Tag: is mp3 quality better than cd

Free Download Mp4Gain

Techniques for enjoying compressed audio with high sound quality

I converted a music CD to MP3 or WMA, but the sound is not good … Many users will think so. So, let me introduce you to one of the methods to do high quality audio compression.

Sound quality is improved by lowering the volume of the extracted WAV file and then encoding it in MP3 or WMA.

There are various audio compression methods like WMA, AAC, Ogg Vorbis for MP3. They are very convenient because they can compress the file size to about 1/11 (at 128 kbps) compared to WAV. However, these are called lossy compression and sound quality degrades slightly because compression is done by reducing sound information to the point that it is difficult for the human ear to understand. If you really stick to the original sound of a music CD, you should use WAV as is, or use lossless (lossless) compression like WMA Lossless, Apple Lossless, FLAC.

However, even with MP3 and WMA, if it is compressed well, many people will not notice the difference in sound quality. Generally, a bit rate of 128 kbps is used, but if you increase it to 160 kbps or 192 kbps, the amount of data to be reduced will decrease and the sound quality will improve.

If you can’t tell the difference from the original sound by listening to the lossy compressed sound, that’s fine, but it is troublesome that there are cases where you can clearly see the deterioration depending on the song. Specifically, there is a clip-like beep, and the cymbal and hi-hat sound is clearly distorted. This is not just a problem to be solved by increasing the bit rate, it has nothing to do with the lack of high frequencies. This happens because the music data matches the weak points of the compression algorithm.

The weak point is that it is vulnerable to the sound applied by the compressor (equalizing the maximum volume). In other words, it is vulnerable to loud and continuous sounds. In particular, the recent J-Pop is made by applying a compressor to gain sound pressure and setting it to maximum volume, so it can be said that it is the music data that is vulnerable to compressed audio.

Therefore, if you process the WAV data a little before compressing it to MP3 or WMA, the sound quality will be drastically improved and clipping phenomenon can be avoided.

The process is simply to lower the volume level of the entire song. Of course, it’s burning, so you can’t mess with the volume of CD playback or squeeze the volume from encoding software like Windows Media Player. It is necessary to rewrite the waveform of the WAV data using waveform editing software and lower the volume level. Specifically, it is safe to lower the level by about -6dB. This will cut the volume in half, but due to the features of the compression software, it doesn’t appear to be as quiet. If possible, it is even more effective to apply an effect called an expander to eliminate the compressor effect.

Free Download Mp4Gain


Mp4Gain Main Window


Mp4Gain Features


Free Download Mp4Gain

Improve quality of mp3s Part 3

Be aware of the difference between bit rate and bit depth!
Bit rate: amount of information per second
Bit depth: amount of information per sample divided by the sample rate
In other words, the calculation is “bit rate = bit depth x sample rate”.
What values ​​can be set when exporting MP3? What is the best export configuration?

~ What items can be set when exporting MP3? ~

When exporting MP3, you can set the following two items 💡

Bit rate: 16 kbit ~ 320 kbit
Sampling frequency: 32,000 Hz, 44,100 Hz, 48,000 Hz
For example, if there are no specifications in a competition and you want to export with good sound quality with mp3, let’s export with “320kbit, 48,000Hz” 💡

What is the best setting to reduce capacity and export with good sound quality?
The capacity is small!
Sound quality is good!
So if you want the capacity to be as small as possible but also the sound quality as best as possible, which setting is better to export?

The sample rate is generally 44,100 Hz.
Use ~ 44,100Hz! ~

In the video industry, 48,000Hz is mainstream, but in music, the sound quality is high enough if it is 44,100Hz, which is used for CD.

In the blind test, it is said that about half of the people can distinguish between them and in addition, there are two options, so even if you answer properly, there is a chance that you will win about half.

The bitrate is around 128 kbit, which is the limit between good and bad.
~ 128 kbit or more is recommended! ~

Even if the bit rate is reduced to around 128 kbit, the print does not change much and the roughness does not appear.

If you lower it to reduce capacity, “about 128 kbit is a guideline” 💡

If you want to reduce the capacity and stick to the sound quality, it is better to select 128 kbit ~ 192 kbit and 44,100 hz to export.
~ 44,100Hz 128kbit ~ is the best!

For those who want to reduce capacity and focus on sound quality, it is better to set the sample rate to 44,100hz and the bit rate to 128-192kbit 💡

MP3s also have export settings. What are the settings for exporting with even slightly better sound quality? summary of
MP3 stands for “MPEG 1 Layer 3” compression method
Depending on the compression settings, the capacity may be reduced by 1/10 or more.
MP3 removes sound components that are inaudible to humans, thus maintaining sound quality.
Set “bit rate” and “sample rate” when exporting
The sample rate is “number of samples per second”
Bit rate is “amount of information per second”
Bit depth is “amount of information per sample”
The best sound quality settings for MP3 export are 48,000hz, 320kbit
44,100Hz, 128 ~ 196kbit is the setting that balances capacity and sound quality when exporting MP3.
MP3s are often used to check demos and save space 💡

Even if you have exported it casually, put it in the corner of your head that there is a setting for MP3 export, and when you need it, remember it and use it

Improve quality of mp3s Part 2

In other words, MP3 can be said to be a sound source file that was originally created by removing only the sounds that are difficult for humans to hear and without modifying the other sounds.

It is a commercially useful file format because it sounds very nice even if the capacity is small 💡

About MP3 Export Settings

When exporting MP3, the sound quality changes greatly depending on the bit rate (amount of data per second) and the sample rate (number of samples per second).

The sample rate determines how many divisions per second
~ How many divisions per second? ~

The sample rate determines how many divisions of information are handled per second.

At 44,100Hz, which is common, one second of information is divided into 44,100 samples, and at 44,800Hz, it is divided into 48,000 samples 💡

If you divide the sample into smaller samples, the information will be seamlessly connected, and if the information is approximate, it will be staggered.

Bit rate (kbit) determines the amount of information per second
~ Amount of information per second ~

On the other hand, the bit rate (bit) determines “the amount of information a sample has in one second”.

soon,

Bit rate = bit depth (1 sample information) x sample rate (number of samples per second)

For example, the bit rate of a 16-bit 44,100 hz wav file is 705.6 kbit.

Note that the bit rate is sometimes called “bps (bits per second)” because it is the number of bits per second 💡

caution!

* Bit depth is used in WAV export settings, etc. which is very similar, but the bit depth is the amount of information per sample. Be careful because it is confusing!

Improve quality of mp3s

MP3 is often used as a compressed sound source when the capacity of uncompressed files like WAV and AIFF is large and inconvenient, but in fact, you know that depending on the settings like bit rate and sample rate, it can “write with fairly high sound quality”. mosquito?

This time about such MP3

Setting to export with high sound quality
Settings to export with good sound quality while saving space
Misleading Bitrate and Bit Depth Differences
I will also present on such things ^ – ^ No

1. What is MP3?
1.1 How do MP3s reduce their capacity?
2. About the MP3 export settings
2.1. The sample rate determines how many divisions per second
2.2. Bit rate (kbit) determines the amount of information per second
2.3 What values ​​can be set when exporting MP3? What is the best export configuration?
3. What is the best setting to reduce capacity and export with good sound quality?
3.1. The sample rate is generally 44,100 Hz.
3.2 The bit rate is around 128 kbit, which is the limit between good and bad.
3.3. If you want to reduce the capacity and stick to the sound quality, it is better to select 128kbit ~ 192kbit and 44,100hz to export.
4. MP3 also has export settings. What are the settings for exporting with even slightly better sound quality? summary of

What is MP3?
What is MP3?
MP3 is a compression technology (file format) that can reduce the capacity by 1/10 or more compared to the uncompressed compression method called “MPEG 1 Layer 3”.

It is also used when you want to save data capacity or when you collect a large number of songs in contests.

How do MP3s reduce their capacity?
~ How do MP3s reduce their capacity? ~

There are three reasons why MP3s can compress the capacity of a sound source 💡

Eliminate data in the “ultra high range (16 kHz or higher)” that is not as audible to humans at all frequencies.
It removes the data of small sounds that cannot be heard because they are erased by loud sounds for each frequency.
Humans cannot hear the small sound that plays immediately after the loud sound, so they cut it off.