Zipping WAV files

[admin_exported]

Does anyone have any views on what affect zipping/compressing wav files has. This isn't the same as MP3 conversion, the orginal data can be 100% restored, there's just a small amount of computing power required to do it as the file is played ?

 

[VoodooDoctor]

Why don't you just use Lossless compression (i.e. FLAC or Apple Lossless)? It'll do exactly what you want.

 

[John Duncan]

FLAC, Apple Lossless and WMA Lossless are the same idea as ZIP - lossless compression of the data, which saves space but allows WAV-quality playback. iTunes will rip and play apple lossless (obv), FLAC is available from other media players like Foobar, EAC, dbPoweramp blah blah, and Windows Media Player will do WMA Lossless. They are all equivalent sonically* so it depends on your choice of media player and whether you want to stream it to another client, as not all wireless streamers support all lossless formats.

*discuss

 

[Anonymous]

Ahh, thanks didn't realise that. Its just I have a lot of wav files on my disk and windows can automatically (as part of file system) compress them. From my point of view thats handy. But will consider these others too.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Although windows may try to compress them, you will only lose about 1-2%, as the WAV file format is very tricky to compress. Lossless formats are the way to save storage...

 

[John Duncan]

Surfidea:Ahh, thanks didn't realise that. Its just I have a lot of wav files on my disk and windows can automatically (as part of file system) compress them. From my point of view thats handy. But will consider these others too.

Yeah file system compression isn't the way forward - if you use iTunes to play these WAVs (for example), and have rip rate changed to "Apple Lossless", you can right click on them and "Create Apple Lossless Version" - then you can delete the WAVs in the knowledge that the apple lossless versions provide bit-equivalent playback.

If you use another media player then it will almost certainly have an equivalent mechanism to create FLACs or WMA Lossless files.

 

[John Duncan]

(jinx)

 

[Anonymous]

thanks thats v.helpful - I'm using j.river and it has flac.

 

[Anonymous]

Would WAV files sound better than those of the lossless (compressed) variety (regardless whether Apple, FLAC, WMA, etc.)?

 

[John Duncan]

momo72:
Would WAV files sound better than those of the lossless (compressed) variety (regardless whether Apple, FLAC, WMA, etc.)?

No.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

To add a bit of meat to JD's answer, if you convert a WAV to Flac/Apple Lossless/WMA Lossless, and then back into WAV, the two WAV files should be identical...

 

[John Duncan]

So "No" then?