Today in mid 2011 most everyone has a portable music player like an iPod or something similar, and most know that the most common file type for audio players are MP3 files. But many of you have been asking if there are better format to use and if certain audio file types are recommended over others for specific audio players. I’ll dive into what the more popular audio file types there are currently and what devices give you the best sound for each type.
What Happens When You Rip a Music CD?
The majority of audio CD can be ripped via iTunes, iTunes alternative or Windows Media Player, well at least all the DRM free audio discs. DRM is a copy protection that stands for Digital Rights Management and is found on some audio CD’s but the majority of discs are unprotected. When music is ripped by one of these applications you can usually choose which format to rip to in the settings. Windows Media Player by default uses the WMA format while iTunes uses the AAC format. However you can choose to tip wo MP3 or WAV file also. No matter what format you choose both music managers will connect to the online central database that stores all music information such as Artist, Songs Titles, Album Art, Composer, etc…, and try to fill in all the necessary data about your album.
MP3 Explained
If you choose to rip to MP3 format there are a few things you should know before hand. But first a little background on this format. MP3 uses a lossy data compression which reduces the amount of data that is required to make the audio recording sound as close to the original as possible without noticing a sound quality reduction. The accepted rate at which MP3 files sound the best without loosing quality is 128kbs, this makes the new file size roughly 11 times smaller than what is found on the audio disc for the song. You can also choose to rip to a larger file size such as 196kbs which will make the audio slighly crisper in sound, but for most people it is not noticeable.
WMA Away!!
By using Windows Media Player you will most likely be ripping into the WMA format which is still supported by all portable music players so there is no issue with using this format on your iPod. The wma format was developed by Microsoft and is a part of the Windows Media Framework. According to Microsoft, they claim that an audio ripped as the same bit rate as a MP3 will give better sound quality and a smaller file size. So according to this if you rip your audio at 96kbs you should have the same quality at a 128kbs MP3 file.
Other Music Formats to Consider
.AAC
This is the default audio format from Apple Corp. This is a lossy compression scheme which means that the data encoding used compresses the data by removing some of actual file thus reducing the file size but still maintaining a good sound quality. This format was developed with the notion that it would replace the MP3 format since if offers a better sound quality compared to MP3 and with smaller bit rates. AAC supports up to 96 kHz in one audio stream plus 16 low frequency effects, and up to 16 data streams. This format is default for all Apple products (iPhone, iPod, iPad) and Nintendo gadgets (DSi, 3Dsi) as well as the PS3. This is one of the many formats that are supported when using an iPod transfer software including the default iTunes or one of the many 3rd party applications.
FLAC
Or otherwise known as Free Lossless Audio Codec is an audio specific format that does not offer a loss in quality while compressed. Similar to how a ZIP file is with data, FLAC is with audio file compression. You can still have full quality but at a reduced file size. Still typical sizes can be 20MB for a 3 minute song file, compared to 3-4MB in MP3 format. The tradeoff though is supurb sound when played on a home stereo system. This is the format of choice for those that want that crisp sound coming from your speakers. There are many software players that support FLAC including the free VLC Player and VideoLAN players for Windows, Cynthiune for Mac, and Aqualung for Linux. Also many hardware components for the home stereo now support FLAC in additon to car stereo systems. Most manufacturers will list in the features if FLAC is indeed supported on their devices. From Wikipedia: “Since FLAC is a lossless scheme, it is suitable as an archive format for owners of CDs and other media who wish to preserve their audio collections. If the original media is lost, damaged, or worn out, a FLAC copy of the audio tracks ensures that an exact duplicate of the original data can be recovered at any time. An exact restoration from a lossy archive (e.g., MP3) of the same data is impossible.”
So no matter what format you choose hopefully this article has explained what each format offers in relation to the other and which will suit your particular needs.
Rob Boirun is the author of www.burnworld.com which is an industry site around DVD and Blu Ray burning technologies. After working for GEAR software which makes a burning API for vendors such as Apple, Symantec, and others I decided that the web was missing out on some useful information around the optical recording industry, thus the site was created. The industry is shifting the way users receive digital content and I will be shifting the focus as well into more digital streaming, cloud storage, Blu-Ray, etc… You can follow Rob on Twitter @burnworld. Rob’s Google Profile
Rob Boirun is the author of www.burnworld.com which is an industry site around DVD and Blu Ray burning technologies. After working for GEAR software which makes a burning API for vendors such as Apple, Symantec, and others I decided that the web was missing out on some useful information around the optical recording industry, thus the site was created. The industry is shifting the way users receive digital content and I will be shifting the focus as well into more digital streaming, cloud storage, Blu-Ray, etc… You can follow Rob on Twitter @burnworld.Rob's Google Profile
Twitter: atulperx
says:
I am not a techie person but sometimes I get too much frustrated with audio formats. Sometimes when I transfer few music tracks to itunes and try to burn them in ipod then it says that this WMA can not be burned in your Ipod. Itunes already convert them into own formats while adding to play list but still create problem in burning process.
Atulperx’s recent post ..Photoshop Photo Effects Tutorials : 10 Tutorials For Making Pictures Better With Photoshop
do not know anything better that mp3 format
Well for me MP3 files is better than the other formats because most of the music players could play it, even the old music player. and the sound is not bad too
MangDe | Computer’s recent post ..Buat Widget Recent Posts Dengan Feedburner di Blogspot
Nice to know… I use the simple windwos player and don’t really know much on this topic. thanks for giving me such qualitative info Rob
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Twitter: burnworld
says:
Glad to help.
Rob Boirun’s recent post ..Convert Any Audio Source to MP3 Files via USB
Interesting post. Flac files offer the best quality, but they occupy a lot of space, so you do need a big memory.
Twitter: burnworld
says:
That’s true. But with 2GB hard drives around $50 in most places size is not a consideration for most, but using this format on in iPod though would fill it up very quickly.
Rob Boirun’s recent post ..PC Matic Software Contest Giveaway
Mostly I preferred best sound quality in our portable music factory. That the fact the size of file increase when we demand good sound quality and I mostly sacrifice for space when I burn the songs in our music factory.
Zarah Alvie’s recent post ..Cause of IBS and Crohns
Its great to know there are so many other audio file options, nut I think for me mp3 seems to be the easiest to use. Thanks for the info!
Twitter: burnworld
says:
Yes MP3 seems to be the defacto standard for most, this article just points out a few other options to keep aware of.
Rob Boirun’s recent post ..PC Matic Software Contest Giveaway
Twitter: finallyfast
says:
I choose FLAC when possible and have a decent collection of FLACs but I’d like to expand. My only complaint is that hardware and software manufacturers have been very slow to adopt FLAC and in most music players at this point STILL don’t support FLAC playback. Thank God for VLC!
Twitter: burnworld
says:
Yes, VLC is a great tool. Let’s hope more hardware manufactures adopt FLAC as a standard on all devices.
Thank you for explaining the differences. Sad is that we cannot play FLAC on our iphones / ipods.
Are you sure that WMA can be played on iphones/ipods? I believe that it is not possible and iTunes will offer you converting to their formats.
Thanks J.
J.
Jeanette G. Weishaar’s recent post ..What Makes the Beat Making Software a Special One?
most people don’t need to bother with mp3 and cd ripping any more, what with itunes and spotify you can just download/buy or stream your music, without worrying about files and formats. i miss the days of tangiable downloads, but i guess it helps prevent piracy that way.
Twitter: shergillgames
says:
I always backup my CDs to FLAC, but for portable player use MP3 is the ubiquitous standard. I’ve got my 5th gen iPod running Rockbox, so I could playback FLAC on it, and for some of my favorite albums I do, but the lower space and better battery life that MP3s provide makes them the best overall format for portable players. Home stereos and media centers, though, are another story.
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MP3 is the default format when I download music from music sites then they get converted to .AAC because I’m using an iPod. I’m not sure though (as I didn’t notice), if bit rate/file size gets changed when it’s converted. Does it?
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After giving FLAC files a try, I just can’t go back to MP3s. I don’t have a good ear for sound, but even I notice the vast difference in quality between the two files. I can’t recommend this format enough!
FLAC and MP3 are the types of digital audio that I’ve most frequently heard than the others. Thanks for sharing this.
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Twitter: Janis167
says:
Go mp3, i don’t need anything else
MP3 is the king for me IMO.
Ever tried to download a song off of Youtube? Every converter on the net converts YT videos to MP3, not AAC or WMA.
Twitter: AnishG6
says:
Aaah, I feel so stupid for not knowing what FLAC stands for, despite using it for ages. Haha. But yeah, thanks to add to the info.
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Twitter: simonjohn904
says:
yes i’m also like mp3 format than other.and i dont want to go for any other format.
carnosine’s recent post ..Bio-Pulmolife
It’s interesting how little a difference MP3 quality makes to those with an untrained ear. Interesting read, keep it up.
Nick
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