[ucrags84]

What's the best lossy codec I can use in terms of Sound Quality? I heard Nero AAC tops the charts, but I have trouble finding it.

I found the NERO AAC encoder, but they just have the encoder, decoder and tagging exe files. Which don't do anything when I click on them. How do I use them with a program like EAC? It doesn't work with user defined compression codec

 

[donunus]

To my ears, the latest itunes aac is better than nero. I use 192vbr and it is great

 

[lh0628]

AAC is supposed to be a better codec from what I've read.

You could easily convert WAV or APE files to AAC using Foobar.

 

[donunus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucrags84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I heard Nero AAC tops the charts

That was probably in comparison to an older version of itunes. I dont think hydrogen has tested the latest itunes aac. Anyway, for real world tunes, I find Nero aac to have a slightly rounded sound coloration while lame mp3 vbr is more aggressive yet grainier and less extended in the upper highs. I cant say that on hydrogen though cause they will ban my ass for that and shout placebo. With the new itunes aac, I think I can hear a slight difference with flac but cant confirm it in a blind test like nero and lame which is easier to find colorations.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I find 256kbps AAC to be excellent, 320 to be indistinguishable from lossless.

P

 

[punkaroo]

I use 320kbps, AAC VBR.

 

[fenixdown110]

Lossy Audio Codec's Comparison [HUGE amount of pics] [iTunes UPDATE on p.7] - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

Read through this, look at the diagrams, and decide for yourself.

LC-AAC is almost perfect at 320.

 

[aristos_achaion]

I typically use -q6 Ogg Vorbis, but that's just to transcode my FLAC collection for portable use. I'm quite satisfied with Ogg, though I don't know if it's the "best".

Are you asking what's the best bang-for-your-byte compression? Because if you just want SQ, LAME-encoded -V0 MP3 is great, but not terribly space-efficient.

 

[krmathis]

I think it will be hard to beat Musepack when it comes to sound quality per bit.
Musepack

 

[iriverdude]

Haven't tried AAC but I prefer Vorbis over MP3

 

[Zai]

Quote:

I found the NERO AAC encoder, but they just have the encoder, decoder and tagging exe files. Which don't do anything when I click on them. How do I use them with a program like EAC? It doesn't work with user defined compression codec

Imho you don't need to look for more, and if you are using a ipod its the way to go.

I use the nero aac encoder since five or six years ago. With the -q5 quality flag (default) the sound is transparent for me most of the times and the files are way smaller than mp3 v0 files.

I use foobar to transcode from flac, then rename the files to m4a to use on the ipod.

 

[brooce]

Vorbis.com is my preferred lossy codec when somehow, something forces me to compromise and I can't do lossless.

 

[krmathis]

I would rank the codecs in this order, based on sound quality only:
1) Musepack
2) Vorbis
3) AAC
4) MP3

A bit depending on the encoder used (for AAC and MP3).
There are more to it than sound quality when choosing a lossy codec though. Hardware/Software support, features, encoding time, and more to name the most important ones.

 

[donunus]

does musepack and vorbis really sound better than itunes aac these days? I guess I have to give them a try

 

[KGM11]

Quote:

I heard Nero AAC tops the charts, but I have trouble finding it.

Nero AAC Codec

Quote:

I found the NERO AAC encoder, but they just have the encoder, decoder and tagging exe files. Which don't do anything when I click on them.

They're command line apps just like LAME.

Quote:

How do I use them with a program like EAC? It doesn't work with user defined compression codec

Then you're doing it wrong(tm): Recommended Settings