MP3 vs other formats

[FNG212]

As I understand it MP3 is pretty much the most compressed form of music. I am setting up my old desktop as a media server and want to know if its worth converting my MP3s to WAV or anything else. Most of the music will be used for dinner/surround music during parties and casual listening. I have about 20GB of music (MP3) and about 750GB total storage capacity. This will all be running though my Denon 1909 receiver to various rooms in the house to in-wall/in-ceiling speakers (haven't picked them out yet but they will be recessed into the wall/ceiling).

Thanks in advance.

 

[dkane360]

I could be mistaken, but converting mp3's to different formats won't do anything. It would sound the same because all you're doing is changing the compression to a song that is already compressed. You would need something of higher quality like FLAC, then convert that to WAV.

 

[MarylandNewbie]

I could be mistaken, but converting mp3's to different formats won't do anything. It would sound the same because all you're doing is changing the compression to a song that is already compressed. You would need something of higher quality like FLAC, then convert that to WAV.

You are absolutely correct. Since the original format has been compressed to a .mp3 format, the original integrity has been compromised. If you have the original format (CD, SACD, etc) you could convert to a less compressed format. I'll do a bit of research, but for casual listening/ dinner etc i think you'll be fine. I have > 400Gb of mp3 at 192kbps and for just recreational listening it is just fine.

 

[sholling]

The damage has already been done by ripping the music to MP3s. Better to re-rip from CD as FLAC files for your media server and save the MP3s for your MP3 player.

 

[jwenthold99]

The damage has already been done by ripping the music to MP3s. Better to re-rip from CD as FLAC files for your media server and save the MP3s for your MP3 player.

I second the FLAC idea. I am archiving all of my cd's for playback through my ps3, and FLAC works great! And my phone/mp3 player will play them as well, so i get great sound on the go as well.

Her is the link if you want to research it.

 

[MDS]

MP3 is lossy compression so the encoder removes things it thinks you wouldn't hear anyway in order to make the file smaller. Converting it back to WAV or FLAC (which is a WAV file that is compressed but doesn't discard anything) just makes the file larger and doesn't restore anything that was discarded from the original.

Look at it this way: if you took an image file and removed all the red to make the file smaller, when you convert it back to an uncompressed format, the image still doesn't have any red - it just now occupies much more disc space.

I rip my CDs straight to WAV files and save the WAVs on an external drive. I then transcode those WAVs to 192 kbps MP3. I tend to listen to the MP3 when on my computer. If you don't want to re-rip your CDs all the time it's best to save either the WAV or a lossless compressed format, like FLAC. That way you always have the original uncompressed version and can convert to any lossy format for your portable player or whatever without ever having to rip the CD again. Of course I keep the original CD as well - it's like a physical archive.

 

[corey]

What bit rate are your mp3's? All the above posters are correct about the fact that you can't add back what has been thrown out, but have you ever tried to tell the difference, in at least a semi-blind test, between a 320kbps mp3 and lossless?

 

[ee4hire]

mp3 is actually decent if you create the files with high (or variable) bit rate and set all of the parameters in your ripping software to their best settings.

As may be said elsewhere, mp3 is a lossy compression format, i.e. some information will be lost and the recreated play back may not be exactly the same as the original. There are other compressions that are lossless, i.e., you don't lose anything when ripping.

I have my entire library in high quality mp3, but finally, just to get with what my ears can't hear but my audiophile friends insist is better, I've started ripping in AAC (Apple Lossless). The format is fine and doesn't have DRM. I use iTunes for ripping the CD's and then playback on many players, Roku, Linux, etc. I doubt that I will re-do my entire library, but going forward I'm now using the lossless.

AAC files are a bit bigger than my mp3, but not excessively so. I do appreciate that I'm now getting as much as the CD provides, just in case I get into a listening environment that I can tell the difference!

 

[niget2002]

I second the FLAC idea. I am archiving all of my cd's for playback through my ps3, and FLAC works great! And my phone/mp3 player will play them as well, so i get great sound on the go as well.

Her is the link if you want to research it.

I just did this same thing... not to hijack the thread, but what mp3 player are you using? Mine doesn't do flac.