Can you notice the difference between MP3 and FLAC?
“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) differ from the “lossless” (FLAC, ALAC, APE, WavPack and others; that is, lossless).
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 its 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 the “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. The math of encoding is constantly improving, and nowadays it is not 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 is sufficient for the eyes, and the difference in codecs will come down to a comparison of file sizes. A disc jockey who is embarrassed to buy or search lossless will also think that everything is in order with his MP3, while preparing a set in the “Tractor” on the built-in speakers of the laptop. True, during a party on a big, loud, clean-sounding audio system from the club (sometimes they meet, believe me), it suddenly turns out that the guy who speaks right after for some reason, the music got big, clear and cool. Lossy formats are developed for the convenience of transferring files over the Internet, for storing them 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 definitely sounds better), but if you go to the disco, please don’t miss out, even if you start Skrillex. And when you listen to Christmas jazz with your girlfriend’s parents on their big lacquered speakers, buy FLAC or ALAC too. With MP3, you run the risk of getting into an awkward situation. In theory, after 256 kbps bit rate, it will be quite difficult for your future audiophile father-in-law to know if you are leaking or not.
Usually when you view an MP3 file, you don’t care about anything other than the bit rate. If you already consider yourself a person with a taste for music and sound, you should look in the file properties for the codec data that was used during the conversion. Suppose you see “Lame 3.99” there, this means the latest MP3 codec was used and you’re in luck. But next to it is “Joint Stereo”, which is not great anymore. 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 has slightly lost 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 found 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 throughout the entire 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-surges throughout the entire 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 throughout the entire file. Again, you won’t notice this on a train with an iPod. And the future father-in-law can hear. “
