Audio Format Comparison help please

[o0o]

mp3-320
flac
wav

I understand that wav files are ideal but how audible is the difference between these 3 formats, please don't geek out, just a listening perspective is what I'm after. It seems like many record shops are offering titles with a choice of download and I'm just wondering how much the difference actually is in hearing?

[re.mark]

Flac is a lossless compression format, so similarly to wav there will be no artifacts.
mp3 is lossy, therefore there are artifacts, but the general consensus is that the audible artifacts are negligible.
edit: oops u said please dont geek out aha, autopilot here sorry.

Flac - Wav, no difference,
Flac - mp320 / Wav - mp320, to most ears un-noticable.

[DiamondCasanova]

As far .wav is concerned, you should only think of these types of files as your recording masters, not for general distribution.

So if you're going to take your tracks to a CD duplicator, use the highest format that they support probably .wav 16-bit @ 44.1Khz (or 48.1Khz - I forget).
General recommendation for most recordings would be 24-bit @ 48.1Khz.
(.wav is totally uncompressed audio.)

For distribution to the web, mp3 player, etc, just use the compression settings best suited for the application which is measured in Kbps (Kilobits per second).

[synnack]

As far .wav is concerned, you should only think of these types of files as your recording masters, not for general distribution.

Why's that? File size would be the only reason you'd say that but there are many labels selling the wav's. bleep.com is a good example. For people who want to buy "Lossless" FLAC is not ideal since it does not natively work in iTunes or Windows Media Player (like it or not that's what most potential customers use)

So if you're going to take your tracks to a CD duplicator, use the highest format that they support probably .wav 16-bit @ 44.1Khz (or 48.1Khz - I forget).
.

CD master must be 44.1/16.

[o0o]

yes I'm trying to figure out the best way to buy music and store it as well as sample libraries and I primarily use itunes and ipod for organizing and playing.
if I get Flac files and I use a converter to convert them to wavs would there be any loss in quality from this method? what is the best way to keep the quality and still be able to use itunes and ipod.

your repsonses are great and timely

[Tone Deft]

FLAC <-> WAV = no loss.
WAV is the data right off the D/A converter, raw PCM, pretty much the same as AIFF (AIFF is Mac, WAV is rest of the world.)

FLAC packs the audio data in an efficient way, much like a .zip file. its encoder works by looking for patterns in the audio and repeated chunks of audio and compressing the data without throwing any data out. it's LOSSLESS. FLAC makes for smaller file sizes than wav/aiff so it's often used by audiophiles to archive audio but the file size is significantly larger than mp3. exactly how much larger depends on the source material.

mp3 is lossy 'perceptual encoder,' (no geek rants!) the quality depends entirely on the encoder and decoder used. I would buy a song you know and love from a site and listen to it to see if their library is well encoded.

I buy CDs not mp3s so I can't say from experience but I know I've never noticed people saying that such and such site has poor mp3 encoders, that would be a dumb business model.

for my library I settle on 192kbps, anything lower has artifacts that drive me bonkers, I mostly hear warbling effects and a loss of 'sheen' to the track. when I want to hear an album in a great format, I put on the CD. for walking down a city street or listening in the car mp3 is more than fine.

maybe you could ask 'what download store has good/bad audio quality?'

[synnack]

yes I'm trying to figure out the best way to buy music and store it as well as sample libraries and I primarily use itunes and ipod for organizing and playing.
if I get Flac files and I use a converter to convert them to wavs would there be any loss in quality from this method? what is the best way to keep the quality and still be able to use itunes and ipod.

your repsonses are great and timely

I'd go ALAC then. Lossless just like FLAC but fully supported in iTunes and iPod.

[o0o]

yes I'm trying to figure out the best way to buy music and store it as well as sample libraries and I primarily use itunes and ipod for organizing and playing.
if I get Flac files and I use a converter to convert them to wavs would there be any loss in quality from this method? what is the best way to keep the quality and still be able to use itunes and ipod.

your repsonses are great and timely

I'd go ALAC then. Lossless just like FLAC but fully supported in iTunes and iPod.

?Alac what is this format can I convert from flac to this format? if this works in itunes and on my ipod that would be perfect.

Mr. Deft thanks for the lesson I want to be an audiophile, maybe I should encode in flac and play in Alac

[synnack]

ALAC is "Apple Lossless"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lossless