quote:

Originally posted by LightsOut Agreed. Realistically, a properly encoded 320 and mastered mp3 will sound good on ANY system. The chances that you'd ever play (or anyone for that matter) on a setup where you can actually take full advantage of a lossless format and notice a discernible difference over a 320 mp3 is pretty remote.

i think the only time you would want something like that is for classical music recording, just to save every single bit of the sound/frequency/signal without any loss, audiophiles that spend 10's of thousands of dollars on special systems in their homes. technically best would be to listen on vinyl but i think WAVs/cds would be very good too.

For a club track most of the time it's pointless imo. so many producers (not all) use sample based sources that were not even recorded themselves, some even convert mp3 samples into wavs back and forth and use them in a track, converting mp3 to a WAV will not make it lossless, i'm not even talking about mastering themselves incorrectly/clipping music and sounds etc, it doesn't make any sense unless everything from ground up is done by a real studio professional, not a bedroom producer.

quote:

Originally posted by jchung52 mp3s. To notice a difference I think is when you go from WAV to mp3 and then burning your cds back to WAV.

when you go to mp3 you already lost information, no matter what you do after that (technically) but if it's 320 it's impossible to tell.

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Last edited by geroin on Apr-17-2012 at 03:36

mp3(320 is a must) mostly. the key factor is the mastering on the track in my opinion. Even on vinyl, some of the masterings i had were dodgy as fuck, just because it lossless doesn't automatically mean its going to sound good. I havent done any club floor tests with wav/320 comparisons but 320 sounds great given the club has a nice system.

Last edited by MSZ on Apr-17-2012 at 10:19

always been downloading wavs. IMO on big enough system the difference comes in the way bass and sub bass sounds/distorts. For example If compressed mp3 goes through additional signal compression on the way to the speakers it will sound over-copressed/squashed and if loud enough it will not be as pleasant for ears over a length of a whole clubbing night. On home listening levels not as big of a factor though.

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Interesting feedback.

A quick google search revealed THIS article which parallels much of what has been said above. Theres also a sound test on there.


Additionally, they showed a sound chart comparing their two samples.

WAV


MP3

quote:

The frequency charts are identical, but as you can see the 2nd frequency chart (representing the mp3) has a steeper roll off after 16khz. The null test reveals the sonic difference between the two files. Not all of this represents loss of sound – it represents change in sound. The mp3 quantizes differently, which is not a loss of sound – just a micro-auditory restructuring of sound. The loss is broadband information which is harder to perceive than designated frequency information. However, if you notice the biggest difference exists where the snare drum is hitting – and it’s no coincidence that snare drums contain the highest content of broadband sound.

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There is a huge difference between 128kbps and 320kbps MP3s.

I download and burn all my music for DJing as 320kbps MP3s. Yes, WAVs are better quality but for gigging in clubs properly encoded 320kbps MP3s are sufficient.

quote:

Originally posted by Nicolas Oliver There is a huge difference between 128kbps and 320kbps MP3s. I download and burn all my music for DJing as 320kbps MP3s. Yes, WAVs are better quality but for gigging in clubs properly encoded 320kbps MP3s are sufficient.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking as well.


As for .wav is that the alternative off beatport because I picked up a few of those back when I did my bday gigs a few years ago and it wouldn't play on a cdj1000 (pioneer), coudn't figure it out.

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Personally, I can hear a difference between a WAV and MP3 when I compare them on a good pair of headphones or monitors. The difference isn't really that great. Obviously, WAVs tend to sound brighter and more pronounced. Now in a club environment, it's a bit hard to tell whether a djs playing WAVs or MP3s. But when a dj that plays MP3s follows one that plays WAV or vice versa, the difference in sound quality is more obvious. Echoing what others have said, I agree that MP3s sound just fine if they are mastered and encoded properly.

As rulzz mentioned, a set of WAVs is easier on the ears. This all depends on the quality of the sound system at the end of the day. Also, factors such as how packed the club is, whether people are chatting or not, and whether the mixer is being reclined or not all determine your ability to enjoy the extra clarity of WAVs.

I just wish that WAVs weren't as expensive and large in size as they are. I've though of using AIFF or FLAC, but I've stuck to MP3s for the time being for the sake of functionality. I do buy tracks that I really like as WAVs and encode them into MP3s. Those WAVs will come in handy once I have a large enough vinyl collection to play them with.

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320kbps

Fantastic interview with Tony Andrews, worth the watch for any audiophile.

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quote:

Originally posted by LightsOut Fantastic interview with Tony Andrews, worth the watch for any audiophile.

Nice. Got this running in the background at work.

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^^^

One of my fave quotes: "Everyone says Steve Jobs is great, but he didn't do anything for audio"

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quote:

Originally posted by Vanos Not to sound lame but I cant tell the difference between a properly encoded 128 (not shit floating around the web in kazaa etc.) and a 320 or wav in home environment. I made a bet with my bro that ill be able to tell 128 from 320 but I failed )). I am sure you would fail too to guess consistently (e.g. 3 times in a row).

I can def hear the difference in my car.
You just need a somewhat quality system to be able to hear it.
As someone mentioned, on cheap speakers or apple earphones u wont know the diff