and Machintosh.

Microsoft NetShow (Extension: ASF) Audio extension of the format for streaming audio / video on the web.

Yamaha SoundVQ [Extension: VQF] Audio format released by Yamaha in direct competition with MP3.

Everything you need to know about audio files … compressed and uncompressed

Regardless of whether you’re listening to MP3 files or high-definition audio, it’s time to find out exactly which file format is best for your needs.

As you organize your digital music collection, you may be impressed by the number of different audio file formats you have collected over the years. For this reason (and since a good review doesn’t hurt anyone) we’d like to deepen the discussion of the most common audio file formats, explain the differences and explain why you should be interested in learning more about them. Whether you’re listening to low quality MP3 files, slightly better AAC tracks, or high definition audio in FLAC or WAV, it’s time to find out exactly what you’re dealing with and which file format best suits your needs.

File formats and codecs

Below is a list of all common audio file formats and the differences between them.

-AAC (no high resolution): Apple’s alternative to MP3. It’s a compressed audio format, but it sounds better than MP3 and is used to download music from iTunes and stream via Apple Music.

-AIFF (high resolution): Apple’s alternative to WAV, but with better metadata support. It’s an uncompressed and lossless format, but it’s not very popular.

-DSD (High Resolution) – The uncompressed single bit format for super audio CDs. It is available in the 2.8 MHz, 5.6 MHz and 11.2 MHz variants, but due to its high-quality codec it is (currently) not suitable for streaming.

-FLAC (High Resolution) – This lossless compression format supports high-resolution sampling rates, takes up about half the WAV space, and stores metadata. It is license-free and is the preferred format for downloading and storing albums in high resolution or CD quality. The disadvantage is that it is not compatible with Apple (therefore it is not compatible with iTunes).

-MP3 (not high definition): Lossy, compressed format that guarantees small file sizes, but is far from the best possible audio quality. However, it is still very convenient for storing music on smartphones and other mobile devices and is widely used.

-MQA (High Resolution) – A lossless compression format with high resolution files for more efficient transmission. It is used for high-resolution streaming from Tidal Masters and other similar services.

-OGG (not high resolution): Sometimes you can find him by his full name, Ogg Vorbis. An open source and compressed alternative to MP3 and AAC that is not limited by patents. This format is used (at 320 kbit / s) to stream Spotify.

-WAV (High Resolution) – The standard format in which all audio CDs are encoded. Excellent sound quality and no compression, which means large files (especially for high-resolution files). However, metadata (album art, artist information, and song title) are hardly supported.

-WMA Lossless – An uncompressed embodiment of Windows Media Audio, but is no longer supported by smartphones or tablets.

The 10 most common audio formats: which one to use?

Audio files are available in all types and sizes. And although we are all familiar with MP3, what do you think of AAC, FLAC, OGG or WMA? Why are there so many audio standards? Which are important and which to ignore?

It’s actually quite easy to find that all audio formats fall into three main categories. Once you know what the categories mean, you can simply choose a format within the category that best suits your needs.

Uncompressed audio formats

Uncompressed audio consists of actual sound waves that have been captured without further processing and converted into a digital format. As a result, uncompressed audio files are usually the most accurate, but take up a lot of space, about 34MB per minute for 96-bit and 96-bit stereo.

Audio file format: PCM

PCM stands for Pulse Code Modulation, a digital representation of analog audio signals. Analog tones exist as waveforms, and in order to convert a waveform into digital bits, the tone must be sampled and recorded at certain intervals (or pulses).

This digital audio format has a “sample rate” (how often a sample is taken) and a “bit depth” (how many bits are used to represent each sample). No compression is required. The digital recording is an almost exact representation of the analog sound.

PCM is the most common audio format used on CD and DVD. There is a PCM subtype called Linear Pulse Code Modulation, in which samples are taken at linear intervals. LPCM is the most common form of PCM, so the two terms are almost interchangeable at this point.

Audio file format: WAV

WAV stands for Waveform Audio File Format (at some point also called Audio for Windows, but no longer). It is a standard developed by Microsoft and IBM in 1991.

Many people believe that all WAV files are uncompressed audio files, but that’s not exactly true. WAV is actually a Windows container for various audio formats. This means that a WAV file may contain compressed audio, but this is rarely used.

Most WAV files contain uncompressed audio in PCM format. The WAV file is just a container for PCM encoding, so it is more suitable for use on Windows systems. However, Mac systems can generally open WAV files with ease.

Audio file format: AIFF

AIFF stands for Audio Interchange File Format. Similar to how Microsoft and IBM developed WAV for Windows, AIFF is a format developed by Apple for Mac systems in 1988.

Similar to WAV files, AIFF files can contain several types of audio formats. For example, there is a compressed version called AIFF-C and another version called Apple Loops that is used by GarageBand and Logic Audio. Both use the same AIFF extension.

Most AIFF files contain uncompressed audio in PCM format. The AIFF file is just a container for PCM encoding, making it more suitable for use on Mac systems. However, Windows systems can generally open AIFF files with ease.

Lossy compression audio formats.

Lossy compression occurs when some data is lost during the compression process. Compression is important because uncompressed audio takes up a lot of space.

In other words, lossy compression means that the sound quality and fidelity for smaller files are affected. If you are hurt, you will hear artifacts and other oddities in the audio. But if done correctly, you won’t feel the difference.

Audio file format: MP3

MP3 stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3. It was released in 1993 and is becoming increasingly popular. It is the world’s most popular audio format for music files. There is a reason why we had “MP3 players” but no “OGG players”!

The main purpose of MP3 is in three ways: 1) removing all audio that is out of the normal human hearing range, and 2) reducing the quality of inaudible sounds, then 3) compressing all the other audio as efficiently as possible.

Almost every digital device in the world with audio playback can read and play MP3 files, be it PC, Mac, Android, iPhone, Smart TV or anything else. If you need a universal device, MP3 will never disappoint you.

Note: MP3 is not the same as MP4!

Audio file format: AAC

AAC stands for Advanced Audio Coding. It was developed in 1997 as the successor to MP3 and although it has become popular as a format to be used, it has never surpassed MP3 as the most popular.

The compression algorithm used by AAC is much more advanced and technical than MP3. So if you compare the same recording in MP3 and AAC format with the same bit rates, the AAC generally has better audio quality.

Although MP3 is a more popular format, AAC is still widely used today. In fact, this is the standard audio compression method used by YouTube, Android, iOS, iTunes, later Nintendo laptops, and later PlayStation.

Audio file format: OGG (Vorbis)

OGG represents nothing. In fact, it’s not even a compression format. OGG is a multimedia container that can contain all types of compression formats. However, Vorbis files are most commonly used. Therefore, these audio files are called Ogg Vorbis files.

Vorbis was first released in 2000 and is growing in popularity for two reasons: 1) it conforms to the principles of open source software and 2) it works significantly better than most other lossy compression formats (ie) this results in a smaller file size for an equivalent sound quality.

MP3 and AAC are so strong that OGG struggles to get into the spotlight – not many devices support them natively, but they do improve over time. It is currently used primarily by supporters of hardcore open source software.

Audio file format: WMA (lossy)

WMA stands for Windows Media Audio. It was first published in 1999 and has gone through several developments since then, always keeping the same name and WMA extension. It is a proprietary format created by Microsoft.

Similar to AAC and OGG, WMA should fix some of the errors in the MP3 compression method, and it turns out that WMA’s approach to compression is very similar to that of AAC and OGG. Yes, in terms of the quality of objective compression, WMA is really better than MP3.

However, since WMA is proprietary, it is not supported by many devices and platforms. In addition, it offers no real advantage over AAC or OGG. If MP3 is not good enough, it is only more practical to use one instead of WMA.

Audio formats with lossless compression.

The opposite lossy compression is lossless compression, in which the size of an audio file is reduced without loss of data between the source audio file and the compressed audio file.

The disadvantage is that lossless compressed audio files are larger than lossy compressed audio files, up to 2 times 5 times larger for the same source file.

Audio file format: FLAC

FLAC is an abbreviation for Free Lossless Audio Codec. Maybe a bit on the nose, but it has quickly become one of the most popular lossless formats since its launch in 2001.

The good news is that FLAC can compress an original source file by up to 60 percent without losing a single bit of data. What’s even better is that FLAC is a free, open source audio file format, so there are no intellectual property restrictions.

FLAC is compatible with most major programs and devices and is the primary alternative to MP3 for music. You basically get the full quality of uncompressed audio with half the file size. That is why many see FLAC as the best audio format.

Audio file format: ALAC

ALAC stands for Apple Lossless Audio Codec. It was developed and published as a proprietary format in 2004, but became open source and copyright-free in 2011. ALAC is sometimes referred to as Apple Lossless.

While ALAC is good, it is somewhat less efficient than FLAC in terms of compression. However, Apple users cannot choose between the two, as iTunes and iOS offer native support for ALAC and no support for FLAC.

Audio file format: WMA (lossless)

WMA stands for Windows Media Audio. We already discussed this in the lossy compression section, but we explained this here because there is a lossless alternative called WMA Lossless that uses the same extension. Confused, I know.

Compared to FLAC and ALAC, WMA Lossless is the worst compression efficiency, but not much. Since it is a proprietary format, it is not suitable for open source software enthusiasts, but is natively supported on Windows and Mac systems.

The most used audio formats

As you can imagine, when we talk about digital formats in the field of sound, the range is wide. When choosing the one that best suits our needs, we need to think about several questions. To do this, the first thing to do is to know the most used audio formats.

We start by clarifying the concepts of bit depth and sample rate, which are essential for understanding how audio formats work. These are two measurements that indicate the quality of a digital audio file.

When we read the specifications for audio formats and find, for example, 32 bit / 192 kHz and 24 bit / 96 kHz, these figures refer to “bit depth” and “sampling frequency”, respectively. They tell us the amount of information transmitted by the different formats and the quality of the sound. The more times a device reads samples, the higher the quality.

Audio formats

-MP3: These files weigh very little for any device to read. The downside is that the quality of compression is sacrificed.
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-WAV (Waveform Audio File Format): These are higher resolution files than MP3, an audio track which is coded with what is called Pulse Code Modulation (PCM). Analog audio tracks are encoded and converted to digital so that they can have sample rates and bit depth.

-AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format): it is very similar to WAV and also uses PCM to encode analog audio tracks and present them in digital format. Indeed, AIFF and WAV files are more or less interchangeable.
In short, when we talk about a file in WAV or AIFF audio format, we are talking about a good quality piece of sound.

What are the digital audio formats?

PCM, Wav, Aiff. Compression. Mp3, Ogg, Wma.

Working with digital audio is almost a chore for puzzle specialists. Since audio is saved on the computer and all computer files have extensions, we have to interpret each acronym and abbreviation.

The extension is the end of the file after the name and period. It is used to know what type of file it is, whether it is a text, a video or an audio. There are many extensions and they are all sure to sound familiar to you: WAV, RM, MP3, WMA, OGG … Let’s play, then, to decipher puzzles and see what each of these acronyms means.

UNCOMPRESSED DIGITAL AUDIO FILES

.PCM

It is not a file type or format, but a technique of transforming analog to digital audio without any compression. (1) Therefore, we do not see audios with the pcm extension. We work with PCM when digitizing, but we always keep files with one of these extensions:

.WAV: (Wave, wave in English)

It is the most widely used uncompressed digital audio format. It belongs to Microsoft / IBM.

.AIFF: (Audio Interchange File Format)

It is similar to WAV but for Apple Macintosh or MAC computers.

.CDA

: These are the audio tracks recorded on Compact Disc that also use the PCM system.

All uncompressed files are large. Approximately 10 megabytes for every minute of audio. These are the formats used to store audio at a professional level since the quality is very good. But when we don’t need that much quality and we’re short on space, it’s time to use file compression.

AUDIO COMPRESSION

Compressing is reducing and whenever we reduce we lose something. The same is true for digital audio. The latest advances have allowed compression to be done with the least possible loss of quality, but there always are. Against that, much has been gained in reducing the size of the files.

While a 4-minute audio in WAV format takes approximately 40 megabytes, that same audio, compressed to MP3, can reduce its weight to 4 megabytes, 10 times less. And apparently, they sound the same. (2)

SAVE WITHOUT COMPRESSING

When working in production, it is always recorded in WAV, without compression. In that same way it is edited and mixed. If the final result of the edition is an audio to be uploaded on the Web or saved on the hard drive of a computer, we can compress it to mp3 but with a quality of no less than 160 kbps.

If, on the contrary, the production has as its final destination to be recorded on a CD, never compress, always leave the audio in WAV and burn it that way on the CD.

1. How does compression work?

It is not about wrinkling or crushing the audio. Most audio compression systems take advantage of a “defect” in our ears to reduce file size. It is called masking.

Masking is a property of the human ear that prevents it from distinguishing two frequencies close together within the same range, one masking the other. For example, if a sound with a frequency of 12 Khz and another of 12.2 Khz sounds at the same time in a song, we could remove one of the two without being noticed when listening to it.

In this way, the compressor “subtracts” the masked frequencies, which reduces the number of bytes. And fewer bytes in computing translates into smaller files, but not shorter. The song, when compressed, lasts as long as it is uncompressed.

2. Quality of compressed files

We saw in the previous question that digital audio has two parameters: the sampling frequency (the optimum is 44.1 Khz.) And the resolution or size of each sample (8 or 16 bits). By compressing, we add a third parameter to these two, the bitrate. It is the amount of kilobytes per second (kbps) and refers to the quality of the compression.

• A lower number of Kbps, more compression, smaller file size, but lower quality.

• A higher number of Kbps, less compression, larger file size and more quality.

A compressed audio at 128 Kbps has a higher compression level than a 256 Kbps one. That means that 128 is a smaller file and less quality than 256. Although you must have a cat’s ear to distinguish between both!

VARIABLE OR CONSTANT BIT

Some files have a constant bit rate per second (CBR Constant Bit Rate) and others have a variable one (VBR Variable Bit Rate). The constant is always the same for all audio, for example 128 kilobytes per second. In the variable method, what the compressor does is use more bits when there are parts of the audio where there are more frequencies and it cannot mask all of them.

COMPRESSED FILE FORMATS

Mp3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3)

It achieves high compressions without much loss, although it all depends on the quality of the compression we use. 128 Kbps and below is not recommended.

Although mp3 is the most widely used compression standard, especially for audio on Web pages, the great drawback is its patent. So any player or editing software that wants to use it has to pay for it.

.OGG (Vorbis)

As a result of this patent, the Xiph.org Foundation developed in 2002 a completely free codec (5) for audio compression. Similar in characteristics to mp3, it is beginning to be used a lot on the Web and in some players since manufacturers do not have to pay the costs of the patent. At this point, it is difficult to completely replace the mp3 but it is eating up a lot of ground.

.AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)

The compression level is higher than mp3 (MPEG-1) without major loss of quality. AAC is one of the codecs used in the new MPEG-4 compression standard. This audio format is used in players like the iPod and in some of the new digital radio systems. AAC is shaping up to be the successor to the mp3.

.RAM (also RM or RA)

They are the files of the Real Network company for audio. The problem is that its reproduction and edition is very limited to software from the same company and few others.

.WMA (Windows Media Audio)

It is Windows’ bet on compressed formats. It is like a WAV, but smaller and less quality. While mp3 and ogg files are played by almost all players and editors, the same is not the case with wma files, so it is rarely used.

. AA3 (ATRAC – Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding)

Format invented by Sony. It is the one used by minidisc recorder-players.

What audio formats are there? All you need to know

FLAC, WAV, AIFF, DSD … these are just some of the initials that you can find when you are looking for a digital format. They are also accompanied by technical data such as sample rates and bit depth. So many terms can leave you more misplaced than a chicken at a dance. And it is that unless you are an expert in digital sound, the process to choose the audio format that best suits your needs can be a mess. But if they explain it to you, the topic is relatively simple. That is why at Culturasonora we have prepared a complete guide for you on the different audio formats most used. This will prevent any acronym from taking you on the dark side.

What are Bit Depth and Sample Rate?

These two concepts are basic. To understand how audio formats work you need to know what Bit Depth and Sample Rate are. These are two measures that indicate the quality of a digital audio file. We are going to try to summarize it so that you keep the general idea

samplerate

When you read the specifications of the audio formats you come across a couple of figures. For example: 32-bit / 192kHz or 24-bit / 96kHz. These numbers indicate the bit depth and the sample rate. These references tell us how much information the different formats transmit and the quality of the sound. For example, the audio we hear on a regular CD, or on a Spotify stream, is 16bit / 44.1kHz. Samples are always measured in Hertz (or hertz) and bit depth in Bits.

Softwares or hardwares usually do not work with a continuous flow of information, but usually use pieces, samples or samples to effectively manage the data that is transmitted. The sample rate is the number of samples per second that are obtained from a recording. The higher the number of times a device plays samples, the higher the sound quality. Each of these extracts or samples has a certain amount of information, which is the bit depth, or bit depth.

So that you understand it better we are going to make a somewhat beastly analogy, which is not entirely true, but that will help you get the sense of all this. Which is what interests us. If you control a bit of photography and image you will get it right away: the sample rate would be something similar to the frames or frames per second of a video, and the bit rate would be similar to the pixels of a photograph. The higher the bit depth number, the more information each sample will have. The more pixels an image has, the higher resolution each frame of a video will have. The more frames per second a movie has, the better definition. In short: the higher the number of the Bit Depth and the Sample Rate, the higher the quality of the audio file. Heard cooking?

Audio formats: MP3 vs WAV vs AIFF

What is the MP3 format?

If you’re interested in getting some audio fidelity and decent sound from your files, you’ll want to avoid this format. Why? Because basically an MP3 is a file that sacrifices audio quality to minimize size. They weigh very little for any device to read. The negative? Compressing these files provides poor, almost lifeless sound. Today, hardly anyone uses this format seriously. Even its creators recently ended the license by declaring it dead. But surely from time to time you come across a zombie file with this format.

What is WAV format?

WAVs (Waveform Audio File Format) are just as common but better for anyone who wants a decent audio format. They are higher resolution files than MP3s. A WAV is an audio piece that is encoded with something known as Pulse Code Modulation (PCM), a medium that encodes analog audio pieces and converts them to digital so they can have the Sample rate and Bit Depth of the that we have already talked about previously.

What is the AIFF format?

The AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) audio format is very similar to WAV in that it also uses PCM to encode analog audio pieces and present them in digital format. This format was born as a response from Apple to Microsoft’s WAV, and at the beginning it could only work on MAC computers. Currently AIFF and WAV are more or less interchangeable.
In summary…
To close this topic, we will tell you that if you have a file in WAV or AIFF audio formats, you will hear a piece of sound of good quality. Normally these formats are used in files that we reproduce through our services, such as the iTunes music library. We will not see them in online streaming services, which tend to use special types of files.

Understanding digital audio formats

When it comes to digitally distributing our music it is important that we understand what they are
the different formats, which are the most used and which are the best in terms of the
Relationship between size and quality.

PCM digital audio

WAVE

The name comes from the acronym waveform audio file format and is a used file
usually on computers with the Windows operating system.
WAV or WAVE files contain audio in LPCM format (Linear Pulse Code
Modulation) This is a way to encode an analog audio signal to the domain
digital by using equidistant samples over time of amplitude values
of the analog signal.
The quantity of samples is given by the sampling rate or sampling rate,
while the amount of possible amplitude values is determined by the
Bit depth or bit rate.
The sampling frequency of the CDAUDIO for example is 44.1 kHz and 16 bits. exist
higher sampling rates such as 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz up to 192 kHz at
this system.
On the other hand, WAV files are uncompressed audio and are generally used in
stages of recording, editing, mixing and mastering for being of high quality.
The higher the sample rate and the greater the number of bits, the file size will be
our hard drive
In general for professional uses at least a frequency of
44.1 kHz sampling and a depth of 24 bits preferably.
The standard extension for this type of file is: .wav

AIFF

The name comes from Audio Interchange File Format or audio file format
interchangeable, this format was developed by Apple computers and is used to save
and manipulate audio on computers.
It is like WAV a file type without compression or lossles therefore allows
Processing for professional applications such as recording, editing, mixing and
mastering as well as for professional video uses.
Another similarity with WAV files is that it is PCM audio (press code
modulation) that for practical purposes it is the same as the LPCM.
The standard extension for this type of files is .aiff

MP3

Also known as MPEG1 or MPEG2 audio layer, it is a form of coding
of digital audio in which psychoacoustic models discard information from
Audio that is presumed is not audible to most users.
As an example a file created with a resolution of 128 kbits / s is equivalent to 1/11
the size of a file on an audio CD.
The main purpose of using this type of coding is to reduce the size of the
files and be able to send / download faster, especially through
from Internet.
Being a file type reduced in quality IS NOT RECOMMENDED for
recordings, editing, mixing or mastering of professional audio.
For this reason we recommend NOT to use it to send us your clues to
mix / master

Most used audio formats

In this article we will talk about the most popular Audio Formats and used for both Music production and Entertainment.

Lossless Audio Formats (lossless)

Also known as Loosless, they are audio formats without loss of sound, its main feature is that it resembles original audio with excellent quality.

Its main disadvantage is the size of the file since when capturing it and converting it into digital audio format, files from 50 to 100 megabytes become depending on the number of minutes and resolution.

Normally it is usually captured with a resolution of 16 bits at 44,100 hertz which is the audio quality handled by a compact disc.

Although today it is usually captured at 48,000, 92,000 and up to 192,000 herts that can vary to 16, 24, 32 and up to 64 bits.

WAV (audio file format)

Undoubtedly this is the best known and most standard format, it was created by Microsoft and is called audio formats without signal loss.

Its main feature is that it closely approximates the capture audio signal, which gives us great sound quality. Therefore it is an audio format widely used for audio editing with Music Production Softwares.

Its main disadvantage is its weight is that 5 minutes of audio is approximately 50 megabytes, which becomes a format that takes up a lot of storage space.

AIFF (audio interchange file format)

This format was created by Apple, it is also an audio format without signal loss.

It closely resembles the original sound at the time of capture but also occupies almost the same space as the Wav.

CDA (audio cd track)

Perhaps you have seen this format before, however it is not exactly an audio format rather it is a shortcut which is part of the audio data of a compact disc. This format is created when you burn a CD with some software such as Nero or Alcohol 120%.

When exploring an original compact disc on your computer you will find these files with that extension.

However, when copying these files to your computer you will not be able to reproduce them since they are only small shortcuts that do not contain the music information, they are only used by stereos, homemade modulars or cars.

In order to have these files you will have to convert this format to one that is readable by your computer, which can be Wav or Aiff or other audio formats with some CDA conversion software to other formats.

FLAC (free losseless audio codec)

This audio format is the most popular since it has no signal loss but with compression, which greatly decreases the file size apart from the fact that it is possible to reverse the compression to have the original version again.

It works very similar to the ZIP file but optimized for audio with the advantage that you don’t have to unzip it in order to listen to it.

Its main disadvantage is the incompatibility to reproduce it in any audio software or mobile devices, therefore you must have installed an application capable of playing it with the appropriate codec.

Audio Formats with Loss (loosy)

Also known as Loosy, they are audio formats with sound losses but with compression as the main feature since these files are reduced considerably such as a Wave or Aiff file could be compressed from 50 to 5 megabytes.

Being compressed by means of some audio compression codec eliminates all irrelevant and imperceptible information for the human ear.

You should practically have a fairly sensitive ear to be able to differentiate losses.

These formats are mainly used for portability in Usb memories, Compact Discs or audio devices such as Ipod, MP3, Cell phones, Tablets, Lap Tops and even Desktop Computers and some car stereos or CD, DVD, Blue Ray players, among others.

MP3 Audio Format

It is the most popular and commercial format used since the 1990s, precisely in 1993 created by the Fraunhofer IIS Institute by Karlheinz Brandenburg.

Its main feature is its low data weight and its compatibility with most audio playback software such as Itunes, Windows Media Player, the extinct Winamp among others.

However, it should be mentioned that this format when compressed eliminates audio information that may be almost inaudible by the human ear.

BITRATE (BIT RATE)

It is practically the one that determines the quality of the MP3 that can be from 8 to a maximum of 320 kbps (kilobytes per second).

It is usually compressed at 128 kbps which is a standard for internet radio, streaming platforms such as Soundcloud or Spotify that usually convert to this quality by default.

At the lowest amount of kbps, streaming is guaranteed to be fluid for most internet connections, but it also loses sound quality.

Although considering this happens to second term since many of the users usually reproduce it with headphones in the street, school, public transport, motorcycles or computer speakers in offices at low volume.

If you are a professional DJ I do not recommend mixing with this format since you will not get the best results in amplified sounds, preferably acquire the versions without loss of signal to strengthen your live presentations.

CBR AND VBR METHODS

The CBR (constant bitrate) method practically converts the audio with the constant dynamic range, while the VBR (bitware variable) method varies its dynamic range.

The advantage of the CBR method is that it converts with greater speed and a lighter audio file is obtained although its disadvantage is that its quality is diminished.

The advantage of the VBR method is that when the audio file is converted, a higher sound quality is obtained since it retains the dynamic range, that is, if your theme has sounds with lower and higher intensity, they will continue to obtain a more dynamic sound.

Another significant advantage is that you can include metadata such as ID3, which you can store information such as the title of the song, the name of the band or artist, year, album and a small image which can be the cover that when reproduced in Itunes or Windows Media Player will be displayed.

AAC format

It is a compression audio format with loss of signal which produces a sound very similar to the original.

The ACC format is an extension of MPEG-2 created by MPEG (moving picture experts group), it is often used for Internet radio broadcasting and by Apple for Ipods with Itunes software, also used by Ahead Nero, Winamp and Nintendo DSi.

Another use is for encoding MP4 videos and recently for the new STEMS audio format created by Native Instruments which is a multitrack format used by DJs.

WMA Audio Format

We cannot ignore the WMA (windows media audio) format that was basically the alternative to MP3.

On this format I will not deepen as it is very little used and incompatible in most mobile devices.

It is only compatible with devices such as Windows Phone, Xbox and Microsoft operating systems. However, if you download a multimedia application for example on your Android phone that supports WMA, then you can listen to it.

The WMA audio format has 3 versions:

WMA Pro: Supports multiple tracks like AC-3
WMA Lossless: Compress with loss of signal
WMA Voice: Aimed at human voices which is used
on Skype and WhatsApp.

AC3 Audio Format

The AC3 audio format also called Dolby Digital which is an alternative to MP3 since it allows the inclusion of multiple audio tracks generally 5.1 for Surround surround audio

What is the difference between MP3 and FLAC

What is the problem with the popular MP3 or why FLAC is of better quality? Actually, in addition to these 2 formats, there are others with different specifications that differentiate them from each other.

In this article we will talk about the most important formats and their characteristics, in this way you can choose the one that suits you.

What is bitrate?

The difference in the size of the files is noticeable

You’ve probably heard this term before, but if you don’t remember it or don’t know what it means, I’ll explain it. Bitrate is translated as the bit rate, that is, the amount of bits or data that are processed in a unit of time. When referring to audio, we usually use the measurement of kilobits per second (Kbps). For example, the music available on iTunes is usually 256 Kbps, which means that there are 256 kilobits of information stored in every second of the song.

The higher the bitrate of a file, the more space it occupies on your hard drive. Usually, a music CD uses a large amount of memory space, so since the early 1990s, researcher Karlheinz Brandenburg developed the audio compression standard we now know as MP3. When an audio file is compressed, the space destined for it is smaller, however, this means that it loses part of its sound quality. For that reason, the different audio formats available are divided into 2 categories: with losses and without losses.

Lossless Formats

Lossless or lossless formats, as they are known in English, retain the sound quality of the original source intact. This means if you compress a CD in any of these formats, your digital music files will have the highest quality.

FLAC. Free Lossless Audio Codec is the most used sound codec, making it one of the best options for storing music without losing quality. Unlike other formats such as WAV and AIFF, the compression it uses decreases the space it occupies. In addition, it is free and free software, so anyone can use it and is compatible with a considerable number of players.
WAV and AIFF. These 2 formats do not use compression, so it could be said that they are exact copies of the original sound source. Although both are of the same quality, what differentiates them is the way they store the data. AIFF was created by Apple, while WAV is used universally. The problem with these formats is that since they do not have any compression, they take up too much memory space. They are normally used in audio editing.
A THE C. Apple’s lossless format is very similar to FLAC because it uses compression, the detail is that it was created by the company founded by Steve Jobs. Although its compression method is not as efficient as that of FLAC (it occupies more space), the advantage is that it is compatible with iTunes and iOS devices.
Formats with losses

Lossy, or lossy, formats are the most common, most systems and players recognize them and compress a lot, which allows large amounts of music to be stored in a small space. One advantage is that if your bitrate is high enough, it will be difficult to distinguish the difference you keep with the original source.

MP3 Its name without abbreviation is MPEG Audio Layer III, and it is the most popular lossy format, so much that it has become the benchmark in the category of digital or downloadable music on the Internet. Although it is not the most efficient format of all, it is the one with the highest compatibility, so it is the first option to choose between lossy formats.
AAC Advance Audio Coding is similar to MP3, although a bit more efficient in compression, which means that your files take up less space while matching the quality of the MP3. Although not as popular, it has the advantage that Apple players support it.
WMA As the name implies, Windows Media Audio is the proprietary format of Microsoft. It is very similar to the 2 previous formats and does not really offer any advantage over them. The disadvantage is that it is not so popular, so it is not compatible with many systems.

Which one should you use?

After having reviewed the main formats of both categories and their characteristics, we conclude that the type of file to use will depend on the habits and tastes of the user. In general, MP3 and AAC are widely recommended, because they are compatible with most players and the quality of both becomes quite good if it is encoded with a high enough bitrate (192 Kbps onwards). If your demands in audio quality are not the highest, any of these 2 formats is ideal thanks to the little space they occupy.

Storing your music collection in FLAC will require many GB of storage

However, storing music for posterity in MP3 or AAC may not be the best idea, since converting from one format with losses to another with losses will produce files with much lower quality. On the other hand, FLAC is the best for preserving music for the future, because it will keep the quality intact and allow converting to other formats in the future, in addition to occupying less space than WAV or AIFF.

If your interest is to enter the world of audiophilia, without a doubt lossless formats are the option. Thus, it is necessary to consider that to notice the difference between a high quality MP3 file and a FLAC, you must have high fidelity headphones or speakers and have a trained ear. Of course, the storage issue is also important, the amount of gigabytes or terabytes you will need to store all your music will depend on the size of your collection.

In conclusion, the format you intend to use will depend on your musical demands, both in quantity of music and in its quality. You just have to remember that the important factors are compatibility and avoid converting between 2 formats with loss and, above all, enjoy music in the way you like best.