[novice]

I have some collection of MP3s, 128, 192, 256, 320 you name it. I wonder if decompressing it to FLAC or WAV restores their lost quality. Any idea?


Foobar told me that (when I was about to start) decompressing will enlarge file size but will not restore quality.

 

[Morph]

In short - _no_.

 

[Kees]

No. The audio information lost with compression to MP3 is gone forever...

 

[a_recording]

There will definitely be no improvement. The entire idea of lossy compression like mp3 is to throw out data. That data can not be restored.

You are getting confused with the idea of 'compression' - formats like FLAC are actually already compressed versions of WAV. Like compressed zip/RAR files, they are full (lossless) copies of the original data.

Lossy mp3 compression is the next step, where you not only compress, but you throw out data so that you are left with an approximation of the original. Once that data is gone, its gone - you can't 'decompress' it to recover it.

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Originally Posted by a_recording /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lossless mp3 compression is the next step, ...

Typo.
Should be "lossy". MP3 is not lossless (as you described).

 

[paaj]

only real option is to re-rip your CD's and do it right this time. takes some time but will be worth it.

 

[SDDL-UP]

Fortunately I was a bit of a latecomer to the scene and I was able to research before I did anything. I ripped all of my CD's to FLAC, a lossless format (Free Lossless Audio Codec). Only with lossless formats can you do what you're trying to do with your MP3 collection - that is to restore to "original" quality.

MP3 isn't as much a "compression" format as it is a "stripping" format. It strips away details from the music that it calculates you won't hear, and with 320 KPS at least, it is mostly transparent. The downside is that once it's converted to an MP3 format, the fidelity of the original recording is lost forever. For this reason many people, myself included, have a FLAC library for home use, and an MP3 library for portable use where space is an issue.

It is my opinion that MP3 will at some point become obsolete and FLAC, ALAC, and other lossless formats will dominate. If I pay $15-$20 for a CD, I want to maintain CD quality sound. With many portable players having an expansion slot of some kind, usually SD or MicroSD, even portables can use FLAC files. The 100GB needed for my entire collection is within reach using a few MicroSD cards.

 

[krmathis]

Not a chance!
The audio data thrown away when encoding to MP3 can not be restored.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Mp3 had a place when size was more of a concern then fidelity for some. Even now they still have merit for portable players where people will sacrifice quality for more tracks.
There is really no way to add information now that it has been compressed as the compression is lossy. In the case of FLAC or others lossless routines you get smaller files size but you get a perfect 1:1 copy.

Start a new collection using lossless compression routines.

 

[bumbabeef]

Im pretty new to all this flac or lossless audio stuff. I just signed up for a zune pass. Is there a way to download lossless stuff of the zune marketplace or are they all Mp3s.

 

[Hybrys]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDDL-UP /img/forum/go_quote.gif It is my opinion that MP3 will at some point become obsolete and FLAC, ALAC, and other lossless formats will dominate. If I pay $15-$20 for a CD, I want to maintain CD quality sound. With many portable players having an expansion slot of some kind, usually SD or MicroSD, even portables can use FLAC files. The 100GB needed for my entire collection is within reach using a few MicroSD cards.

I actually just wrote a paper on how FLAC should overtake MP3 due to advances in networking and hard drive storage. We can only hope it's soon.

 

[UNHchabo]

I've been encouraging my friends to rip their CDs in FLAC format, especially after I wrote FlacSquisher. I tell them why I wrote it; so I could listen to my music in its original CD quality when I'm at my computer, and I could encode the music to a lossy format (Ogg in my case) for my Sansa, since it only has 2GB of space. If I listened to the FLACs on my Sansa, I could only hold about 4 albums' worth of music, but with "-q 6" Oggs or "-V2" MP3s, I can hold about 20 albums' worth.

 

[novice]

Thanks all!! Head-fi is really a phenomenal place to get information. Folks are very helpful and constructive.

 

[Ypoknons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by novice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks all!! Head-fi is really a phenomenal place to get information. Folks are very helpful and constructive.

As long as you don't mention certain taboo topics... like K7.... ermmm... hhmmm...uhhhh...

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hybrys /img/forum/go_quote.gif I actually just wrote a paper on how FLAC should overtake MP3 due to advances in networking and hard drive storage. We can only hope it's soon.

many kids find FLAC too harsh and prefer MP3 actually: Do 320kbps mp3 files really sound better? Take the test!

well, WavPack is able to make hybrid lossy/lossless files, so what the OP want to do would have been possible if he still had the "lossless" correction files: WavPack - Wikipedia