FLAC (Free Lossless Audio CODEC): Unlike lossy formats like MP3 or the lossless AAC method of storing audio files. Any audio enthusiast who values the highest quality of their digital music collection should consider saving their tracks in FLAC format.
FLAC vs. MP3: lossless and lossy
As you can read from the English name, FLAC is free and lossless audio compression. Everyone knows the audio compression principle of the MP3 file format. On a commercially available audio CD, a typical three-minute song takes up around 30MB, after conversion to MP3, on average only about one-tenth of that, or 3MB.
The reduction is very high, especially noisy, and consciously non-perceptible parts of the original signal are lost, which is hardly a restriction for listening pleasure. However, it is never possible to calculate exactly which parts are really irrelevant to the listener, so useful information is also destroyed during compression – the quality decreases compared to the original.
This is where FLAC comes in. This codec does not compress the audio signal according to psychoacoustic methods, but rather mathematical ones. Although FLAC has a relatively low compression rate (on average, the above-mentioned three-minute track in FLAC format would be around 15MB in size), the quality is exactly the same as the original CD. The fact that the file size can still be reduced is due to the fact that musical signals contain redundant information from a mathematical point of view due to their high periodicity. Therefore, FLAC is perfectly suited to digitally archive your lossless CD collection.
How can I play FLAC files?
Common audio players can play FLAC files. In addition, more and more audio devices, such as AV receivers or Blu-ray players with USB or network connections, can play not only MP3 but also FLAC. Teufel’s audio transmission systems also reproduce the format flawlessly.
Finally, the small drawback: CD files in FLAC format quickly get very large. With 100 CDs, you get a storage requirement of around 40GB, while the same number as an MP3 file only takes up about 7GB. But if you have a superior (diabolical) system at home, you will quickly appreciate that you are hearing exactly what the music producer had in mind when the recording was made: an impressive listening experience with no compromises.
Conclusion: is FLAC the audio format of the future?
FLAC is a format that compresses audio data without loss. So it is qualitatively equal to CD.
FLAC files are as easy to create as MP3s, but they take up much more space than MP3s.
The audio format is ideal for digitizing CD collections and adapting them to the future.
