MP3 (320 kbps) VS flac/wav

[Cypher]

MP3 at 320 kbps sounds exactly like a WAV or Flac file in my opinion. I tried and tried but could not hear a difference.

Some people here have a different opinion on this ? I'd like to hear it 😉

 

[proffski]

With classical and well recorded music the difference on a Hi-Fi system of any worth the difference is as plain as can be.

I only ever use MP3 when travelling on public transport on my Sony Player and at times when with noisy eaters, that is all I consider MP3 to be good for.

 

[Lee H]

Well this is new ground.

 

[Anonymous]

If you want to pump badly recorded junk down an iphone or similar I'd agree. If you want to pipe through a decent hi fi there is a difference but again depends on source recording. Cynical though I may be but I reckon the music industry doesn't care about the recording quality as much these days as they know most of their audience will feed it via a cheap pair of phones into an uneducated ear.

But we are all entitled to an opinion of course!

I personally can't tell difference between FLAC and WAV so rip all my stuff to FLAC as it saves lots of space on my NAS drive and tags are easier to edit. However also rip to MP3 for my dear lady's Galaxy, to entertain her at fat fighters, oops, sorry, the gym1

Also feed Spotify through my system and again, depends on the artist/recording some stuff streams really nicely, some not and Spotify is basically MP3 quality. Tried Napster though also which I thought was pretty poor in comparison

 

[Alec]

MP3 at 320 kbps sounds exactly like a WAV or Flac file in my opinion. I tried and tried but could not hear a difference.

Some people here have a different opinion on this ? I'd like to hear it 😉

I agree.

 

[Alec]

any worth

?

plain as can be

?

 

[MajorFubar]

I find I can only tell the difference between 320K MP3 and WAV when using certain interconnects, 500-strand OFC speaker-cable (bi-wired, of course) and when using expensive mains-cables. Oh and only late at night, while sat in the sweet-spot at the tip of the equilateral triangle formed by my two speakers and my chair. Oh and only when my player and amp are sat on expensive isolation platforms. Oh and only when my speakers are exactly 30.6cm from the side walls, 15.2cm from the back walls and toed-in by 3.994 degrees.

Anything else contentious I've missed? I mean if we're going to have yet another punch-up over subjective contentious issues to which there will never be definite answers or conclusions, we may as well do it all in one thread, right?

 

[Lee H]

Shall I save everyone a bunch of time?

No you can't/yes you can ... prove it/I don't have to ... You're lying/no I'm not ... you're imagining it/I know I can tell ... take an abx test/I already have ... publish the results/I don't have to publish anything ... go to this site and take the test/I already have ... there's no basis for this in science/it's not about science, it's about enjoyment

<insert Godwins law moment, return to start and repeat>

 

[Anonymous]

Next thing is we'll be treated to having our digital files cryo treated...

 

[eggontoast]

I will try to sit on the fence as much as much as I can on this subject....so here goes

If you can't here the difference between MP3 of any bit rate and FLAC/WAVE you're as deaf as a post and posting on the wrong forum :O

Think that covers it, feel free to chime in if I missed anything.

 

[Cypher]

I will try to sit on the fence as much as much as I can on this subject....so here goes

If you can't here the difference between MP3 of any bit rate and FLAC/WAVE you're as deaf as a post and posting on the wrong forum :O

Think that covers it, feel free to chime in if I missed anything.

I can't hear a difference between MP3 at 320 kbps (i didn't mention other bitrates) and Wav/flac.

So you can ?

 

[Lee H]

I will try to sit on the fence as much as much as I can on this subject....so here goes

If you can't here the difference between MP3 of any bit rate and FLAC/WAVE you're as deaf as a post and posting on the wrong forum :O

Think that covers it, feel free to chime in if I missed anything.

I can't hear a difference between MP3 at 320 kbps (i didn't mention other bitrates) and Wav/flac.

So you can ?

... here it goes

 

[eggontoast]

I can't hear a difference between MP3 at 320 kbps (i didn't mention other bitrates) and Wav/flac.

You're as deaf as a post and posting on the wrong forum :O

 

[MajorFubar]

I will try to sit on the fence as much as much as I can on this subject....so here goes

If you can't here the difference between MP3 of any bit rate and FLAC/WAVE you're as deaf as a post and posting on the wrong forum :O

Think that covers it, feel free to chime in if I missed anything.

I reckon you should just come out with it and say what you think. We can't really tell what you think of MP3s from that sat-on-the-fence attitude

😀

 

[Andrew Everard]

You're as deaf as a post and posting on the wrong forum :O

Please don't attack other members.

 

[Cypher]

There are many posts on the internet about this issue and almost everyone can't hear a difference. The few people who hear a difference must have great ears 🙂

 

[eggontoast]

You're as deaf as a post and posting on the wrong forum :O

Please don't attack other members.

Sure thing boss but technically my unedited post didn't.

 

[The_Lhc]

There are many posts on the internet about this issue and almost everyone can't hear a difference. The few people who hear a difference must have great ears 🙂

So if you already knew the answer and weren't actually interested in any other opinion why did you bother asking?

Oh, wait, I know...

 

[MajorFubar]

Unlike the debate about lossless-compression vs raw (eg FLAC vs WAV, ALAC vs AIFF), or some pointless argument about the benefit of certain cables, it takes but seconds to prove that MP3s of any resolution or bit-rate are actually very different to their raw uncompressed form. When you invert the MP3 waveform in audio-editing software and overlay it on the original uncompressed file, the two waves don't cancel each other out. Not even nearly. So why is it so difficult to accept that many of us can hear that difference? If you're happy with MP3 and you can't hear the difference, that's absolutely fine, but why is it those who can hear the difference are rubbished and told by 'non-believers' that they are kidding themselves?

 

[Cypher]

If I knew some people get so agitated I would have never started this topic. That wasn't my intention at all. I just wanted to hear different opinions on this and now I know there are people who hear a difference.

This topic can be closed.

 

[Lee H]

If I knew some people get so agitated I would have never started this topic. That wasn't my intention at all. I just wanted to hear different opinions on this and now I know there are people who hear a difference.

This topic can be closed.

This and cables - guaranteed every time

 

[MajorFubar]

now I know there are people who hear a difference.

Glad that you are so tolerant; there are people on this forum who cannot hear a difference and will dispute til the cows come home that anyone who says they can hear a difference is kidding themselves. That is pretty-much all that winds me up about the topic 🙂

 

[sonycentre]

you decide what you are happy with,as long as you enjoy your music what does it matter what other people think.🙂

 

[Cypher]

If I knew some people get so agitated I would have never started this topic. That wasn't my intention at all. I just wanted to hear different opinions on this and now I know there are people who hear a difference.

This topic can be closed.

This and cables - guaranteed every time

But why ? I respect all opinions. I would just like to know what the differences are..........I know the mp3 is compressed but what exactly is missing from the original WAV file ?

 

[The_Lhc]

I respect all opinions. I would just like to know what the differences are..........I know the mp3 is compressed but what exactly is missing from the original WAV file ?

So why didn't you ask that question then?