while still obviously quite popular, i assume mp3 isn't the best lossy audio encoding option...by "best" i mean highest quality output (for audio snobs) for the lowest file size

i generally use(d) mp3 VBR with a range of 32-320kbps (because 320kbps for silence at the beginning or end of a song is just dumb) but i don't know if that's a good choice or not

my lossless go-to is flac

10/13/2010 10:39:41 AM

I too am interested in this.

10/13/2010 11:59:53 AM

Wma pro is better. Thats the only one I know of that has better quality with a lower filesize

10/13/2010 12:10:21 PM

^ How universal is compatibility?

My guess is that it's not worth talking about something that won't play on an iPod.

Quote :

"Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV"

[Edited on October 13, 2010 at 1:05 PM. Reason : spelling FTL]

10/13/2010 1:05:05 PM

After some reading, it looks like I'm going to re-rip all my CDs in FLAC and then transcode to AAC. It's hard to walk away from the ubiquity of MP3, but there are more technologically advanced codecs out there.

10/13/2010 2:22:41 PM

^ i was thinking about going the AAC route, as well...while both my car deck and my sansa both support wma, my wife's ipod doesn't, so that's a big deterrent...most everything i have is in flac right now

10/13/2010 3:50:17 PM

other than file space, how pointless is it to encode my mp3s to AACs?

10/13/2010 4:53:17 PM

completely pointless.

10/13/2010 5:00:35 PM

^^^ The iPod should play AAC. Check for a firmware update if it doesn't.

10/13/2010 5:06:53 PM

^ yeah, it should...i was referring to wma not being playable on her ipod

^^^ i wouldn't bother...i care because my car deck accepts microSD cards and all of mine are 2gb and 4gb...saved space means more on each card

10/13/2010 5:16:01 PM

Sorry. That was a reading comprehension failure on my part.

10/13/2010 5:32:01 PM

AAC is better than MP3. 128 kbps AAC typically has the same quality as 160 or 192 kbps MP3.

I use 128 kbps AAC VBR on iTunes for most music. 192 kbps AAC VBR for classical.

10/13/2010 5:48:47 PM

only coming from the original source or FLAC though... transcoding from mp3 to aac is pointless you won't "gain" any quality.

[Edited on October 13, 2010 at 5:57 PM. Reason : /]

10/13/2010 5:57:19 PM

I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but IF iPod/iPhone playback is mandatory, AAC is the way to go.

It's better at every encoding level than WMA9 or MP3.

http://soundexpert.org/encoders-320-kbps
http://soundexpert.org/encoders-192-kbps

It looks like 192kbps is the best middle ground for quality vs. size.

If you aren't tied to Apple, then WMA Pro is a better codec than AAC or MP3. You can go download Expression Encoder 4 for free that will encode to WMA Pro 10. If you are encoding your stuff at 192kbps+, it's better than AAC. And everything Microsoft supports it (Zune, Xbox, Windows Phone 7, Win XP+, MacOSX)

Another thing to keep in mind is that the format you choose affects battery life (though this has more to do with the encoding software and source than it does the format itself).

For instance, DRM'ed audio content (AAC or WMA) will drop your playback time by 10-20%. Using the NeroAAC encoder fixes this problem for AAC content and using any WMA encoder will avoid this problem (individuals cant author DRM'd WMA content anyway).

Also, depending on the device, formats will have different battery life times. If your portable has a built in mp4/h.264 hardware decoder then it doesn't matter, otherwise you may see a 5-10% variance.

10/13/2010 6:15:30 PM

Quote :

"If you aren't tied to Apple, then WMA Pro is a better codec than AAC or MP3."

Palm Pre and most Android phones don't natively play WMA either, but they do support mpeg4.

mpeg4 is the best bet overall for sound quality if you are looking for broad compatibility on the major portable devices.

10/13/2010 7:13:51 PM

Quote :

"only coming from the original source or FLAC though... transcoding from mp3 to aac is pointless you won't "gain" any quality."

duh...! don't tell me there are people who think that you will magically gain quality from mp3 to AAC

10/13/2010 7:25:37 PM

Quote :

"how pointless is it to encode my mp3s to AACs?"

10/13/2010 7:35:43 PM

Quote :

"128 kbps AAC typically has the same quality as 160 or 192 kbps MP3."

All of which suck

10/13/2010 7:56:39 PM

^^ missed that one!

^ not as much as you!

10/13/2010 8:06:59 PM

i did it anyway so i can cram as much music that i can on my iphone

10/13/2010 8:10:56 PM

Quote :

"Palm Pre and most Android phones don't natively play WMA either, but they do support mpeg4. mpeg4 is the best bet overall for sound quality if you are looking for broad compatibility on the major portable devices."

Uh, no? You realize mpeg4 audio is a codec container? mpeg4 audio is either AAC or MP3, but almost always AAC. There's no better compatibility. If a device supports mp4 a/v it almost always supports AAC by default.

Quote :

"AAC is better than MP3. 128 kbps AAC typically has the same quality as 160 or 192 kbps MP3. I use 128 kbps AAC VBR on iTunes for most music. 192 kbps AAC VBR for classical."

This isn't true at all. See the links I posted, 128kbps AAC is equivalent to 192kbps MP3 in terms of perceived quality.

Also, you should NEVER be using iTunes to encode AAC. NeroAAC produces dramatically better quality audio at the same bitrate than iTunes.

10/13/2010 9:04:07 PM

i use dbpoweramp reference

10/13/2010 10:08:34 PM