As a rule, today the term "audio" refers to everything that is connected with sound, be it playback, processing, mixing, mastering or listening to recordings. But few people know that since their inception, audio formats have constantly undergone many significant changes, sometimes for the better, then for the worse. The trouble is that compared to the original formats, the creators of the new formats tried to improve the sound quality, and this invariably affected the size of the played file. Reducing the size, on the contrary, led to a loss of quality. But it was not always so.
The first audio format in computer games
The very first mention of computer sound came from the creation of primitive games at that time, in which the sound was reproduced through the system speaker. But no matter how hard the developers of such software (software), the required quality, compatible with reel or cassette tape recorders or records, could not be achieved.
That is why many manufacturers have started looking for solutions on how to change the audio format so that the sound is natural. Quite frankly, this has led to further competition that we have now. This applies not only to the material being reproduced, but also to studio sound, live performances, quality or setting of basic parameters in terms of knowledge of physics, acoustics, etc.
The emergence of the WAV format
It is believed that the first full-fledged quality of audio formats was associated with the emergence of the standard and file extension .wav (such an abbreviation was formed from the English word "wave" or wave). Just the same, he became the firstborn who could be processed in computer programs at a professional level.
Such files already had their own characteristics: sampling rate, sound depth, bit rate, and much more. This sound was even compatible with what could be obtained after processing a conventional audio CD using certain instruments such as a conventional equalizer. But the size was clearly unjustified. For example, a three-minute track could take from 20 to 50 MB.
CD-disks
The audio CD format, or rather the .cda extension, appeared at almost the same time.
Unlike "wave" files saved on the hard drive, it cannot be edited. Today it can be opened in an audio processing program, changed the format by audio transcoding, and saved anywhere other than a CD.
MP3 codec
With the advent of the LAME MP3 Encoder codec, the music industry experienced a real shock, because such files "weighed" dozens of times less than the same WAV file. Even a five-minute composition at maximum compression rarely exceeds the size of 5-7 MB. Agree, a significant breakthrough, not to mention the fact, allowed not only to adjust the above characteristics, but also some additional parameters in the form of ID3 tags, which contained information, say, about the artist, the name of the album and tracks, the release date.
This type has become the most popular. Look, almost the entire Internet is filled with this universal format. In general, we can say that the audio format in MP3 has become a real revolution in sound. It remains one of the most popular and most requested so far, despite the fact that it is being replaced by other types of audio. But more on that later.
AIFF files
Audio formats have another flair. The so-called .aiff format was originally created for use on Macintosh computer systems.
Only much later there was a transformation that predetermined the compatibility of audio formats with their use on platforms of different operating systems.
OGG format
Music in audio.ogg format is also quite common. This standard was developed by Vorbis. However, it should be noted that it has a number of significant disadvantages. Firstly, it is an unreasonable load on the system resources of the computer, despite the minimum size. Secondly, the use of its own codecs and decoders, which the system may not automatically install. For example, when working in the FL Studio Producer Edition (or XXL) program in versions below 9.xx, there was a folder with an installation file in the .inf format, which had to be activated for installation after installing the main application manually (otherwise, presets in this format simply would not were played).
Nevertheless, these types of audio formats are now found, and the sound itself looks very good.
AMR standard
As for this format, it is perhaps one of the lowest-quality ones. Its origin is connected with the appearance of the first clumsy mobile phones, which still could not set ringtones in the .mp3 format for ringing.
AMR was then still able to replace natural sound with a certain amount of loss in quality. But this quality cannot be compared with what is offered by more "advanced" formats.
MIDI
Oddly enough, MIDI can also be attributed to what is commonly called "audio formats". Although it is generally accepted (and many, in fact, still think so) that the MIDI system is just a set of commands, one can argue with that. Decoding the abbreviation MIDI is, Actually, a system for recording and editing certain keystrokes, pitch, tempo, key, effects, etc.
However, there are files with the .mid or.midi extension that can be played back quite simply in modern sequencers or studio recording software using the standard set of GM (General MIDI), GS (which is the same) sounds from Roland or XG (Extended MIDI) from Yamaha Corporation. The first two sets contain 128 standard sounds, not counting effects, while the third contains almost three times more.
FLAC
Now we come to one of the most modern and unique formats of our time. Music in FLAC audio format is gaining popularity today. This is due to the quality that true music lovers pay attention to, first of all.
If you look at it, this format was created on the basis of the already known MP3. But if the distribution into separate tracks was previously used, in this format there is no such thing (for the time being, for the time being). The structure consists of one or two files, one of which is informational. Only specialized software audio players can reproduce this format. The most famous can be called AIMP. Only when the main file is opened does the list of tracks recorded in the main container appear. In such a player, switching between tracks is done in the same way as in any other. But there is no possibility of accidental deletion of a particular composition (as already mentioned, information about them is contained in a single file).
Format compatibility
Naturally, all audio formats are compatible with each other today. In other words, any standard home DVD player or software player can handle this effortlessly. The same is true for sound processing programs. Semi-professional and professional programs recognize all formats known today (even despite the specifics of operating systems). Audio editors, sequencers, additional modules such as VST, RTAS (for Windows systems) or AU (for Mac OS X) are able to work with these formats in the so-called cross-platform mode.
Format conversion
There are several ways to change audio. For example, you can open the "native" format and save the file in a different one. You can do it even easier. There are special converters for this. In them, you can simply load the desired initial format file from the list, and then simply select the final one. As they say, nothing at all.
Sound quality processing
Another thing is when the question is about changing some of the frequency of the original file. Here you cannot do without specialized software packages. It is with their help that you can change the quality of audio files. In this case, you can change not only the standard sampling rate of 44100 Hz, increasing it, say, up to 96000 Hz, but also adjust the depth from the same 16 to 24 or 32 bits. And we are not talking about the fact that you can also adjust the bit rate, that is, the reproducible bandwidth, expressed in kilobits per second. The standard value is considered to be 128 kbps. The bitrate can be changed at your discretion, but the best sound quality is achieved at around 320 kbps. Of course, not everyone is able to tell the difference between standard sound and maximum performance. Nevertheless, it is worth trying once to play an audio track with different data on good equipment. Here the difference will not keep you waiting.
Moreover, in addition to all these parameters, you can edit and much more. What is the use of software equalizers, limiters, compressors, crossovers, normalizers, de-essers, etc., etc. Each such module allows you to customize the sound, as they say, "for yourself." And absolutely all formats known today can be processed by programs of this type.
Final comparison
Let's try to make some kind of comparison between the formats used (although this is far from all there is in the world of sound).
So! Although the WAV format is "heavyweight", it can still be used as intermediate files for subsequent conversion in some audio reactors. These types of audio file formats are most often found when saving open projects or when recording live instruments in the studio. It is clear that the sequencer will then process the incoming information in the form of an audio stream. And then you can change the format of the audio file or save it as a preset or track as you like.
Formats such as audio discs are also outdated today. Considering AIFF or OGG, they are best used in virtual studios. There is no need to talk about the AMR format at all. MIDI is only useful for musicians who know a lot about it.
It is believed that the best audio format today is still FLAC. According to many experts and musicians, it is not only the most "advanced", but even revolutionary in comparison with what has existed or exists today.
However, it should be noted that MP3 cannot be discounted either, because almost all encoded sound on the same DVDs or MKV files is in this format. The only difference is in the version of the codec and decoder. But the audio and video industry does not stand still in its development. It is very likely that we will soon see something else new.
Good day to all, my dear friends. You know? I recently overheard a few friends talking about audio formats here. And one of them, foaming at the mouth, argued that by far the best audio format is MP3. Well, the guys laughed at him, and in an amicable way, right. What MP3? Well that's really not true.
Let me just tell you today what the highest quality music format we have at the moment.
In today's world, you can find a huge number of different sound extensions. Let's remember at a glance:
- MP3 (Well, where without it?)
- And many others
Of course, each of these formats are good, especially MP3, which is probably the most popular format. But today we are not talking about popularity. MP3 and other similar formats, no matter how well they sound, are compressed originals. And even if you set the maximum quality to 320 btrate, it will still not be of the highest quality. It was compressed, reduced, so there will be certain losses.
WAVE
Well, now let's talk about why we are gathered here. Of course, the highest quality audio format is WAVE (WAV). And why? Because this format is a kind of container that stores sound in an uncompressed form. That is why the sound will be of maximum quality.
Of course, you have to pay for the quality, since WAV takes up pretty decent disk space. And if a 4-minute track recorded in mp3 can fit into 2-4 megabytes, then the same track, only in Wav, will take 40 MB (1 minute takes about 10 MB). Nice difference, right?
Although, if for garlic, then you will not see the difference. Of course, if you are not a sound engineer to the core. I bet that if you put WAV and MP3 (320 kbs) in front of you and close your eyes, then you will not guess where that lies (only if by chance).
FLAC
Thought I was done? And here are the figurines! I could not finish my story so easily, because I almost forgot about another container format, namely FLAC ( Free Lossless Audio Codec). And why did I mark it? And then the fact that it is compressed, but due to the fact that not a single gram of information is removed from the audio stream, it is the same quality as WAVE, although it occupies a smaller size.
In addition, today FLAC is actively used in many media players, which makes it even more popular. So this is a great option for those who want to keep quality and size down (oh, everyone wants it).
Best regards, Dmitry Kostin
It is the primary audio format for many, many digital audio playback systems and is used as the standard audio file format in personal computers. In addition, it has a solid set of specifications, which has grown considerably in recent years. Its full name is Microsoft RIFF / WAVE - Resource Interchange File Format / Wave - Resource Interchange File Format / Waveform, and it was created by Microsoft and Intel engineers. In turn, WAV stands for Waveform Audio File Format.
WavPack (extension .WV)
WavPack also includes a unique "hybrid" mode that provides all the benefits of lossless compression with the added bonus of creating a relatively small, high quality, lossy (.wv) file instead of creating a single file that can be played on its own, and a "correction" file (.wvc), which (in combination with the previous .wv) allows you to completely restore the original. For some users, this means they never have to choose between lossless and lossy compression.
The format has very good player support. In addition, of course, the plug-in for Winamp from the official site of the codec http://www.wavpack.com, you can download plug-ins for Adobe Audition (!) And Nero Burning Rom. There is a great plugin for XMMS - the Winamp analogue for Linux. In addition, there is a project for the development of DirectShow filters for WavPack - this will allow using the format in any Windows program, including Windows Media Player. You can download the latest version from here. There is a third-party frontend for WavPack. Download it here.
From a technical point of view, there is also nothing to complain about. Multi-channel audio is supported, 32-bit audio stream resolution, sampling frequency - up to 192 kHz (!).
The format, like the source codes of the compression program, are open source. Unfortunately, the coder is compiled only for the Windows platform, but there is always the possibility to independently recompile the available source codes for your operating system.
The site, like the codec itself, is regularly updated, which is good news.
DTS - Digital Theater System, in fact, is Dolby Digital, or rather its competitor. DTS uses a lower compression rate than Dolby, so it actually sounds better, as proven by DVDs that have DTS or DD tracks. DTS in home theaters uses a maximum bitrate of 1,536 kbps (full bitrate), this sound is better than the AC-3 format from Dolby Digital. DTS - uses 6 free audio tracks and supports a 7.1 sound distribution system, with this bitrate DTS 4.0 - will sound as surround as Dolby 5.1.
Windows Media Audio (WMA)
A licensed file format developed by Microsoft for storing and broadcasting audio information.
Nominally, the WMA format is characterized by good compression ability, which allows it to "bypass" the MP3 format and compete in parameters with the Ogg Vorbis and AAC formats. But as it was shown by independent tests, as well as by subjective assessment, the quality of the formats is still not unambiguously equivalent, and the advantage even over MP3 is unambiguous, as stated by Microsoft.
The codec is part of the Windows Media Audio suite. It is free, but the format, as well as the encoding program, are proprietary. Of course, the version only exists for the Windows platform.
Basically, WMA Lossless supports all the necessary functions: tags, high sampling rates, multi-channel audio (including 7.1), streaming audio over a network, etc. In addition, the built-in decoder support in Windows Media Player eliminates the need to download anything from the Internet to play a music file.
MP3 - (MPEG audio track coding format) is a licensed file format for storing audio information.
The most popular compression format today. The MP3 (MPEG Layer 3) format was developed, after a number of intermediate formats, by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. Actually, the .MP3 format is based on tricking the human ear. After some research, it turned out that the human hearing tends to adapt to the appearance of new sounds, which is expressed in an increase in the hearing threshold. Therefore, some sounds are capable of masking (that is, making them subjectively inaudible) others. So in this format, some of the sounds that, according to the corresponding theory, are made inaudible, are simply removed from the general sound. Then the resulting "semi-finished product" is encoded using the Hoffman method. It should be borne in mind that in the MP3 format, programs that compress sound from the original are not standardized, that is, every competent programmer can implement his own compression scheme. And only decoders obey the standards, which leads to the fact that the quality of MP3 playback does not always depend on the player playing this file. Due to the different abilities and predilections of the implementers of various coders, some of them are better at dealing with symphonic music, others with rock and metal, others with rap and rave, and so on.
JointStereo, which is one of the features of MP3, means that instead of encoding stereo as two independent channels, it encodes the so-called. center channel and the difference from the original stereo channels. Quite a lot of audio components in stereo channels are the same, and their encoding in the common channel allows you to free up additional bandwidth for more detailed encoding of the difference, which leads to some improvement in quality.
Be sure to mention the Variable Bit Rate, or VBR. This means that the encoder changes the compression ratio on the fly, depending on the nature of the sound. This approach results in a smaller overall file size or, if the quality requirements increase, for the same file size, it produces a better sound.
Introduced in 2001, the MP3 Pro codec was developed by Coding Technologies in partnership with Thomson Multimedia. It is based on MP3. It uses SBR (Spectral Band Replication) technology, due to which the codec provides good quality at low bit rates. However, the coding quality at medium to high bit rates is inferior to that of almost all other codecs. As a result, MP3 Pro is used more for broadcasting on the Internet and demonstrating fragments of new musical compositions.
Vorbis is a free, lossy audio compression format that was officially released in the summer of 2002. The psychoacoustic model used in Vorbis is similar in principle to MP3 and the like, but the mathematical processing and practical implementation of this model are significantly different, which allowed the authors to declare their format completely independent from all predecessors. The most commonly used Ogg media container for storing Vorbis audio data is the .ogg file and is called the Ogg Vorbis double name.
In 2006, it is much less widespread than MP3. By all accounts, it is the second most popular lossy audio compression format. It is widely used in computer games and file-sharing networks for the transfer of musical works.
Vorbis employs a higher quality psychoacoustic model than its competitors, giving better fidelity at the same stream density.
The format does not restrict the user to only two audio channels (stereo - left and right). It supports up to 255 individual channels at up to 192 kHz sampling rate and 32-bit bit rate (which no other lossy compression format can do), making Vorbis great for encoding 6-channel DVD-Audio audio.
In addition, the Vorbis format is “sample accurate”. This ensures that the audio data before encoding and after decoding will not have any offsets, extra samples or lost samples. This is easy to appreciate when you are encoding non-stop music (where one track gradually fades into another) - as a result, the integrity of the sound will be preserved.
The format was originally designed with streaming capabilities. This gives the format a rather useful side effect - multiple songs can be stored in a single file with their own tags. When loading such a file into the player, all the songs should be displayed as if they were loaded from several different files.
The format has a flexible tagging system. The tag header is easily expandable to include lyrics of any length and complexity (such as song lyrics) interspersed with images (such as an album cover photo). Text tags are stored in UTF-8, which allows you to write in multiple languages at the same time and eliminates possible encoding issues.
Ogg Vorbis uses a variable bitrate by default, while the latter is not limited to any hard values, and it can vary even by 1 kbps. It should be noted that the maximum bitrate is not strictly limited by the format, and at maximum encoding settings it can vary from 400 kbps to 700 kbps. The sampling rate has the same flexibility - users have any choice from 2 kHz to 192 kHz.
Vorbis was developed by the Xiphophorus community to replace all paid proprietary audio formats. Despite the fact that this is the youngest format of all MP3 competitors, Ogg Vorbis has full support on all known platforms (Microsoft Windows, GNU / Linux, MacOS, PocketPC, Palm, Symbian, DOS, FreeBSD, BeOS, etc.), as well as a large number of hardware implementations. Popularity today far exceeds all alternative solutions.
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) is a popular free codec for audio compression. Unlike Ogg Vorbis, MP3 and AAC lossy codecs, it does not remove any information from the audio stream and is suitable both for daily listening and for archiving the audio collection. Today the FLAC format is supported by many audio applications.
FLAC is a member of the Xiph.Org family of codecs. By the way, it also includes the well-known ogg vorbis - one of the best lossy music compression algorithms. As a container for audio data, of course, OGG (files with the .ogg extension) and another open-source container - Matroska (files with the .mka extension) are used.
It should be noted right away that both the format and the FLAC algorithm are completely open. They are not patented, so they can be used completely free of charge in any programs. This is the reason for the wide support for FLAC in players - any serious player has a plug-in for FLAC. In addition, there are hardware mp3-players with support for the FLAC codec.
FLAC supports tags in its own format “FlacTags”. There is a possibility of multi-channel audio encoding - a serious advantage over Monkey's Audio. The format supports any sampling rate in the range from 1 Hz (!) To 65.535 Hz. Audio bit depth from 4 (!) To 32 bits.
It is believed that in comparison with other lossless codecs, FLAC is the most efficient use of system resources when decoding (playing) audio. Unfortunately, this is achieved at the expense of a significant increase in encoding (compression) time.
The FLAC website is regularly updated, new versions of the codec are released. In general, FLAC is undoubtedly the leader in terms of development activity. It is possible that this will make it the main format in the future.
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is an audio file format with less loss of quality when encoding than MP3 at the same size. The format also allows you to compress without losing quality of the source (ALAC AAC profile).
AAC was originally created as a successor to MP3 with improved encoding quality. The AAC format, officially known as ISO / IEC 13818-7, was released in 1997 as the seventh new part of the MPEG-2 family. There is also the AAC format known as MPEG-4 Part 3.
This file type is standard for Apple Macintosh systems and audio systems based on it. Apple AIFF stands for Audio Interchange File Format - an audio interchange file format, it is somewhat similar to WAV. Its peculiarity is that it allows you to place additional information along with the sound wave, in particular, WaveTable samples (examples of instrument sounds together with synthesizer parameters), which improves the quality of the final result. Although at present Apple computers are capable of playing files of almost any format, including MP3.
Sometimes companies create their own proprietary formats that only their own players support. Apple Lossless was created by the eponymous company for the iPod as an alternative to FLAC used on other iPods. If you don't use an iPod, you may never come across this format.
Monkey "s Audio (APE)
Monkey "s Audio or APE (from English ape - monkey) is a popular lossless digital audio encoding format. Distributed free of charge along with open source and a set of software for encoding and playback, as well as plugins for popular players. Monkey's Audio files use the following extensions: .ape for storing audio and .apl for storing metadata. Despite being open source, Monkey's Audio is not free, as its license imposes significant restrictions on its use.
The average bitrate in an audio file is 600-700 kbps; compare to 128 kbps in Mp3. The average compression is 40-50%, depending on the genre of music: if classical or jazz pieces are compressed in the best way, then compositions in the style of trash-metal or something similar "electronic noise" will show the worst result. For lossy codecs with acceptable quality, the compression is about 80%.
There are four levels of compression. Maximum compression may seem like the only correct solution, even though the compression time is quite long. However, one must also take into account the resource consumption of the system playing the file - for the most compressed file it is relatively high.
The .APE format provides tagging support for finding songs in your music collection. Another plus is the file integrity check during decoding. Recover original wav file from compressed .APE is supported.
Monkey's Audio has a graphical frontend for Windows, in other words, a convenient window program for managing the encoding process. The rest of the codecs require the use of the command line or third party frontends. The best part is that Monkey's Audio frontend can be used with other codecs - Rkau, Wavpack, Shorten and even lossy mp3 and ogg vorbis codecs.
A little about the disadvantages. Monkey's Audio codec only exists under Windows. However, the site says that "Mac and Linux versions are already being developed." By the way, the site itself has not been updated for a long time, which is not a good sign. There is also no support among hardware player manufacturers.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard for hardware and software that allows you to play (and record) music by executing / recording special commands, as well as the format of files containing such commands. The playback device or program is called a MIDI synthesizer (sequencer) and is actually an automatic musical instrument.
Unlike other formats, it does not store the digitized sound, but sets of commands (played notes, links to playing instruments, values of variable sound parameters), which can be played differently depending on the playback device. Convenience of the MIDI format as a data representation format allows realizing devices that produce automatic arrangement according to given chords, as well as 3D sound visualization applications. In addition, these files tend to be orders of magnitude smaller than digitized audio of comparable quality.
The article is taken from the site cjcity.fdstar.ruWe'll take a look at the various audio file formats:
WAVE (.wav) is the most widely used audio format. Used in Windows OC to store sound files. It is based on the RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format) format, which allows you to save arbitrary data in a structured form. Various compression methods are used to record audio because audio files are large in size. The simplest compression method is Pulse Code Modulation (PCM), but it does not provide good enough compression.
AU (.au, .snd)- the audio file format used by Sun workstations (.au) and the NeXT operating system (.snd). It became widespread on the Internet, at an early stage of development of which it played the role of a standard format for audio information.
MPEG-3 (.mp3)- the format of sound files, one of the most popular today. It was designed to store sounds other than human speech. Used to digitize music recordings. Previous versions of the format: MP1 and MP2. When coding, psychoacoustic compression is used, in which sounds that are poorly perceived by the human ear are removed from the melody. Earlier versions provide worse compression, but are less demanding on computer resources during playback. The characteristics of the processor directly affect the sound quality - the weaker the processor, the greater the sound distortion.
MIDI (.mid)- Musical Instrument Digital Interface. This standard was developed in the early 1980s for electronic musical instruments and computers. MIDI defines the exchange of data between musical and sound synthesizers from different manufacturers. MIDI is a protocol for transmitting musical notes and melodies. But MIDI data is not digital sound - it is an abbreviated form of recording music in numerical form. A MIDI file is a sequence of commands that record actions, such as pressing a key on the piano or turning a knob. These commands sent to the MIDI playback device control the sound, a small MIDI message can cause a sound or sequence of sounds to be played on a musical instrument or synthesizer, so MIDI files are smaller (sound units per second) than equivalent digitized files. sound.
MOD (.mod)- a music format, it stores samples of the digitized sound, which can then be used as templates for individual notes. Files in this format begin with a set of sound samples, followed by notes and duration information. Each note is played using one of the sound patterns shown at the beginning. This file is relatively small and has a note-based structure. This makes it easier to edit with programs that simulate traditional music recording. It, unlike a MIDI file, completely defines the sound, which allows it to be played on any computer platform.
IFF (.iff)- Interchange File Format - a format originally developed for the Amiga computer platform. Now also used on CDs in CD-I form. Its structure is very similar to that of the RIFF format.
AIFF (.aiff) - Audio Interchange File Format - a format for exchanging audio data, used on Silicon Graphics and Mac computer platforms. Much like the Wave format, but unlike it, it allows the use of digitized sound and templates. Many programs are capable of opening files in this format.
RealAudio (.ra, .ram) is a format designed for real-time audio playback on the Internet. Developed by Real Networks (www.real.com). The resulting quality, at best, corresponds to a mediocre audio cassette; for high-quality recording of musical works, the use of the mp3 format is more preferable.
Compressed using special lossless audio codecs, it can be restored with absolute precision if desired.
If you take an ordinary Audio CD disc with analog sound, burn it in WAV format for sound without compression, then compress WAV using the lossless codec, then decompress the resulting audio file into WAV and record the result on a blank CD, you can get two completely identical Audio CD.
The advantage of lossless for storing an audio collection is that the quality of the recordings is much higher than that of lossy codecs, and they take up less space than uncompressed audio. True, lossy files are smaller in size than lossless music files. Most modern player software understands the lossless format. Those programs that are not able to play it can easily learn it using the lossless plugin. What are lossless audio formats?
Lossless audio formats
A true music lover is unlikely to be satisfied with the sound of music recorded in Ogg Vorbis or MP3 compression formats. Of course, if you listen to audio recordings on household audio equipment, the sound flaws cannot be perceived by ear, but if you try to play a compressed file on high-quality Hi-Fi equipment, you will immediately find the sound flaws. Of course, creating a collection of quality music on CD or vinyl is not easy. There is a reasonable alternative to this path for lovers of high-quality sound - lossless music. It can be stored on your PC in a form that allows you to keep the original music settings unchanged, even if compression is applied. This way simultaneously solves the problems of high quality music and its compact storage, because audio equipment for listening (headphones, speakers, amplifiers) is quite affordable.
Uncompressed lossless audio formats:
- CDDA is an audio CD standard;
- WAV - Microsoft Wave;
- IFF-8SVX;
- IFF-16SV;
- AIFF;
Compressed formats:
- FLAC;
- APE - Monkey's Audio;
- M4A - Apple Lossless - high-quality music format from Apple;
- WV - WavPack;
- WMA - Windows Media Audio 9;
- TTA - True Audio.
- LPAC;
- OFR - OptimFROG;
- RKA - RKAU;
- SHN - Shorten.
FLAC format
The most common format is the format It differs from lossy audio codecs in that no data is removed from the audio stream when it is used. This makes it possible to successfully use it for playing music on Hi-Fi and Hi-End equipment, as well as for creating an archive of a collection of audio recordings.
The great advantage of the format is its free distribution. This is important for musicians who record music on their own. The format has recently gained a lot of popularity, thanks to which its support is included in the vast majority of media players.
APE format
Unlike FLAC, for the APE format there are only codecs and plugins for the Windows platform. For other platforms, expensive third-party software solutions are available. The algorithm is able to achieve lossless compression of audio information by about 1.5-2 times. It includes three main stages of encoding, of which only one is based on the use of properties inherent in sound for compression. The rest are similar to conventional archivers. Despite the fact that the compression algorithm is distributed free of charge, the license restrictions are such that it is practically inaccessible to amateur musicians.
Apple Lossless format
High quality lossless music can be listened to using the audio compression codec without sacrificing quality from Apple. This format was developed by Apple for use in its own devices. The format is compatible with iPods with special dock connectors and the latest firmware. The format does not use a specific rights management (DRM) toolkit, but the container format contains such capabilities. It is also supported by QuickTime and is included as a feature in iTunes.
The format is part of the freely available libraries, which makes it possible to organize listening to files in Windows applications. In 2011, Apple released the source codes for the format, which opens up broad prospects for the codec. In the future, it can seriously compete with other formats. The tests showed good results. Compressed files range in size from 40-60% of the originals. The decoding speed is also impressive, which justifies its use for mobile devices, the performance of which is not high.
One of the disadvantages of the codec is that the extension of the audio files matches the audio codec. This leads to confusion, because AAC is not a high quality music format. Therefore, it was decided to store the data in an MP4 container with the .m4a extension.
Other formats worth mentioning are Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless, which is part of the Windows Media application. It works with Windows and Mac OS X. However, users are not very positive about it. There are often problems with the compatibility of the codec, and the number of supported channels is limited to six.
WavPack format
WavPack is another free audio codec that compresses audio information without loss of quality. WavPack integrates an exclusive combo mode that allows you to create two files. One of the files in this mode is created with a relatively small loss of quality. Wv, which you can play on your own. The second file ".wvc" corrects the previous ".wv" and in combination with it makes it possible to restore the original in full. To some users, this approach may seem promising, because there is no need to choose between two types of compression - both will always be implemented.
Also noteworthy is the lagarith lossless codec video codec with high quality audio. It works quickly and efficiently.
Lossless audio listening software
Software players did not immediately learn to work with specific lossless codecs, which can reproduce sound without loss.
WinAmp player
Able to handle almost all lossless quality music playback formats lossless. What is a good lossless player can be understood from its example. It is able to correctly handle the processing of individual tracks in lossless format. This is a common problem with FLAC or APE codecs. It consists in the fact that the entire audio disc is digitized at once and recorded in one file without dividing into tracks. An additional file with the extension .cue is intended to solve the problem of splitting into tracks. It contains a description of the access parameters for each track on the album. An ordinary player plays the entire lossless file in its entirety. The player for lossless AIMP perfectly reproduces most of the audio formats and recognizes tracks in a lossless file format.
Lossless digital players
Users speak well of digital players jetAudio, Foobar2000, Spider Player. There are no fundamental differences between them. The choice of any device is based on the subjective opinion of the music lover about the convenience of the interface for lossless playback. You can find out what lossless format is by testing these players.
Apple Lossless format is played using iTunes. In addition, this codec is supported by the popular VLC video player.
The owners of Apple compatible computers can use two interesting programs: Vox and Cog.
They support such lossless formats:
- Apple Lossless;
- FLAC;
- Monkeys Audio;
- Wavpack.
In addition to this, there are many useful features, for example, Last.fm services are supported.
Windows PC owners can use any application that is compatible with lossless music codecs: Foobar2000 or WinAmp. Winamp requires special plugins. Lossless music plays well on iTunes and KMPlayer. An advantage of iTunes that is not found in other players is the ability to support tags.
Lossless compatible devices
It is unlikely that the owner of the music library wants to spend time converting files from FLAC to MP3 so that he can listen to the recordings on his gadget. A smartphone or tablet has limited capabilities that cannot be compared with a computer, but nevertheless, many of the mobile devices play lossless formats.
For example, owners of Android devices can use the andLess player. It is capable of playing files in FLAC, APE, uncompressed WAV and other formats supported by Android.
The situation with the owners of devices based on the Blackberry platform is worse. Only the owners of the Bold 9000 and 8900 and later models can listen to the lossless format.
Owners of Apple devices can use the ALAC codec without any problems. It is supported by iPod (except shuffle), iPhone and iPad. For the FLAC format, you can download the FLAC Player from the App Store.
FLAC is supported by Samsung Galaxy devices, some Sony Ericsson smartphones and iriver players.
Got FLAC support and stationary devices from many manufacturers. Media players and media centers allow you to do without a personal computer when listening to songs without losing quality.
It is still far from full support for absolutely all formats, but it is quite enough that the media player understands the FLAC codec - the most common codec for high-quality lossless music. What is lossless playback equipment?
Listening equipment
To get real pleasure from sound quality, you need special equipment: headphones, amplifiers, speakers. The easiest way, of course, is with headphones. If you intend to enjoy music while sitting at your computer, these are the best fit. The users speak well of the products of the Koss and Sennheiser companies. Particular attention should be paid to the size of the membrane. The larger it is, the better the sound. It is important not to be deceived. Some manufacturers put a small membrane in large ear pads - such headphones look solid, and the sound is only suitable for listening to mp3.
It is difficult to recommend anything to admirers of high-quality sound equipment (Hi-Fi or Hi-End). The choices in this area are limited only by budget and tastes. Equalizer, amplifier, acoustics - the choice of these devices has many options. For PC owners who choose a high-quality one, it is better to stay on budget monitor speakers of any well-known brand. Users speak well of the Microlab SOLO series acoustics. In order for music to sound good in lossless quality, it is important to purchase acoustics with a subwoofer. not able to cope with the reproduction of the lower frequency band.
Outcomes
New digital sound formats have made it possible for lovers of high-quality music to acquire their own libraries on high-capacity storage media and listen to their favorite songs in high quality, saving quite a lot of money and a lot of space. The ideal option, of course, is a complete set of Hi-End equipment, but budget options will also bring great pleasure to music lovers. After all, the feeling of listening to music is incomparable to MP3 on plastic speakers.
