[freakydrew]

Obviously the source is crucial, but for the purpose of this post let's assume that we are dealing with a perfect source, in a perfect room, with perfect everything.
What I am wondering is, in order of quality, how do the different formats stack up?

Would it be:
SACD
CD
FLAC
ALAC
wav
ogg
MP4
MP3
windows audio (I forget the achronym)
mpc
raw

I am sure there are other formats, I guess these are the most common?
where does analog (vinyl) fit into the mix?

 

[krmathis]

My take would be:
SACD
CD / FLAC / ALAC / raw (whatever that is) / wav (PCM audio I presume).
mpc
MP3
windows audio (I forget the achronym)

These are audio/video containers, so does not really belong here.
ogg
MP4

 

[nick_charles]

SACD - theoretically capable of 144db dynamic range, technically far superior to CD (96db) but whether you could tell the difference is open to debate.

CD
FLAC
ALAC
wav
(assuming 16 bits and 44.1k sampling all the same in absolute quality terms unless there are decoder/playback hardware/software/error issues)

Quote:

where does analog (vinyl) fit into the mix?

Dynamic range of up to 80db with a pristine pressing and well setup hardware and in the outer grooves, declining as you reach the middle, capable of higher frequencies than CD but technical limitations on the level at which high frequencies can be stored especially in the inner grooves.

 

[St3ve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif My take would be: These are audio/video containers, so does not really belong here. ogg MP4

Doesn't spotify stream a variant of ogg? I might be wrong

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by St3ve /img/forum/go_quote.gif Doesn't spotify stream a variant of ogg? I might be wrong

Vorbis, which is one of several codecs supported by the Ogg container.

 

[sbtruitt]

WMA (Lossless) would be at/near CD quallity.
Thats what I have all my ripped/archived content in.

 

[freakydrew]

that is the windows media I could not think of. as good as cd quality?

 

[GWorlDofSPACE]

This is not an easy question guys.
Quality is relative. If you are an audiophile who wants to reproduce natural and alive sound structures then its obvious the vinyl sphere would be the best quality to go.
Otherwise in digital world you have SACD to be the purest of all at this time.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Don't forget DVD-A. There are still a few discs out there and it sounds wonderful.

 

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GWorlDofSPACE /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is not an easy question guys. Quality is relative. If you are an audiophile who wants to reproduce natural and alive sound structures then its obvious the vinyl sphere would be the best quality to go. Otherwise in digital world you have SACD to be the purest of all at this time.

It depends on what you mean by quality, if you mean an accurate rendering of a source signal then vinyl has some technical limitations such as noise, speed variations, dynamic range and various distortions at such levels that render it less accurate than digital systems.

For pop music with loud average levels this is not a problem, but for classical music with quiet passages and for instance sustained solo piano vinyl's limits become apparent, as Scotty says "ye cannae change the laws of physics".

 

[sbtruitt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakydrew /img/forum/go_quote.gif that is the windows media I could not think of. as good as cd quality?

Assuming the Windows codec creates a truly mathematical 'lossless' file (which I am), then yes it is.

 

[d3adeyes]

i would think .wav would be better then .flac as far as quality as it is not compressed at all and .flac and .aac is a compression. I am not sure that's why I'm asking

 

[etiolate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d3adeyes /img/forum/go_quote.gif i would think .wav would be better then .flac as far as quality as it is not compressed at all and .flac and .aac is a compression. I am not sure that's why I'm asking

they're compressed, but the encoded only rid the file of useless bits that weren't conveying any musical information. thus, as far as information stored, flac=alac=wav=cd.

 

[d3adeyes]

thanks

 

[a_recording]

Aww don't forget HDCD