Extreme Tech's Audio Codec Quality Shootout

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1561566,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1561566,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"Millions of people convert their CD collections to a compressed digital audio format, often without considering the format or settings they use. With several different popular formats and lots of quality settings, many users just pick an application they like and use whatever the default settings are. ExtremeTech readers -- generally a bit more hands-on and do-it-yourself -- are more likely to seek out other applications or players and encode their audio exactly how they want. <br /><br />Certainly a top consideration should be compatibility. We all have different audio devices, and it doesn't matter how good your music sounds if it won't play on your hardware. We'll leave that decision up to you; you know what software and devices you have and what they're capable of playing. Encoding time is another possible consideration, but honestly, modern computers encode audio so quickly that the difference in speed between one format and another is practically a non-issue."<br /><br />This is one of the best, most hard-core looks at audio codec quality that I've seen. If you've been wondering about what audio format to use for your portable music player (whether it be an iPod, Pocket PC, or Smartphone), this article is a good substitution for doing all the testing yourself. I won't ruin the article for you, but let's just say that I wasn't surprised by the final result - I made the switch myself about a year ago, and have been very pleased with the results. It's also greatly simplified my ripping/encoding process, saving me time, which is a good thing.<br /><br />Ultimately, however, it's important to realize that the best codec for me might not be the best one for you - it depends on factors such as speakers, headphones, music type, and the most important one: your ears. Check out the article - it's a great read!

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Eeeks. :roll: No comments on testing and scoring. I'll still stick to my choice.

[Phoenix]

That was a good read. Very informative. I have to say, I've never been sold on Apple's AAC format or the iTunes Store.

The problem I have with iTunes is trying to figure out whether or not purchasing quite a bit of music from there (which would only be in AAC format) would be a good investment. What happens a few years from now when you're ready to change your portable music player and it doesn't support AAC? Although I own an Ipod now, I may not a few years down the road - who knows? Yes, yes, AAC will play on any computer, but apart from my laptop, I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars over time on AAC encoded music only to find out down the road that it doesn't work on what I want to play it on and that my investment is now worthless and I have to re-download and more importantly, pay all over again for the same music just so that it'll play on the equipment that I own or desire to own. I want to be able to pay for and download music online, but not in a format that I'm uncomfortable with in terms of its investment value and that isn't supported by virtually anything out there except for the Ipod. Hence, my hesitation in using iTunes or visiting Apple's store, which of course, requires iTunes.

Currently, if you burn music to CD's, no home or auto theatre equipment can read AAC. Maybe that needs to change, but for now, they only read MP3's and sometimes WMA's.

And by the way, I can't stand the idea of being forced to use iTunes just to visit the store. I don't like that solution. I should be able to type in www.itunesstore.com and go there directly and download music into ANY program of MY choosing. That's how it should be. And if you want to use iTunes, then so be it. But the consumer should be able to choose. A retail website should never be dependant on a program. That's Apple's mistake.

Now Microsoft's format I would invest in, only because it will play not only on my laptop, but on my Pocket PC, and more and more home and auto theatre equipment are beginning to support WMA's. It's also supported by practically every digital music player out there except for Ipod. I would have no problem ditching my MP3's for WMA's, and would have no trouble purchasing music in that format not only because of the quality of WMA's, but also because of how prolific Microsoft's technology is within the world's markets, and due to the fact that they'll never go out of business - all of which means that an investment in WMA's would have far more value. Apple, however, is too proprietary, and not enough of the world supports and adapts as much of Apple's technologies as they do Microsoft's. Microsoft is so dominant and has its hands in everything - this makes me think that my investment in WMA's would be far more wise than in AAC's. Soon, I could be sure that every music player, computer, home and auto audio equipment will support WMA's in some fashion, where as AAC's might be left out in the cold, regardless of how prevelant the iTunes store is, especially considering how many companies are now and will be selling music online.

MP3 seems to be on its way out. The writing's on the wall it seems to me.

Now if someone could just write a hack that would allow the Ipod to read WMA's, that would be fantastic. To me, this would be more likely than a company producing a digital music player that I like more than the Ipod.

But give me an Ipod hack, or a great digital music player as nice as the Ipod that will support WMA's (IMO, this player doesn't exist yet - but that's my opinion), and an online music store as simple and attractive as iTunes that sells WMA's (and IMO, this does not include Napster or Walmart), and I'd be happy as a clam.

I'm waiting for more of the construction signs to come down and more of the dust to settle as Microsoft and others set up their online stores, and I also want to see more choices and more of what will happen with the formats as well before I start downloading and investing in online music. For now, I'll just voice my thoughts.

Online music is still a toddler, and it has to age a bit more before I break out my hard earned cash. Until then, I'll stick to buying, ripping, and encoding CD's. With this method, I can always re-rip and encode into another format later on. But this is not my preferred method of acquiring music. I WANT to buy and download music online, already ripped and encoded. But currently, iTunes purchases, to me, just aren't a good investment.

Here's to hoping that Microsoft (or someone else) does things right. And here's to hoping that someone can hack the Ipod to read WMA's, but I suppose that's just wishful thinking. Who knows... stranger things have happened.