Those who want to budget for storage space on their cell phone, DAP, or other portable playback device often want to use the smallest music files possible. When selected, you notice that MP3s take up much less storage space than FLAC files. If you put your audio CDs on your computer, you will see WAV files that are even larger. The reason for this is that the first two are compressed and the last one uncompressed. What does this mean for the music listener?
Mp3 compression works on the principle of data reduction, by which information is extracted from the original material that the algorithm classifies as irrelevant. The reduction occurs mainly in the harmonic range. In short, harmonics are a physical phenomenon whereby multiple multiples (i.e. higher pitches) are added to a fundamental oscillation (a pitch). Musical instruments differ from each other by their harmonic content, which is an essential part of their sonic characteristics.
The FLAC format is also based on data reduction, so the files are smaller than WAV. Unlike MP3, this reduction is only temporary, as the original signal is 100% reconstructed during playback. It can be said that the information that is lost from the move from WAV to FLAC does not play a role for the listener, but only contains pure calculation material. The triumphant advancement of this file format can be seen above all in the fact that Apple first implemented with the iPhone X that FLAC files can be played without the use of additional software.
FLAC really sounds better than MP3
Digital audio players like the Pioneer XDP-30R can handle MP3, FLAC and WAV formats. With its 16GB device memory and two micro SD slots, the Pioneer XDP-30R offers plenty of space, even for high-resolution music.
How much you perceive the differences between highly compressed MP3 and lightly compressed FLAC files has a lot to do with your own musical preferences. Just as there are differences between instruments (a violin sounds richer in harmonics than a recorder) there are also styles in which compression is more noticeable than in others. The genres where one has to accept the greatest loss of quality with MP3s include acoustic recordings from the classical and jazz areas as well as those from the rock realm, because what we hear as distortion is nothing more than a great deal of nuances.
In the case of music with a lot of bass (techno, drum’n’bass, dubstep, raggae, etc.), on the other hand, compression often doesn’t seem to have that negative effect. However, there are also elaborate productions with these musical styles, whose quality is only known in its entirety if they have been listened to in uncompressed format.
The MP3 was a very advanced invention at the time. As data storage devices keep getting bigger and internet connections get faster and faster, its great advantage of storing a lot of music in little space compared to WAV or FLAC has become almost negligible.
