Bit rate and quality of tracks we Dj.

ALF1NER · Post by **ALF1NER** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:38 am

What do u guys think is the highest type of audio and bit rate(320 kbps is what they have in beatport when u buy mp3) that u would recommend to use in live for a live gig? and what type ? i have heard of mp3, wav., aiff, apple lossless, and i am sure there are others. or as long as the sample rate is 44.100 kHz it doesnt matter?? also what is up with compressed and uncompressed audio whats the difference? just let me know what u guys use in live for a live gig. Thanks.

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:40 am

apples and oranges.

there are encoded audio formats like mp3, AAC and FLAC.

then there's the raw audio data as in wav, aiff and pcm.

for the latter 16 bit 44.1kHz is fine.

for the encoded formats, I don't know what's OK to play over a big ass PA.

hacktheplanet · Post by **hacktheplanet** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:37 am

I've heard DJs at bars on Serato playing 128kbps MP3s before. Yes, they sounded like shit. All my MP3s for DJing are at least 192, but I can definitely hear a difference between, say, 320 and 192. If it were possible, I would prefer all my audio files to be 16bit/44.1 .aiff. Someday, hopefully.

Punky921 · Post by **Punky921** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:57 am

While we notice when sound files are low quality, most people (particularly the top 40 crowd) won't notice or care. I try to use 320 when I can, but if it's simply not possible, I don't sweat it too much. I just EQ it a bit to keep the bass from muddying things up too much, and I usually bring up the highs a bit.

cressy · Post by **cressy** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 11:55 am

I do a bit of Ableton DJing, usually in one of two situations:

1 - A bar. Here I can't push the volume up too high, as otherwise people would be shouting at each other from across the table etc... But I have it loud enough that people can hear it, and I can mix it easily.

Cos the volume is not so high, and people are mostly having fun in the pub and not listening intently to every tune, no-one at all notices the difference between a high/low quality MP3/WAV

2 - Big rig in club/party. Here, it's LOUD. and because our ears aren't really designed to listen to stuff at this volume for any amount of time you quickly lose sensitivity. So in a club you got: people that are wasted, people that are not audiophiles/bedroom producers... No one can tell the difference!

I will qualify this by saying that I do notice a fair bit of defference between some MP3s. But I don't, in a pub or club, notice a difference between a decent MP3 and a 44khz Wav. And if an MP3 or WAV sounds a bit muddy/dodgy then I generally won't play it anyway.

Pepehouse · Post by **Pepehouse** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 12:48 am

320kbps is ok to play in clubs and also is what shops offer so why bother about it? I think the better the sound system the more noticiable is the difference, the crowd doesn't care because they can't compare 192/320 or whatever at that moment at the club but their ears get tired sooner and they leave before if the sound quality is bad.

QUAZAR · Post by **QUAZAR** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 12:22 am

me & my friends run a club in Amsterdam - Studio 80 - capacity 600 , great soundsystem.
my opinion: even a wasted crowd will hear the difference between a poor 192 kbps track and a 320 kbps one. people maybe won't say, or notice consciously that it doesn't sound good, but their response to the music is going to be less enthusiastic. they might even say they don't like the dj.
in a club with a proper soundsystem (playing loud) 192b kbps sounds thin, harsh and cheap.

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:01 am

I remember a blind study done with a group of dudes with "golden ears" in a club setting with a quality system running. the test was to see if they could figure out which track was mp3 and which track was wav, I believe there was even a vinyl and a cd track but I can't recall fully. they found that even these "golden ear" people couldn't figure out what was what

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:06 am

It's not always about the obvious differences in sound quality. Even though a crowd may not be able to discern between a well-encoded hi-fi 128kbps MP3 and a 16-bit AIFF, they'll be subconsciously aware that 'something' was better.

It's the same with video, lighting, or anything else. Each element may not 'wow' them directly, but the subtle synergy of everything working together does make a difference.

Obviousy, it also depends very much on the venue acoustics, sound system, crowd, and content.

the dark wizard · Post by **the dark wizard** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 12:48 pm

QUAZAR wrote:me & my friends run a club in Amsterdam - Studio 80 - capacity 600 , great soundsystem.
my opinion: even a wasted crowd will hear the difference between a poor 192 kbps track and a 320 kbps one. people maybe won't say, or notice consciously that it doesn't sound good, but their response to the music is going to be less enthusiastic. they might even say they don't like the dj.
in a club with a proper soundsystem (playing loud) 192b kbps sounds thin, harsh and cheap.

Im not buying this, if someone comes out a club and says they dont like the dj it probably because they are shit, or not to that particular persons tastes, the difference if a 128 to wav will not have that impact....

I say we get a challenge on the board where we stick up 4 clips or something of the same audio and see who's got the 'golden ears'.

I went to uni with this prick who said he could tell between resolution in clubs etc

I gave him 4 wav files all the same and told him to stick them in order, and guess what..he gave them an order

all the same ya dafty!!! haha