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redfan
03-18-2005, 10:28 AM
There seem to be some audiophiles on this board... :D

I've got some stuff that is .wma, and I've got some stuff that is .mp3.
Other than my player seeming to like the extra track info in mp3 format, I'll be danged if I can hear the diff.

.rmj
.wma
.mp3
.mp4

Is the diff the sample rate? Or compression? I know about 1/2 a pinch of stuff regarding digital audio formats. Any help?

Simplex3
03-18-2005, 10:34 AM
http://www.cdburner.ca/digital-audio-formats-article/

I use mp3 simply because there aren't very many players that don't support it.

recycle
03-18-2005, 11:14 AM
MP3

Then getcha an MP3 player for your car, house. You'll wonder how you ever lived w/o it.

redfan
03-20-2005, 09:07 AM
Thanks for the link, Simplex3.

Baby Lee
03-20-2005, 09:19 AM
http://www.infoanarchy.org/wiki/index.php/Best_Compressed_Audio_Format

htismaqe
03-20-2005, 10:59 AM
WMA is a better format, IMO, because the file size is smaller than MP3 when using similar sampling settings...

Simplex3
03-20-2005, 11:49 AM
WMA is a better format, IMO, because the file size is smaller than MP3 when using similar sampling settings...
If your ears and equipment are good enough to hear the difference, wma is mostly supported these days. The issue for me is that MS keeps threatening to make the rights management stuff more intrusive and since it's a closed-source format they can do what they want. I refuse to be stuck with a format where the file can only be copied to or played from a certain number of devices.

Baby Lee
03-20-2005, 01:51 PM
If your ears and equipment are good enough to hear the difference, wma is mostly supported these days. The issue for me is that MS keeps threatening to make the rights management stuff more intrusive and since it's a closed-source format they can do what they want. I refuse to be stuck with a format where the file can only be copied to or played from a certain number of devices.
Particularly if the rights management requires an online connection.

htismaqe
03-22-2005, 06:45 AM
If your ears and equipment are good enough to hear the difference, wma is mostly supported these days. The issue for me is that MS keeps threatening to make the rights management stuff more intrusive and since it's a closed-source format they can do what they want. I refuse to be stuck with a format where the file can only be copied to or played from a certain number of devices.

That's a very good point.

Gaz
03-22-2005, 08:28 AM
I do not hear any difference between WMA & MP3 files. The free files on the internet are mostly MP3 and the files I buy from Wal-Mart.com are WMA. I hear a difference with OGG files. They sound clearer to me. However, you cannot go wrong with MP3, since it is so ubiquitous [think VHS format].

There are some lossless formats [Monkey’s Audio and such], but very few players that support them. OGG is making inroads in some players, but it is not lossless.

Personally, I prefer OGG, but YMMV.

Here is a very nice program for ripping in various formats:
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/

FWIW, I recently retired my Creative Nomad IIc [a moment of reverent silence, please]. I wanted a player that could handle MP3, WMA & OGG formats. After a long, LONG research period, the iRiver Ifp-790 beat out the Jet Audio G3 by a nose.

xoxo~
Gaz
Faces the daunting task of re-ripping his collection in OGG format.

htismaqe
03-22-2005, 08:57 AM
I can't hear a difference between MP3 and WMA either.

But I can SEE a difference. WMA files are considerably smaller when similar in quality.

the Talking Can
03-22-2005, 11:47 AM
I do not hear any difference between WMA & MP3 files. The free files on the internet are mostly MP3 and the files I buy from Wal-Mart.com are WMA. I hear a difference with OGG files. They sound clearer to me. However, you cannot go wrong with MP3, since it is so ubiquitous [think VHS format].

There are some lossless formats [Monkey’s Audio and such], but very few players that support them. OGG is making inroads in some players, but it is not lossless.

Personally, I prefer OGG, but YMMV.

Here is a very nice program for ripping in various formats:
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/

FWIW, I recently retired my Creative Nomad IIc [a moment of reverent silence, please]. I wanted a player that could handle MP3, WMA & OGG formats. After a long, LONG research period, the iRiver Ifp-790 beat out the Jet Audio G3 by a nose.

xoxo~
Gaz
Faces the daunting task of re-ripping his collection in OGG format.



thanks for that link, just what I've been looking for...

Gaz
03-22-2005, 12:38 PM
thanks for that link, just what I've been looking for...

Good program. I use it regularly.

xoxo~
Gaz
Filling up his hard drive at an alarming rate.

Lzen
03-22-2005, 01:33 PM
I can't hear a difference between MP3 and WMA either.

But I can SEE a difference. WMA files are considerably smaller when similar in quality.

Considerably? Are you sure about that? I don't seem to recall that big a difference. In any case, I prefer MP3s because my RCA Lyra player seems to make a popping noise at the beginning of songs in WMA format.

ChiefsFanatic
03-25-2005, 04:06 AM
flac

coin flip
03-25-2005, 09:50 AM
VBR (Varible rate) MP3s have the best quality of all that I have tried. I believe the "Lame" encoder can output in that format.