High-Resolution Audio Explained, PCMAG, February 1, 2012 Options

[skamp]

High-Resolution Audio Explained (PCMAG, February 1, 2012)

[Neil Young] was referring specifically to the compressed MP3 and AAC files most people listen to today. Truth is, they just don't sound all that good. […] Even 256Kbps (and yes, 320Kbps) files are still audibly different than what you hear on a CD, although at least those are somewhat closer to the mark. […] Switch to an uncompressed FLAC file, and all of the above flaws go away. […] Stereo sound fields become three dimensional, with a sense of depth and space. It sounds as if a veil has been lifted; everything has more definition and natural sound.

[odious malefacto...]

High-Resolution Audio Explained (PCMAG, February 1, 2012)

Switch to an uncompressed FLAC file, and all of the above flaws go away.

"Uncompressed FLAC"--is that even possible?

[Porcus]

"Uncompressed FLAC"--is that even possible?

Yes, indeed it is.

From http://flac.sourceforge.net/api/group__flac__format.html , you will find:

Enumeration values:
FLAC__SUBFRAME_TYPE_CONSTANT constant signal
FLAC__SUBFRAME_TYPE_VERBATIM uncompressed signal
FLAC__SUBFRAME_TYPE_FIXED fixed polynomial prediction
FLAC__SUBFRAME_TYPE_LPC linear prediction



However, I think that the quoted article uses 'uncompressed' synonymous to 'lossless'. (BTW, what is really the difference between a lossless-compressed FLAC and an uncompressed FLAC stored in a compression-enabled file system? Except of course the compression algorithm (and efficiency)?)

This post has been edited by Porcus: Feb 2 2012, 10:05