format question

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • BWLover
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2009
    • 552

    format question

    so i got a 1 month subscription to di.fm, i like electronic music sometimes. the subscription is for higher quality sound. so on each stream there is a choice of...

    256k MP3
    or
    128k AAC-Plus

    Now I plan on ripping some of this music, and would like to know which is better? My B&W's deserve the best i can get. Even if it is compressed. (which i dont normally put my speakers thru the stress of playing crap mp3's. But its a lot of good electronic music, and cheap.)

    Thanks
    16
    128K AAC-Plus
    31.25%
    5
    256k MP3
    68.75%
    11
    Bowers & Wilkins 683 Speakers
    Rotel RB-1090 2 Channel Amp
    Rotel RC-1082 Stereo Pre Amp
    Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player
    Pro-Ject Debut Carbon w/ Ortofon 2M Red (sitting on a piece of slate supported by 3 "solid tech feet of silence" isolation feet)
    Rotel RLC-1040 Power Conditioner
    Shynyata Research SR-Z1 Power Outlet & Venom 3 Power Cords x 4
    Tara Labs RSC Vector 1 Speaker Cables & Interconnects
    Pioneer PDP-5070HD 50" Plasma
    Playstation 3
    Shaw HD PVR
    Primacoustic Room Treatments
  • mjb
    Super Senior Member
    • Mar 2005
    • 1483

    #2
    AAC is very good. I've read a lot of tests and comparisons, and AAC supposed to be at least as good as the next bit rate up in MP3. So, 128 AAC is probably better than 192 MP3 and as good as 256 MP3. I know this is subjective, and people will probably argue about it forever, but if you're downloading the tracks, I'd tend to go for a smaller file size with the newer codec. Why not do some blind test rips and see if you can tell a difference?
    - Mike

    Main System:
    B&W 802D, HTM2D, SCMS
    Classé SSP-800, CA-2200, CA-5100

    Comment

    • MikeFL52
      Senior Member
      • Oct 2007
      • 118

      #3
      One better than 128 AAC would be 160 MP3. 192 is considered to be the minimum for most listening, 320 is probably indistinguishable from CD and so I would suggset that 256 MP3 is better than 128 AAC and pertty reasonable. There are not many music download sites (millisong offers 320 MP3) that offer better than this in a non lossless (FLAC, etc) format.

      Unless you are using a touch, iphone or one of the smaller ipods or other MP3 palyers or storage devices I would also think that storage size is not going to be too much of a consideration anymore.

      Comment

      • mjb
        Super Senior Member
        • Mar 2005
        • 1483

        #4
        Originally posted by MikeFL52
        One better than 128 AAC would be 160 MP3. 192 is considered to be the minimum for most listening, 320 is probably indistinguishable from CD and so I would suggset that 256 MP3 is better than 128 AAC and pertty reasonable.
        Yes, you're right, I missed 160 ops:
        Frankly, its been a while since I've used either. I rip everything with Apple Lossless.
        - Mike

        Main System:
        B&W 802D, HTM2D, SCMS
        Classé SSP-800, CA-2200, CA-5100

        Comment

        • BWLover
          Senior Member
          • Jan 2009
          • 552

          #5
          Thanks. The size of the file is not an issue. I'd rather not use any compression format. But for this type of music, i can get a lot of it for around $6 for a month. I just need to know which format is the superior sound quality. Everything else i have on my computer is AIFF.
          Bowers & Wilkins 683 Speakers
          Rotel RB-1090 2 Channel Amp
          Rotel RC-1082 Stereo Pre Amp
          Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player
          Pro-Ject Debut Carbon w/ Ortofon 2M Red (sitting on a piece of slate supported by 3 "solid tech feet of silence" isolation feet)
          Rotel RLC-1040 Power Conditioner
          Shynyata Research SR-Z1 Power Outlet & Venom 3 Power Cords x 4
          Tara Labs RSC Vector 1 Speaker Cables & Interconnects
          Pioneer PDP-5070HD 50" Plasma
          Playstation 3
          Shaw HD PVR
          Primacoustic Room Treatments

          Comment

          • emig5m
            Senior Member
            • Aug 2008
            • 646

            #6
            Well when I have to use compression my weapon of choice is 320kb/s constant bitrate using the LAME encoder. MP3 quality can vary so much depending on what encoder is used. I find the LAME encoder to be extremely good!

            http://www.alltunes.com/ lets you pick not only format, but also encoding quality. You can even choose between multiple lossless formats. And you pay per filesize so the lower the quality, the cheaper. This is the way online music sales should be! I really only use MP3 for my portable MP3 players anymore. Lossless FLAC for me...

            Comment

            • BWLover
              Senior Member
              • Jan 2009
              • 552

              #7
              Originally posted by emig5m
              Well when I have to use compression my weapon of choice is 320kb/s constant bitrate using the LAME encoder. MP3 quality can vary so much depending on what encoder is used. I find the LAME encoder to be extremely good!

              http://www.alltunes.com/ lets you pick not only format, but also encoding quality. You can even choose between multiple lossless formats. And you pay per filesize so the lower the quality, the cheaper. This is the way online music sales should be! I really only use MP3 for my portable MP3 players anymore. Lossless FLAC for me...
              so of the 2 choices i have from the website i am using 128k aac or 256k mp3, which would you choose to save. i am ripping the radio station to my hard drive.
              Bowers & Wilkins 683 Speakers
              Rotel RB-1090 2 Channel Amp
              Rotel RC-1082 Stereo Pre Amp
              Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player
              Pro-Ject Debut Carbon w/ Ortofon 2M Red (sitting on a piece of slate supported by 3 "solid tech feet of silence" isolation feet)
              Rotel RLC-1040 Power Conditioner
              Shynyata Research SR-Z1 Power Outlet & Venom 3 Power Cords x 4
              Tara Labs RSC Vector 1 Speaker Cables & Interconnects
              Pioneer PDP-5070HD 50" Plasma
              Playstation 3
              Shaw HD PVR
              Primacoustic Room Treatments

              Comment

              • aarsoe
                Senior Member
                • May 2004
                • 795

                #8
                I would argue that you should always go for the least compressed file. 10 years ago I was shooting a lot of pictures with digital cameras. Going back looking at these pictures today I am really glad that I did use the biggest file size - and yet still they look tiny compared to today's pictures.
                I expect the same will be happening to music. So if you want to keep it for a long time you should go with the bigger version - and that is the MP3 file.

                Comment

                • emig5m
                  Senior Member
                  • Aug 2008
                  • 646

                  #9
                  I agree. I would go with the higher bit rate MP3.

                  Comment

                  • theblue
                    Senior Member
                    • Dec 2009
                    • 116

                    #10
                    to directly answer your question, I would listen to both and see what sounds better to you. I guess/vote is the AAC.

                    to be totally honest... listen to DI and find things you like, but don't rip from there.

                    Either go steal a higher quality rip of what you find you like or buy the CD used from amazon then sell it after ripping.

                    (mods: don't ban me, he was already going to steal the music)
                    Marantz SR5002 (music fed by apple airport express via optical)
                    rotel RB-985 THX (4 channels bipowering fronts, 1 for the center)
                    B&W - 683, CDM-CNT, CDS3 (sides), DM601 (rears)
                    a combo of haveflex and audioquest cables.

                    Comment

                    • BWLover
                      Senior Member
                      • Jan 2009
                      • 552

                      #11
                      I am paying a monthly membership for the music. Getting Cd's is out of the question. I more use DI to find more artists (that i haven't herd of) in the electronic genres.
                      Bowers & Wilkins 683 Speakers
                      Rotel RB-1090 2 Channel Amp
                      Rotel RC-1082 Stereo Pre Amp
                      Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player
                      Pro-Ject Debut Carbon w/ Ortofon 2M Red (sitting on a piece of slate supported by 3 "solid tech feet of silence" isolation feet)
                      Rotel RLC-1040 Power Conditioner
                      Shynyata Research SR-Z1 Power Outlet & Venom 3 Power Cords x 4
                      Tara Labs RSC Vector 1 Speaker Cables & Interconnects
                      Pioneer PDP-5070HD 50" Plasma
                      Playstation 3
                      Shaw HD PVR
                      Primacoustic Room Treatments

                      Comment

                      • BWLover
                        Senior Member
                        • Jan 2009
                        • 552

                        #12
                        thank you much everyone
                        Bowers & Wilkins 683 Speakers
                        Rotel RB-1090 2 Channel Amp
                        Rotel RC-1082 Stereo Pre Amp
                        Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player
                        Pro-Ject Debut Carbon w/ Ortofon 2M Red (sitting on a piece of slate supported by 3 "solid tech feet of silence" isolation feet)
                        Rotel RLC-1040 Power Conditioner
                        Shynyata Research SR-Z1 Power Outlet & Venom 3 Power Cords x 4
                        Tara Labs RSC Vector 1 Speaker Cables & Interconnects
                        Pioneer PDP-5070HD 50" Plasma
                        Playstation 3
                        Shaw HD PVR
                        Primacoustic Room Treatments

                        Comment

                        Working...
                        😀
                        😂
                        🥰
                        😘
                        🤢
                        😎
                        😞
                        😡
                        👍
                        👎
                        Searching...Please wait.
                        An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because you have logged in since the previous page was loaded.

                        Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                        An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because the token has expired.

                        Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                        An internal error has occurred and the module cannot be displayed.
                        There are no results that meet this criteria.
                        Search Result for "|||"