This is a very interesting question and it arises spontaneously in the minds of those who are in search of better and better quality of music. This question also annoys those who wish to store and download a large number of albums on their hard drive, because essentially both of these audio file formats sound the same! You will find miles-long threads of discussion on this topic. 75% of these are casual listeners, 24.9% are careful listeners and less than 0.1% are audiophiles! General consensus includes these 3 types of opinions: Some say, 320 kbps MP3 sounds as good as FLAC, some allege that 320 kbps MP3 sounds inferior to FLAC while others assert that there is a definitive and indubitable difference between the two, FLAC being way better than MP3. All these opinions are 100% true! Let's probe into the Hi-res audio world a bit deeper.
Let's play a track derived from the same raw audio source in the following different forms:
1. FLAC format
2. 320 kbps format, freshly ripped
3. 320 kbps format ripped or copied multiple times from the 2 above
4. 192 kbps format, freshly ripped
Now, consider the following four situations:
*Situation 1: 320 kbps MP3 vs 192 kbps MP3 virgin editions
Both of these are freshly ripped from the original source music and there is a unanimous opinion that 320 kbps MP3 sounds much better than 192 kbps MP3. All agree.
*Situation 2: Freshly ripped 192 kbps mp3 vs multiple times copied 320 kbps mp3
Ever seen a photocopy (xerox) of a photocopy? And again a photocopy of that? Looks degraded. Do it multiple times and don’t blame your machine. The more you copy, the more clarity is lost. Same thing happens with an MP3 because it is a lossy format. That’s the reason you will observe a freshly ripped 192 kbps MP3 will sound much much better than re-ripped and re-re-ripped 320 kbps MP3.
*Situation 3: Freshly ripped 320 kbps MP3 vs FLAC played on a decent mid-range audio equipment
The majority of the listeners fall under this category. Mid-range audio comprises i-pods, tablets, today’s smartphones and mid-range earphones. 320 kbps MP3 is an overkill for portable audio and it will sound almost the same even to a trained ear. The difference is hardly discernible, audio experts agree.
*Situation 4: Freshly ripped 320 kbps MP3 vs FLAC played on a sophisticated high-end audio system
The world of audiophiles is different! It is like a marathon race being played to conquer that last one inch which makes a difference. High-end audio systems include high-end DACs and quality headphones. Here, every effort is made to devise such chips which would extract the last sonic frequency and would squeeze out that last compressed dB. You will feel a life being breathed into your ears and you will feel music being opened up. Vibrations of the strings seem to last a bit longer, subtle echoes are heard, cymbals become alive and you hear such notes and accents which you never heard before. Such lucky listeners admit: FLAC sound way better than 320 kbps MP3!
Here is Alicia Keys singing 'No One'. One is MP3 and the other is Flac. Listen carefully. Can you make out which is which?(The track may take a little time to load depending upon the speed of your internet connection)
MP3 is like eating with a teaspoon, FLAC is like eating with a tablespoon – more variety and more juice! There are amplifiers which create too big a soundstage and too wide separation of tones. Such a system is not recommended as treble may become a trouble and bass may sound a badass! I mostly prefer mediasack.com to download songs in good quality.
➤ More entertainment: Click to open-
The recording gear of original track matters as much. 128 kbps MP3 from a pro world class studio will sound much better than a lossless FLAC from a lackluster crappy studio.If you want to experience that rich or 'out of world' type of music, Audioquest Dragonfly DAC is indispensable in addition to a decent pair of noise cancelling headphones (not ear-phones!).This couple is no less than magic. This little device - Audioquest Dragonfly - breathes so much life into our day-today music that once you hear it, you won't go back to your former set up, to be sure. Like that crystal clear sea-water which enables you to see all minute objects present in the sea, you will listen every minute detail that won't hurt your ears even if you pump up the volume. Read the revives and decide for yourself!
Many websites claim to sell soundtracks in 320 kbps format which sound very ordinary. Don't invest in them. What they are doing is – as Youtube is the biggest source of any track/album, such people convert a YouTube video into a 128 kbps MP3. Further, they try to ‘decompress’ this 128 kbps format into a 320 one. This is the biggest gag of MP3 market nowadays. Can anybody squeeze a sugarcane and then expand it again? Garbage in is garbage out and such an MP3 sounds degraded.
What is the final takeaway of high resolution audio philosophy? WAV is Wide Area Vain as it consumes too much space, MP3 is for Most People, ALAC is Apple Lovers’ Audio Code and FLAC is Fulfilling Last Audiophile's Craving!
So, which parrot sings the best – the parrot in a cage or the one in a tree? The answer is – both!
➤Also Read: WHAT IS THE BEST MUSIC SOURCE: 16 bit vs 24 bit, 44 kHz vs 96 kHz, Flac vs MP3
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