Black Sabbath (Official Thread)

[Big Ears]

Is FLAC better than WAV?

 

[LG]

^^FLAC's are a Lossless codec, they take up less room than WAV's but don't lose any file integrity unlike MP3's etc.

My Sansa plays FLAC's and APE's, which are the only files I have on it, i-pods you have to download an application that allows you to play different formats, typical Apple BS they only want you to play AAC files on their devices.

 

[Big Ears]

I've been burning WAV and FLAC files to audio CD and wasn't sure which was best. I haven't tried burning APE files. I don't understand the cue files either so I've been ignoring them.

I think WAVs can be used on portable players like mp3s.

 

[METALPRIEST]

Nololob's picture is just FABULOUS!!

 

[LG]

I've been burning WAV and FLAC files to audio CD and wasn't sure which was best. I haven't tried burning APE files. I don't understand the cue files either so I've been ignoring them.

I think WAVs can be used on portable players like mp3s.

CUE files allow you to burn a perfect copy using EAC or Burrrn you just load the CUE file and that's it.

FLAC's are as good as WAV they just take up less space on your hard drive. APE is Monkey Audio's lossless codec, it's as good as FLAC if not as well known.

I burn WAV CD's myself, but on my Hard Drives I keep everything in FLAC format.

 

[Nololob]

Nololob's picture is just FABULOUS!!

Only just now got a chance to see this on my computer. Now I'm just even more 'wow!'

This is now the second place I have seen for real after Floyd's 'Animals' LP.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^^FLAC's are a Lossless codec, they take up less room than WAV's but don't lose any file integrity unlike MP3's etc.

My Sansa plays FLAC's and APE's, which are the only files I have on it, i-pods you have to download an application that allows you to play different formats, typical Apple BS they only want you to play AAC files on their devices.

What do you mean by .mp3's "losing file integrity"?

I've had some .mp3's (ripped from CD's) for years, copied them & played them on other devices and haven't notice any differences.

I don't see myself going with another file format, but I'm curious now.

 

[LG]

What do you mean by .mp3's "losing file integrity"?

I've had some .mp3's (ripped from CD's) for years, copied them & played them on other devices and haven't notice any differences.

I don't see myself going with another file format, but I'm curious now.

Some people are happy with 128 kbs MP3's, but many can tell the difference between a lossy format and a lossless one.

The engineer who invented EAC was not happy with the rippers available or the sound of the MP3's they offered so he made his own. Combined with FLAC (Free Lossles Audio Codec) the results of a rip done with EAC and Windows media player is night and day.

Google EAC and read the story yourself it explains it better than I could.

I always want the best quality I can get, so I don't bother with any of the lossy formats. For many using i-pods etc. then it's not that important but if you ever listen to some old classic albums on a good stereo you'll hear the differences easily enough.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I rip all my CDs (and a few records) to 320k. I just wondered if you were referring to some degradation in the file itself over time or due to copying.

 

[LG]

^^When you use a lossy compression format you do lose file integrity, even if some people say they can't hear a difference.

I've spent a long time messing around with all the different formats, and I use the lossless ones because I like the quality better.

If I did keep MP3's they would all be 320's.

For those who didn't think there was a drop off I'll remind them of Apple's decision years ago to offer "plus" files as opposed to the lower bit rate they sold because of the deluge of complaints they received about the quality being poor.

The differences are easy to spot if you have a nice home system, on a portable as I mentioned earlier it's not as important, after all old FM stereo broadcasts weren't great either, below 128's as far as quality goes.