[JohntheChristian]

Hi, I'm not really what you'd call an audiophile, but I wanted your opinion on something.

I am backing up some of my favorite cds with .FLAC encoding, because some day with the advancement of technology the difference could be more clear to us normies. However Most of my music remains lossy, because quite frankly I cannot hear enough difference to justify the large Lossless size files.

In your opinion, what is the best Lossy Format?

 

[Danls92]

Personally I find .mp3 files encoded at V0 are the best in terms of size to sound quality ratio.

 

[Pangaea]

I know AAC is somewhat better audio quality even at the same MP3 bitrate, however you are tied into a somewhat proprietary codec. Its a good choice for ipod/ itunes users who are comfortable they will stay with that line for awhile.

 

[donunus]

LAME v0 is not as good as Itunes 192vbr IMO

 

[KONAKONA]

For portable use I usually use lame V0 or 320, and FLAC for where I have a surplus of space. The reason for FLAC instead of anything else is compatibility.

 

[penartur]

Quote:

however you are tied into a somewhat proprietary codec

MP3 is proprietary also.
I also suggest AAC, this is the new and very improved (since 1991) version of MP3; and, from what i know, this is the widest supported lossy codec except for MP3 (and maybe WMA, but i doubt that; and i believe that WMA also produces a lower quality than AAC does).

 

[dippyboy_87]

I think OGG retains better quality than mp3 files.

 

[krmathis]

Imo the "best" lossy format is AAC. Because:
* Its efficiency (sound quality to bitrate ratio) is among the best.
* It is compatible with most portable media players.
* It is widely supported among computer applications.
* ...

 

[ilney]

With those criteria, I think you meant "mp3 v0" instead of AAC.

Cowon doesn't do AAC

 

[Punnisher]

I like Lame V0 mp3.

Good sound, small size.

Works with 100% of portable players.

 

[ZARIM]

I think OGG is better, AAC and WMA 320Kbps are good.........

 

[thread]

I'll take ogg over mp3 every time. It's too bad that it's not a more widely used codec. It can sound much better than mp3 IMO.

 

[azncookiecutter]

V0 lame-encoded mp3s. Universally accepted format, sounds great.

 

[roebeet]

@ the OP: The "best", as you can see, depends on a lot of factors. The main one being compatibility.

It's generally understood that more modern lossy codecs like Vorbis / WMA / AAC are superior to MP3, mainly in SQ vs. file size. But, since MP3 is the defacto standard on all DAP's, it's the best choice if you use different vendors for your players.

I personally went back to using Vorbis, as all my current players support it and the smaller file size allows me to travel with more songs than if I used MP3.

 

[neoufo51]

You gotta go with MP3 or AAC if you want to future-proof your encodes. Ogg won't play everywhere.

I'd choose mp3.