lossless codecs

[Spoons]

I am considering lossless codec since hardrives are becoming much cheaper now days. however which one?

it looks like monkey is getting to release another beta soon? seems there is one in alpha at the moment.

i like wavepack too.

i only do listening tests, nothing technical. and i found wavepack to be a little more louder and brighter compared to monkey's.

the only other thing i need to test is if there is any notible difference when converting from wavepack to OGG and monkey's to OGG.

is one codec looking like it's having a brighter future over the other?

[{kC}]

i think you should give FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Compression) a try. It sounds really great and it can compress the most, but it is slow when you convert from a cd. Its also easy to add a tag and doesnt require a lot of CPU power.

[JVILLAS]

HI Razo I've been using Monkey's for awhile now.From what I've read on Hydrogen Audio the developer is now working for J River Media Player, so his time is now divided. The new alpha release is the first up date in quite some time. Also, the next release is suppose add even more compression and speed. From what I've been to gather about other lossless codecs they are all pretty decent and in theory should sound identical,but of course in the real world this is never the case. I've even heard good things about MWA lossless!. For a more expert opion check out the Hydrogen Audio Lossless Forum. I think you'll find it helpfull. jvillas

[Spoons]

yeh, i visit Hydrogen Audio forums, but sometimes the codecs are pulled apart and looked at more technically than i need to read.

i won't be using wavpack because it is too slow when moving forward or back on a song to respond.

the only 2 contenders so far for me is ape or flac. they both run fast and sound good.

[Spoons]

to tell you the truth, i think the end user only needs to know so much before it becomes too confusing.

i mean were were all happy with our vinyl records wern't we?

but i guess in the age of digital and technical digital recording of musi we are all looking for perfection? but how is pefection defined?

for a casual music listener we don't tend to train our ear to pic up on technical faults of the music we are hearing. and nine times out of ten we are either thinking about something else or doing something else whilst listening to the music.

take the scence from the movie tom cruise played in where he is singing into the broom handle doing the house work. did he care if the sound wasn't quite right?

or the song "you can leave your hat on". eye curumba! be buggererd if i was picking up on any musical faults in that song. too busy fantacising :D

and have a listen to this song. it's called 10days by "bare naked ladies" and it is really badly recorded/encoded. but it is the funniest song i have ever heard. be warned though it does contain adult material. download song

anyhow i think as long as i can convert from ape or flac with all my tags in place and the end result is good listening, then will will probably do me fine.

[JVILLAS]

Hi Razgo, I could not agree with you more. Now that I'm up and running again maybe I'll give flac a look. I'm in the process of ripping my music collection once again and to date have not ripped to lossless. I previously used lossless exclusivley for jazz and classical, and will do so once again.There is a comfort level knowing that all the notes are captured, and are being reproduced as intended. Enjoy, have fun, dig you later. Julio

[Spoons]

yes i have a few classical abulms to rip as well in lossless.

i haven't done a lot of testing yet but did you download the latest beta monkey's codec from the beta forum here? spoon said he didn't think it was working 100% yet, but not sure what the problems are.

[JVILLAS]

Yes I did,and also read the message you left on the beta testers forum and was looking to see what the reply was going to say.

[Unregistered]

As you said, it can come down to splitting hairs. And with the plethora of audio enhancements that most people use (knowingly or un) it gets even less important. I mean if you are going to simulate surround sound, eq the file with a bass boost, use an enhancer or audio exciter, filter for hiss and pops, and then normalize the whole thing, you won't be able to tell the difference between any of the lossless codecs.

Still, I still like shn. (shorten) It was my first (trading dead bootlegs etc.) and still most used format. I like monkey mostly because of the logo. (that cute little monkey is priceless) But somehow, I feel flac is the most solid sounding.

[Spoons]

for now shorton is off my list only because of file size compared to ape and flac. shorten seems to only have one setting? i didn't see any other settings.

compared to ape and flac it was an extra 20 meg larger per classical track with flac and ape on normal compression.

i couldn't tell any difference in quality as they all sound great to me.

[Spoons]

ok i was wrong! oh so terribly wrong :teufel8:

at first i thought ape had robbed me of over 5 mins of music because it was shorter in length compared to the other two. no wonder the ape file had a different ending :rolleyes:

spot the difference

Mozart-Allegro; Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K 466.flac
Mozart-Allegro; Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K 466.shn
Mozart-Romanze; Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K 466.ape

[RossRoy]

Mozart-Allegro; Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K 466.flac
Mozart-Allegro; Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K 466.shn
Mozart-Romanze; Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K 466.ape

Can't believe you didn't pick it up at first glance :rolleyes: :p

Oh and Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor is some really neat stuff

Actually, as are all other concerti by Mozart.. Be it piano, basset clarinet, horn, flute or bassoon concerto! :D

[Spoons]

well i was hoping that dmc audio cd input would have been intuitive enough to read my mind and know which one it was supposed to be ripping. i mean jeez do i have to put the tick in the right place for it too? :D lol j/k

yes, i like all of mozarts music.

have you heard of Don Campbell's mozart effects cd's and book? i have "heal the body" and "strenghen the mind" http://www.mozarteffect.com/

it's quite amazing what he did with mozarts music to help heal.

[RossRoy]

Is that Mozart effect stuff like some of those "relaxation" discs where you have a very nice piano concerto playing, but with annoying waves and bird chirps? Or is it really only the music with an accompanying read-along book?

I just can't stand those discs where they add sound effect over perfectly nice music. My dad got that thunderstorm beethoven thing. IT IS SO ANNOYING! (caps intended) I just can't stand it.

[Spoons]

no, it's the real deal. it gets a little complicated when reading his book, but he works closely with "sound" frequencies. i think from memory he took out some specific frequences but i don't remember which ones now.

his work was documented with helping sick kids with autisism and other child hood illnesses.

i will pop back later and list what is on the albums.