What's your preferred music file format? MP3, WMA?

[mussel]

What's your preferred music files for serious listening at home, in your car, portable devices? Can you tell the difference in quality between music files like WMA vs. MP3? And different settings? Many can tell the difference between 128k and 320k but I can't tell the difference between MP3 and WMA but WMA hoards much smaller byte space than MP3 and it has become my preferred medium. Lossless compression seems to be pointless as it doesn't save that much space than regular CD. What other music formats out there?

 

[A Y]

I use mostly Apple Lossless these days, and use an iPod and AppleTV to listen to my music. Differences between sound formats depend very much on the encoder and the music you're encoding. Some things are more difficult to encode well than others. Surprisingly, pop music can reveal a lot of flaws.

--Andre

 

[tlmusic]

Originally Posted by mussel

What's your preferred music files for serious listening at home
LP

Originally Posted by mussel

in your car, portable devices?
The best sound in the car was a high quality cassette recorded from an LP played on a top quality, well maintained cassette player. Nobody does that anymore. Regarding digital, it is usually best to go with the highest resolution you can get. However, you are at the mercy of the source. Just because the playback is at ultra high resolution, doesn't mean the source was high resolution. Without getting technical, one can say the methods used to create the digital file make all the difference. For example, CD's ripped from LPs played on a high-end turntable often sound more pleasing than factory CDs. This has always been an unexplained mystery to me. On the other hand, high res file made from an ADAT won't sound any better than the original. Since songs are recorded and mastered in many different ways, it is wise to take things on a case by case basis.

 

[Jumbie]

FLAC or OGG but a lot of my stuff is 192 v2 MP3.

 

[A Y]

Originally Posted by tlmusic

The best sound in the car was a high quality cassette recorded from an LP played on a top quality, well maintained cassette player. Nobody does that anymore.

A digitized LP playing back from CD or digital file (iPod, USB stick, etc.) will be better than a tape recording of an LP. Good luck getting good tape playback with the car bouncing around.

For example, CD's ripped from LPs played on a high-end turntable often sound more pleasing than factory CDs.

As you said, this is a case-by-case thing. I've heard digital files played back that were obviously sourced from LPs because the LP distortions were pretty obvious.

Mastering standards for LP are also pretty different than CDs these days because people who buy LPs generally care more about sound than most people who buy CDs. So the CDs have their levels compressed to sound super loud, while LPs take the more traditional, higher-quality approach and sound better than the CD release. But on an equal mastering basis, where the CD is mastered with quality in mind, it's a totally different ballgame.

--Andre

 

[amerikajinda]

Apple lossless .m4a ripped from cds.

 

[Sprezzatura2010]

Apple Lossless on the home music network, AAC192 on the MacBook, AAC160 on the iPod for car/portable.

 

[Artisan Fan]

LP and Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio at home.

Wav and AAC on my iPod on business and pleasure trips.

I hate eMPty3.

 

[Mauby]

Mostly mp3. I listen to alot of bootleg live stuff, so I don't need Blue-Ray audio or anything for that.

 

[gorgekko]

MP3 VBR in the car, on the PC and iPod. CD on the stereo.

 

[bkk]

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

Apple lossless .m4a ripped from cds.

+1. My entire music library is on a large external HDD

 

[scwtlover]

ogg vorbis on a (no longer made) Rio Karma. Higher audio quality than mp3 at equivalent file sizes.

 

[jpeirpont]

MP3 90% of the time. But usually do not notice what type of file it is until something sounds particuliarly crappy.

 

[Artisan Fan]

You youngsters and your compressed formats.

 

[Dmax]

Most of my music is ripped into OGG Vorbis, quality setting 8, for use on my "vintage" Iriver ihp-140. When home I mostly use original CDs or SACDs.