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CD VS MP3. AUDIO FORMATS: LP TO MP3

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AUDIO FORMATS: LP TO MP3

Vinyl vs CD vs MP3

Sound recording in “digital”

Casstte vs. CD vs. MP3

By its nature, sound is an oscillatory movement of particles in an elastic medium, which propagates in the form of waves. After it became clear that sound represents such vibrations, the idea came up to record them by repeating the shape on solid material. So, in 1877, Thomas Edison created a phonograph, a device for the mechanical recording and reproduction of sound. And in 1888, the German E. Berliner invented the gramophone – the era of gramophone records began, which became the first massive carriers of audio information. Having studied the laws of electromagnetism, man made successful experiments to convert sound waves into electromagnetic waves and preserve them. Thus appeared the magnetic tape, which became widespread in the middle of the 20th century.

For digital technology to store, process, and reproduce sound, it is converted to digital form by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which converts an analog signal into a sequence of numbers. This is called Pulse Code Modulation (PCM or PCM). It happens like this: the ADC many times per second measures the amplitude of the analog signal and outputs the results in the form of numbers. However, the measurement result does not exactly match a continuous electrical signal: it depends on the number of measurements and their precision.

The frequency at which measurements are taken is called the sample rate, and the precision of the amplitude measurement indicates the number of bits used to indicate the result of the measurement. This parameter is called bitness. For example, if the sampling frequency is 44.1 kHz, this means that the signal is measured 44 100 times per second. For the analog signal to be accurately reconstructed from its samples, the sample rate must be twice the maximum audio frequency. That is, if the analog signal contains frequency components from 0 Hz to 20 Hz, then the frequency of its sampling must be at least 40 kHz.

Digital audio formats

Of course, for digitized sound to be stored, transmitted, and converted, there must be certain digital sound standards – audio formats. Today, there are many such formats, each of which uses its own sound processing algorithm. They also differ in the information carriers. The most popular and widespread today in the field of home use are ordinary music CDs – CDs. Relatively new recording formats have also appeared Super Audio Compact Disk (SACD) and DVD-Audio (or simply DVD-A). Also, formats that use digital data compression have become widespread. The most popular among them is MPEG-1/2 / 2.5 Layer 3 (MP3). Microsoft also did not stay away from the sound industry, as it developed its own compression algorithm: WMA,

It was created in 1979 by Philips and Bayer. The disk storage format known as “Red Book” allows you to record 2-channel audio with 16-bit pulse code modulation (PCM) and a sample rate of 44.1 kHz. Mass production of CDs started in 1982 in Germany. The first CDs contained up to 650 megabytes of information, which is equivalent to 74 minutes of audio. There is an assumption that the developers calculated that volume to fit Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the most popular piece of music in Japan in 1979, on a compact. Since about 2000, discs with a volume of 700 megabytes, which record 80 minutes of audio, and 800 megabytes, 90 minutes, have become more common.

Pros: widespread, compatible with a large number of devices, acceptable sound quality.
Disadvantages: Lack of multi-channel support.

Compressed audio formats

Scientific development of the compression algorithm has taken place since the late 1970s, and the general standard was approved in 1994 at the Fraunhofer Institute (Germany). Signal coding technology has a mechanism to ignore sound frequencies that are not distinguishable by the human ear. And the distinguishable ones, that is, the remaining ones, shrink. Compression ratio: the bit rate (the amount of information in a unit of time; the lower the bit rate, the less information is in the file) can range from 8 to 320 kbps (the data stream of a normal CD is 1411.2 kbps at 44100 Hz sampling rate). It should be noted that it will be quite difficult for an inexperienced listener to hear these losses, especially if the encoding is done at a high bit rate. A musical composition in MP3 format, recorded with a fairly acceptable quality, “weighs” about 10 times less than uncompressed.

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MP3 and FLAC: who wins?

MP3 and FLAC: who wins?

FLAC vs MP3

Music lovers from all countries have been arguing for many years: is it possible to distinguish a high-quality MP3 from a lossless one in a blind test (FLAC, APE, etc.)? How much does compression loss affect the music experience? Should you give up MP3? Let’s try to answer these questions.

FLAC vs MP3 320 kbps
A little history

In the early 1990s, experts understood that the future of music was digital. However, hard drives were expensive then and fans preferred to store their music collections on cassettes and CDs. The researchers faced a problem: they needed a suitable format to store records on computers. At the same time, they were counted every hundred kilobytes – you can slightly sacrifice quality compared to CD discs, but save precious hard drive space.

In the late 1980s, the first functional prototypes of a new lossy compressed audio storage format, MP3, were created. The first publicly available MP3 encoder appeared in 1994, and the first playback software soon followed. The first encoding algorithms made it possible to obtain files with slightly “chopped” high frequencies. The sound quality was not comparable to that of a CD, but the output file sizes were quite acceptable.

In the early 2000s, the sizes of hard drives were growing rapidly and other audio formats that provide lossless compression began to appear. Relatively speaking, an audio track in this format can be restored to its original WAV from a lossless CD. Perhaps the most popular lossless compression format was FLAC, introduced in 2001. It is suitable both for storing home audio collections and for playing music on professional computers. However, a FLAC file can be 6-10 times heavier than a good quality MP3 (256 or 320 kbps). But does file size and losslessness mean consistently high sound quality?

A bit of anatomy: The human ear is theoretically capable of hearing sounds from 16 Hz to 20 kHz. However, much depends on the age and individual characteristics of the listener. The author of this article can hear sound with a frequency of 16 kHz, but not 17 kHz and above, but there are adults (25 years and older) who can still perceive 18 kHz. All of these frequencies are quite successfully supported by the MP3 format. If you are exceptionally clear, you will be able to hear some difference in the high frequencies, but the difference is almost subtle for most people.

Even if your favorite song in the spectrogram is clipped to 20 kHz, you won’t hear any distortion (unless of course you’re 8 years old).

The vast majority of people cannot, for natural anatomical reasons, distinguish between high-quality 320 kbps MP3 and FLAC (as long as both digital recordings are obtained from the same source). Of course, if you compress more MP3, for example, up to 96 kbps, the difference will be clearly audible even with cheap headphones. But in the age of terabyte drives, no one listens to music with such compression.

Of course, the equipment used for listening has a significant impact on the perception of music. It is impossible to listen to all the high frequencies in the recording of a symphony orchestra on headphones for 300 rubles, even if you have wonderful hearing and a high-quality recording. However, many specialists are dedicated to mixing music, taking into account the capabilities of the most popular audio equipment among consumers. Bill Ward (Black Sabbath drummer) said that while working on his solo album Accountable Beasts (2015), he first tried to achieve a clear and distinct sound from each note, but then realized that almost all listeners would use inexpensive equipment. and they wouldn’t hear all tones and halftones. As a result, Bill bought several relatively inexpensive headphones from a nearby store and mixed the album in them.

In the case of a file obtained from the Internet (even bought honestly), it is extremely difficult to understand which input was the original source. The sound quality of a file obtained by digitizing vinyl or CD (with or without remastering) will differ from a quality recording of Internet radio broadcasts, although all files can have the same bit rate.

Thus, we come to an obvious conclusion: the difference between high-quality MP3 and high-quality FLAC will only be heard by a trained music lover (most likely young, since after 40 years the range of audibility is reduced ). In addition, you will need quite expensive equipment to appreciate all the characteristics of the sound.

Placebo effect? Can you distinguish an mp3 320 kbs vs a FLAC?

Studies have shown that most people can NOT distinguish an mp3 at 323 kbs (That is, with the best quality) from a FLAC file.

MP3 vs FLAC

We all know that in theory an mp3 is a format that discards information to achieve a small size; or, indeed, due to this ability to take up little space on the disk, but sounding very similar to the original wav was what propelled fame to mp3.

The Mp3 is dead.

Dozens of times it has been written about the undeniable advantages of the formats that do not lose information (looseless), it could be thought that people would turn their backs on the mp3.

MP3 vs FLAC

Some have warned that it is not so likely that this will happen, since most of the audio players (for example, those that come from the factory with the cars) play mp3s but not Flac.

Placebo effect?

But others have pointed out that untrained human hatred CANNOT distinguish an mp3 recorded at its highest quality from the FLAC.
For which to show yourself as a lover of FLAC and a fanatic defender of that format, it is more a snobbery full of blah, blah blah and technicalities that ignore that the human ear is not a robot and that in reality most people they cannot distinguish between one and the other.

And we combine the convenience of using mp3s because the devices are designed for mp3 and not for FLAC, together with the fact that in reality most people cannot distinguish one from the other … this should explain that that the mp3 is dead, is more a product of fanaticism than realism.

Also, they forget another problem.

When digital music is recorded it requires using a compressor … which did not happen with music recorded on tape, that is, vinyl.

That is why there is another faction that does not proclaim and sing songs in favor of FLAC but rather the return to vinyl (forgetting all the advantages and comforts of digitization).

In other words, all these discussions seem more like a mixture of snobbery and puritanism than something realistic.

What studies have shown

What we cannot ignore is that undoubtedly 99% of people (including many experts, musicians, etc. who talk hours about bitdepth, bitrate, etc.) can NOT distinguish a WAV, from a FLAC, from an mp3 recorded at qualities superior to 160 kbs.

Personally, we celebrate that all these formats exist and that we are coming to the time where every person can use and love the format of their choice and even defenestrate and even hate other formats and discuss long hours about their technical knowledge.

But yes, it seems that it is basically a placebo effect.

Flac vs Mp3, differences

In today’s world, it is important to understand the difference between the different audio files available.

The most common and current files are practically the files in the formats MP3, Flac and WAV.

Is there really a difference between MP3, Flac and WAV files? The answer is absolutely yes.

The difference is in the audio quality that these files can play.

What is the difference between MP3, Flac and Wav files? MP3 files are of lower quality because they are more compact and smaller. Flac files are a kind of compromise. With files in Flac format, it can be of very good quality and remain true to the original, which in any case is compressed by a certain percentage. Finally, there are the WAV files that do not use compression.

Therefore, the quality is better, but the size of these files is quite large, it is not compatible with any device these days.

It may not be easy to understand which audio file to use for your work, especially if you are a beginner in this area.

However, you don’t have to be afraid of it.

Once you’ve learned all the differences between the three audio files, you can really fix the problems by always using the appropriate file.

What are the differences between the categories in detail and when should you use a specific audio file?

Here’s a complete analysis for each audio file format that really helps you understand everything you need to know about MP3, Flac, and WAV files.

What is an MP3 file?
It starts with one of the most common files in the world of information technology, namely the one called MP3.

MP3 files have been around for years, so their development is common.

But what an MP3 file really represents.

Well, a general audio file is a series of numbers obtained by sampling the analog signal.

This scan responds to some parameters, which are the frequency measured in Khz and the resolution expressed in bits.

The MP3 file represents the most compressed form of an audio file, so to speak.

Finally, you need to understand that the MP3 file can remove all unnecessary parts of the digital file from the sequence and the final sampling, taking advantage of some imperfections of the human body to give it a clear and clean melody.

On the other hand, the MP3 file significantly reduces the quality of the sounds played.

In fact, all the different nuances of a certain melody come to the bone.

An MP3 is small if you speak it from the perspective of the memory. You should think of it as a kind of concentrate that gives you a remarkable but not 100% complete end result.

In the most extreme cases, an MP3 file can reduce the original tones and nuances of music or melodies to a percentage of 90%.

However, these formats are widely appreciated and used because they are not only practical and direct, but are now compatible with all technological devices, e.g. B. MP3 players, for which we recommend that you read our guide.

This means you can take them with you at any time and any product you have can read an MP3 file.

What is a flac file?
So at this point you need to understand what a Flac file is.

Well, it should be said that the Flac file has some major differences from its MP3 counterpart.

In fact, a Flac file is much more complex than a regular file and can be reduced by 90%.

First, you need to understand that Flac is actually an acronym that stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec.

It is always a format that is somewhat compressed, but files with this name have a certain property.

In fact, the file is lossless with no loss and maintains higher fidelity than the original sound.

With a Flac file, you have a clearer quality of the audio file, so you can clearly hear some details that can be lost if you use a different audio format.

The limited storage space when using the Flac format is very small and can reach a maximum of 50%.

However, when using such files, you should be aware that their use on the storage hard drive is important.

Not surprisingly, Flac files take up a lot more space than regular MP3s. In some cases, a special reader must be downloaded to read them. Many home theaters and receivers support this compression format.

Audio quality in different formats (flac vs. mp3)

In this post I am going to talk about what differentiates music from mp3 and flac. First, and before you begin, go ahead with the following:

The quality of a musical hearing depends (and a lot) on the audio card and the musical equipment (amplifier, headphones / speakers) used, and on the other hand it also depends on the sensitivity of one’s ear. A newborn with perfect hearing can hear from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. The normal thing for a young person is to hear nothing above 18 kHz, although some people with exceptional hearing can hear 20 kHz or even more. , and a person 25 years of age or older begins to lose hearing from 15,000 – 16,000 Hz. In addition to the frequency response (quantitative aspect), the qualitative aspect is equally or more important: that the waves at each frequency are produced in the most similar way to the original source.

Having said that, we fully enter the subject at hand.

Many people think that an mp3 sounds like the quality of a CD. This is not exact. Apart from the fact that a CD sounds with the quality that those who have recorded it have given it, mp3s are formats with loss, and that means that a good part of the original information is discarded to save space. The trick is that the information that is discarded is, as a rule, information that is “hidden” among the rest of the information. To give a simple example so that the idea is understood, if a person is speaking to me at a normal volume and suddenly a helicopter passes in front of us, the sound of the helicopter will eclipse in my ears the voice of that person; the wave of his voice will continue to reach my ears but I will not perceive the sound. Another example, so that I am also understood: if we could play two very similar pianos at exactly the same time in such a way that their vibrations coincided, the mp3 would “say” that “one of the pianos is left over”. This type of operation (but, of course, at a much more subtle level, of microscopic changes) is what is done so that the initial 40 or 50 MB that a song occupies on the CD are reduced, at most, to 9 MB or less, depending on the bitrate (128, 160, 192, 256, 320 kbps) of the mp3.

But all that information that the mp3 removes at a stroke is information that, from the original source, would reach us, and it is information that would affect us emotionally (an mp3 violin can hardly give us goosebumps), although consciously most of the time we do not know how to express the difference in words. The same happens, for example, when a person is recreated in virtual reality: sooner or later we will know that this person is not real, because virtual reality technology has not yet managed to recreate the microscopic details that we are capable of capturing and that make us identify a person as real and not virtual.

Other differences between an mp3 and a wav (Microsoft’s uncompressed wave file) or a flac (Free Lossless Audio Codec, free lossless audio codec) are noticeable after spending a long time listening to music. The mp3 ends up giving you a headache, while the original sound doesn’t. And to this we must add that there are certain songs that have the musical information arranged in such a way that the mp3 algorithm is not able to “guess” what it is that you are not going to be able to listen to, and the result is that there is a notable loss quality, especially in the treble. In fact, a 128 kbps mp3 cuts all frequencies starting at around 15 kHz, and this is something that most people with normal hearing can easily perceive.

So that you can hear the REAL differences that exist between the different audio formats, I have prepared several tracks in which I have done the following:

1) I have loaded the song from the original disc.

2) I have recorded it in different formats: flac, mp3 to 128, mp3 to 160, mp3 to 192, mp3 to 256 and mp3 to 320 kbps.

3) I have then loaded all the waves into the Sound Forge Pro 10.0 program.

4) I have synchronized all the waves bit by bit. This is necessary because the mp3 introduces a certain lag of milliseconds with respect to the original.

5) I have copied each mp3 wave (lossy quality) and mixed it on the flac wave (original quality, without loss) with the reverse polarity. If both waves were identical, the result would be silence. But instead, as the mp3 has less information (the wave has fewer resolution points, so that it is understood) there is a residual noise that corresponds, neither more nor less, to what the mp3 has less than the flac added to what the mp3 has more than the flac (the mp3 not only loses information; it also introduces noise that was not in the original recording).

6) I have recorded everything on flac. Contrary to what most people think, the fact of converting an mp3 to a higher quality format does not add quality, since the additional information “cannot be invented” by the mp3, and it is still absent. An mp3 transferred to CD continues to sound like an mp3.

Important note: In order to listen to the files, your player must be able to play flac. First of all, associate the files with the .flac extension to your player so that it opens them when you click on them. If they still don’t sound, then install the necessary codec or plugin.

As a player I recommend the AIMP2 or the Foobar2000; both are free and give exceptional audio quality (they reproduce the sound as it is recorded, without any attachments of any kind). For my taste, the best of the two is the Foobar2000, because it is also more stable and lightweight. The Winamp and the Windows Media Player color the sound (or in other words, they equalize it), which can be interesting if you have low-quality audio equipment and play mp3s at low bitrate (128 kbps), but, If the equipment is hi-fi and the music is encoded in a lossless format or played directly from the original CD, then the difference between Winamp or WMP and AIMP2 or Foobar2000 is quite noticeable.