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Posted By: Spoiler mp3 to wav converter question - 03/25/06 07:35 PM
Fairly new to music file manipulation. Will programs that convert mp3's to wav's restore files to original quality (redbook) or do they just change files to wav format for burning purposes without improving quality? Thx!


Posted By: Ken.C Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/25/06 07:36 PM
The second. Once the data is gone, it's gone.
Posted By: Spoiler Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/25/06 07:46 PM
Ok thx! I suspected as much... am I correct in assuming that flac files and other lossless formats will restore files back to original quality once converted (to wav)?
Posted By: Ken.C Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/25/06 07:56 PM
Well, lossless formats theoretically don't lose/give up any of the quality, so what you hear is what you get in FLAC, CD, or WAV. Theoretically.
Posted By: BrenR Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/25/06 09:15 PM
Original quality, yes... it's mathematical compression, like ZIPping up an application... it's got to be the same coming out as going in.

Will they be bit perfect? Maybe not. More to do with the ripping process than the compression.

Bren R.
Posted By: AshBoomstick Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/25/06 09:39 PM
Along these lines, what is the best way/program to use to rip songs off of CDs and reburn them for a mix disc? It seems for music quality the WMA lossless would work but then you compromise by having fewer songs on the final disc. Is there some panacea program that allows me to jam pack a disc with songs at full, or close to full quality, or am I just gonna have to rip them at a lower bit rate? And what would a good rate be?
Posted By: BrenR Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/25/06 10:35 PM
You mean compressed onto the CD?

You'll get as many answers as there are people who mix CDs.

Personally I use 256kbps CBR MP3s (at 256 I use straight stereo, less than that - joint stereo) - gets me 6-10 albums onto one... I use them for the car... less disc changing and I'm not worried about my music collection getting stolen or melting.

Bren R.
Posted By: danmagicman7 Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/25/06 11:29 PM
Refer to this thread for more information.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=tech&Number=128514&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=

The same sort of issue was discussed, except the other way around.

Lossless formats work like a zip archive, just zipping up a file without sacrificing quality. Lossy formats such as mp3, mwv, or mp4 actually take away data when compressing. The data that goes first is high end, so that is why mp3's sound less "lively" than original CD formats, because much of the higher frequencies simply get chopped off or compressed.

There is huge debate everywhere. Google has a treasure trove of information regarding the subject. I personally have my whole music collection in lossless format, .ape (Monkey's Audio) a cousin to FLAC.

Good luck!
Posted By: BrenR Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/26/06 02:30 AM
In reply to:

Refer to this thread for more information.


Assuming that wasn't actually TO ME, but the original poster... since I was a major contributor to that discussion.

Bren R.
Posted By: HomeDad Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/26/06 03:11 AM
LINK
Posted By: INANE Re: mp3 to wav converter question - 03/27/06 05:25 AM
Reguarding the question of making mix disks... is the goal a regular CD or mp3/wma type disk? If you are going to make a mix CD don't convert the files, just rip them off the org CD to WAV format and once you have all the ones you want you can then burn em back to a single CD. There are a million programs out there that can do it, very often your CD writing software can handle all of that, NERO does for sure. If you want to make sure you are getting very accurate rips use EAC (its slow but works great).

Compressed is a whole other can of worms. Of course if you compress something using a lossy codec (mp3/ogg/wma etc) you are going to lose quality, the debate comes in when some people claim they can hear the difference, some people can't and others just don't care.

Personally I'm from the side that believes if you use a quality encoding process it becomes near impossible to tell under most circumstances, plus the convienance factor is the deal maker for me. So in that case it becomes which codec. That again comes down to personal preference. It's true that mp3's at low bitrates are not as good as newer codecs (wav/ogg etc), but the differences at higher bit rates (256k +) are very minor. There is no other compressed codec out there that is as accepted as mp3 either (players, etc). I prefer encoding into mp3 using VBR (variable bit rate) using the LAME encoder's alt-preset-standard settings.

I still believe the bigger issue is usually how poorly albums are mastered. I think that has much more to do with sound quality then anything you might lose compressing music.
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