9 Best Audio Formats You Need to Know about
As soon as you’ve entered the audio formats vortex, it’s impossible not to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of formats and their unique characteristics and compatibility. When it comes to storing audio, why do we need so many different audio formats?
As a matter of fact, we’re here to assist you to sort through all the different audio formats, their uses, and ultimately, the optimal audio format for your situation.
In terms of audio formats, what is the difference between compressed and uncompressed?
Compressed and uncompressed audio formats are terms we need to comprehend before we can fully appreciate the nuances of each audio format.
The recording and preservation of audio is a time-consuming and difficult process. Uncompressed audio files, which include all of the recorded audio data, will quickly exceed the storage capacity of any consumer-grade storage device. In order to reduce the size of the downloaded file, compressed audio files are used.
In order to categorise audio files, there are three options. Each category is based on the amount of data compression or “loss” in audio quality. Compressed lossy audio files, compressed lossless audio files, and uncompressed audio files are all subcategories of compressed audio. File formats are often divided into Hi-res and non-Hi-res depending on the bitrate at which the audio is streamed, which is referred to as hi-res.
Also Read: What Is Network Latency?
Various Audio Formats:
This means that the compression technique (or codec) that each audio format uses has a significant impact on its size, sound quality, and compatibility. All of the file types and their differences are listed here.
1) AAC
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is Apple’s MP3 replacement. It’s compressed and distorted, but it sounds better than MP3. Streaming service for Apple Music.
2) AIFF
a WAV-like format developed by Apple, but with far greater metadata integration and support. It has a huge file size, is lossless, and is uncompressed.
3) DSD
The high-quality audio storage codec of the single-bit format Uncompressed used for Super Audio CDs is unsuitable for streaming since it comes in 2.8 MHz, 5.6 MHz, and 11.2 MHz variations.
4) FLAC
The ideal option for downloading and saving hi-res albums that are not supported by Apple Music is a lossless compression format that supports high sample rates, takes up half the space of WAV audio format, and can store metadata.
5) MP3
Lossy compression is a common method of reducing file size, but the sound quality suffers as a result. Convenient for storing music on mobile devices such as iPods and cellphones.
6) MQA
A lossless compression format for high-resolution data that can be streamed more quickly and efficiently. Tidal Masters’s high-resolution streaming is supported.
7) OGG
A free and open-source alternative to MP3 and AAC, OGG or Ogg Vorbis is a lossy, open-source format. Spotify streaming uses this file format.
8) WAV
All CDs are encoded in the same format: CD-RW. Huge file sizes, but excellent sound quality. It doesn’t support a lot of metadata.
9) WMA Lossless
It is a lossless incarnation of WMA (Windows Media Audio). But it’s no longer widely supported on smartphones or tablets.
What is the best audio format for your needs?
If you’re looking to save a lot of music, or if you’re more concerned about the quality of the music, you’ll need a different type of player.
The MP3 audio format lets you save more songs per unit of storage space than other audio formats, so it’s a good choice if you don’t care about sound quality but want to keep music.
For those who are concerned about sound quality, FLAC is the best option. The AIFF audio format, on the other hand, is suggested if you possess an Apple product.
