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Sound under pressure

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Sound under pressure

Audio File Formats

Computer sound has long since emerged from that embryonic state, when it was only present for the show, unable to compete with specialized equipment. Today, many sound cards, even middle class, are far above their rivals in the face of not so mediocre hi-fi. Recently, there are also fewer and fewer problems with acoustics; At such a rate, in a few years, the entire breeding road will finally turn into a true hi-hi. But in addition to the path, there is also a file format, in the choice of which, due to ignorance, users are often really limited. The purpose of this article is to get rid of these limitations.

Audio File Formats

Gone are the days when it was impossible to distinguish a violin from a cello in computer acoustics, but the saying “CD Quality – MP3 128 kbps” has remained, and for some it is not so archaic. Meanwhile, the most common formats are Wav (also known as CDA) or MP3. However, uncompressed PCM (Wav and CDA) has too large a file size and MP3 is compressed with loss of quality. But there are alternatives and more than one. Let’s take a look at the most popular and high-quality formats / codecs.

First, let’s divide all codecs into two groups based on compression: lossless and lossy. The former operate on the principle of filing cabinets, for example RAR: a file compressed in this way loses weight by up to 50%, and the entire original is reproduced during playback, before compression. Lossy compression algorithms exclude “unnecessary” information from the original signal and then compress it, which is why the original signal cannot be fully restored; JPEG compression is an example. Now in more detail.

At a loss

MP3

Perhaps, as with the most popular ones, let’s start with MP3, also known as MPEG-1 layer 3. We compress test snippets with lame, the highest quality of all MP3 codecs. In the snippet with the classics, we see that there is no upper cutoff frequency as such, that’s great! However, in the most “powerful” (noisy) places, the upper part (from 18 kHz) is consumed. Such dynamics processing is quite strange for hearing and auditory logic, but for a computer it is easy to explain: just as the overall signal density increases, it grows almost throughout the entire range and therefore one more channel is required. wide to pass all the flow. But since the channel is fixed (we compress in CBR, with a constant bit rate, 320 kbps), for normal encoding of the mids and bass, you need to reduce the treble. A snippet with modern music is practically indistinguishable from the original, just a small cut in the frequencies for which real high fidelity is needed, in which you will definitely not remember the MP3, in addition to the frequency response, there are still many characteristics spoiled by compression. Compressed file size: classic – 6.11 MB, modern music – 6.11 MB.

WMA 9

The format promoted by Bill Gates is not yet popular: firstly, it supports DRM (copy protection), and secondly, of all the lossy codecs considered here, it provides the weakest sound quality. With almost the same dimensions as with other formats, making a hard cut at the top above 20 kHz, as well as cutting the top based on the overall level (similar in effect to Dolby noise suppressors) is not very good in our opinion. Compressed at 320 kbps, WMA 9 (non-professional). Compressed file size: classic – 6.14 MB, modern music – 6.12 MB.

OGG Vorbis

Open source codec with good sound quality and safely taking second place. It has a floating cutoff frequency (but within reasonable limits) of the order of 20 kHz. It is true that in this case we set the bit rate at 350 kbps … It has one more drawback: longer encoding time. Compressed file size: classic – 6.70 MB, modern music – 6.65 MB.

The winner of this nomination is the one with the closest sonogram to the wav file sonogram. Therefore, MP3 is still the winner. However, it should be noted that the codec is different, and even those that work according to the same algorithm. For example, the same MP3 is lame, there is Fraunhofer and Xing, the latter being the fastest, but also with the most terrible sound quality (the cutoff is 16 kHz).

No loss of quality, no loss

FLAC (Lossless Audio Compressor)

One of the most popular formats for lossless audio compression is the FLAC codec. The main advantages of this audio codec are its constant updating and, of course, multiplatform: FLAC is ported to many platforms.

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What is the best audio format for me?

What is the best audio format for me?

Best Audio File Formats

After all, it’s not always clear which format is best for music. Some services, like Amazon, sell digital music in MP3 format. Although Apple offers song downloads from its iTunes Store in AAC format.

Audio File Formats

So the question arises what formats can your device play. If it is relatively new, it can play lossless formats like FLAC, as well as older lossy formats like MP3 and AAC.

And to add even more confusion, there is the listening factor. How important is sound quality to you?

To help you decide, here are some things you can do.

Check the format compatibility of your portable device

Before deciding on an audio format, the first thing to do is check its compatibility. This can usually be found on the manufacturer’s website or in the specifications section of the user manual (if there is one, of course).

If you are not going to use high quality audiophile equipment in the future, then lossy audio may be sufficient if you are only going to use your laptop. For greater compatibility, the MP3 file format is the safest bet. This is an old algorithm, but it works well. In fact, it is still the most compatible audio format for everyone.

However, if you are ripping tracks from a music CD, for example, it would be wise to keep a lossless copy on your computer / external hard drive and lose it for your laptop as well. This will keep your music safe in the future, even if new formats and hardware show up later.

Consider the bit rate

Bitrate is an important factor to know, especially if you are looking for the best quality music playback. However, the actual bit rate setting depends on the audio format you are using.

For example, the MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer III) format has a bit rate range of 32 to 320 kbps. There are also two encoding methods you can choose from: CBR and VBR. In this case, instead of encoding using the default CBR (constant bit rate) encoding, it is much better to use VBR (variable bit rate) encoding. This is because VBR will provide you with the best file size ratio.

The encoding you use is also an important factor.

Best digital audio formats

Best digital audio formats

Digital Audio Formats

Today, there are several dozen formats (codecs) that are used to represent audio files. Among them, there are no more than a dozen running gear.
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MP3, FLAC, ACC, WAV

In the 20th century, we choose between the media and the media to play music. Cassettes, vinyl, CD – each multimedia format had its own player, each had its own advantages and disadvantages. In the 21st century, the focus has changed significantly. Playback tools have become omnivorous and you have to choose not the multimedia format, but the format of the audio file.

At a time when digital music had not yet penetrated the computer as it does now, the choice for connoisseurs of high-quality sound was quite simple and straightforward. The most popular CDs, and those who could afford to buy more expensive equipment and discs, opted for SACD or DVD-Audio players, or universal models that play all optical audio disc formats. Now you can get high-quality audio content without buying discs, in which case the whole choice comes down to the format for storing your music.

Today, there are several dozen formats (codecs) that are used to represent audio files. Among them, there are no more than a dozen running gear. Lossy audio compression is most often done using the MP3 (MPEG-1 Layer3) codec, less often the WMA format, which is a proprietary Microsoft development, is used for this purpose; AAC, developed by Apple or available under the GPL-free Ogg Vorbis format. We will not dwell on the topic of compressed audio in detail, we will limit ourselves to a brief description.

Saehan Information Systems F10 – The world’s first mp3 player appeared in 1998 and cost $ 250
The MP3 format and its aforementioned analogues allow you to compress CD quality music material into smaller files (the compression ratio ranges from 2: 1 to 11: 1). As the developers envisioned, compression algorithms should process the audio stream in such a way that the sound of the compressed file does not differ from the original. In fact, you can hear the difference between the sound of a compressed file and an uncompressed original, and the higher the quality class of the equipment, the more obvious these differences become. There is no difficulty in burning a CD to MP3 or getting ready-to-use MP3 files from the Internet or on physical media.

The only specificity of compression files is the ability to incorporate copy protection or unauthorized playback protection (DRM) into them. One of the main initiators and distributors of the technology to protect audio files was Apple, which, however, very early presented a proposal to abandon such solutions and urged all manufacturers of music products to distribute it without protection. Since 2009, music sold on the iTunes Store is not protected. The vast majority of compressed content sold over the Internet and on physical media is also not protected against unauthorized reproduction.

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There are several different formats to store digital music without losing quality. The lossless and uncompressed audio stream is saved to a WAV or AIFF file. In this case, the file type is determined by the type of operating system on which the audio stream is saved. WAV format is a joint development of Microsoft and IBM, and AIFF is the brainchild of Apple. There are also proprietary lossless audio compression formats: Microsoft’s WMA Loseless (also known as WMA9) and Apple’s ALAC. Of these, only the second has become widespread due to the fact that it is almost the only way to listen to high-quality audio from iOS devices.

Another option for storing uncompressed audio content is disc images, which are a single file with the ISO extension, which is an unmodified copy of the content on a digital medium.

The most widely used lossless music compression format is the FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) format. As its name suggests, this format is distributed under a free license, which means that to ensure its support on any audio device, it is not necessary to pay royalties. FLAC allows you to store audio tracks with up to eight channels and a bit depth of up to 32 bits and a virtually unlimited sample rate, allowing it to be used to store any content, including multi-channel HD soundtracks. The popularity of FLAC as a high quality audio compression codec is as great as the popularity of MP3 among compression audio formats. The vast majority of high-quality music is stored and distributed in the FLAC format.