What are Music CDs?

Usually used to describe the level of minimum bit rate required to achieve CD sound quality. To achieve CD sound quality, you must use a lossless (or lossless compression) format, such as WAV (uncompressed), WMA-Lossless (high compression), FLAC (low compression), APE (higher compression), and so on.

CD sound quality

Many people complain

As we all know, because CD discs are not made purely digitally, they cannot be fully digitally transcribed like DVDs, and CDs definitely have a loss in sound quality during the analog conversion process. Therefore, the sound quality of making a good D version DVD is no different from that of the original version, but the sound quality of the D version CD is much worse than the original CD due to the loss in the analog conversion process.

How much is the potential of CD? When the CD fell in love with LP, what changes did the baby finally bring to the audiovisual world?

Get LP on CD player

After several years of development, MP3, which is unique in size, transmission, resources and price, has completely replaced the CD player as the new hegemony in the player market. It has completed the first revolution vigorously, and the addition of MP4 has strengthened MP3 , MP4 camp strength. However, as the ancestor model of the Walkman, the CD handles the original sound in place, the sound quality is excellent, and has cultivated the unwavering loyal FANS. It is also the inherent advantage of high sound quality. With the deepening of technology, APE, FLAC, and WMA-Lossless were successfully introduced. Taking this opportunity, MP3 cooperated with MP4 to launch a second revolution and once again launched an impact on the sound throne of CD. As a result, the topic of who has the best sound quality between MP3, MP4 and CD, and how big the gap is is once again ignited.

Can APE, FLAC, WMA-Lossless lossless audio challenge CD authority?

In terms of MP3, iAudio's M3, X5 and other hard disk products were the first to introduce the FLAC concept. With the emergence of artifacts such as U3, FLAC began to be widely recognized, and it was soon boarded in Daya Hall. Meizu Mini Player and Taipower T29 were FLAC rising star. And the more familiar APE, thanks to the efforts of Juli, completed the transition from the PC to the entertainment terminal. Onda VX939 and Ainol V3 are among them.

In terms of MP4, it is even more eye-catching. First, the Blue Devils V100 and Onda VX737 are compatible with FLAC. With the comprehensive upgrade of Ainol V1000 plus supported by the American ADI core, it not only brings APE to MP4 fans for the first time, but also supports it at the same time APE and FLAC. The development of lossless audio formats is thriving.

Where is APE, FLAC lossless audio sacred? APE is a lossless compression format provided by Monkey's Audio. After compressing the audio data file read from the audio CD into APE format, you can also restore the APE format file, and the restored file is exactly the same as before compression, without any trace. Loss, volume is only 1/2 of the well-known WAV source file.

FLAC is the first open source and world recognized lossless compression format. FLAC (short for Free Lossless Audio Codec) stands for OGG Flac, which is part of the OGG project and provides open source and free compression. And because FLAC can be widely used in almost all operating systems, the encoding algorithm is mature, reaching a compression ratio of 2: 1, and the sound quality is excellent, which is widely used in many digital players.

WMA-Lossless is a high compression lossless format developed by Microsoft Corporation. It is different from the ordinary lossy WMA format, but the file extension is still WMA. The full name of WMA-Lossless is (Windows Media Audio Lossless), which is also part of the WMA series. Due to the high compression rate of WMA-Lossless (compared to FLAC and APE, but the level 6 FLAC is higher than WMA-Lossless, but The decoding speed is not enough, and the encoding process is more time-consuming), the compression ratio can reach 3: 1, and the maximum after encoding can reach one-third of the audio source (uncompressed WAV).

WMA-Lossless by Microsoft

When lossless audio has gradually become synonymous with MP3 / MP4 to promote high sound quality, we can't help but ask the question boldly: Can MP3 / MP4 supporting FLAC and APE formats reach the ideal sound quality and approach the height of CDs, thus becoming the enjoyment of ordinary consumers? What about music? There are many opinions and it is difficult to distinguish right from wrong. Will lossless audio become the new generation of Hi-Fi?

Square view: APE, FLAC, WMA-Lossless rely on the inherent advantages and the acquired efforts of MP3, MP4, will be able to approach the CD sound quality, and become the first choice for ordinary consumers to enjoy music.

One: APE, FLAC, WMA-Lossless lossless format and the original CD file is a reversible and lossless process. The excellent quality of itself has laid the foundation for replacing CD and restoring high sound quality.

The conversion source of lossless audio comes from CD audio. Through conversion software such as Monkey's Audio, WAV files can be freely converted into APE format. At the same time, the process is also reversible, and APE can also be decompressed into WAV format. And through FLAC frontend conversion software can also easily convert WAV to FLAC format. Use Advanced WMA Workshop or Windows Media encoder to convert WAV to WMA-Lossless. It is precisely because the high quality of the original audio file has laid the foundation for the high sound quality of lossless audio.

Two: From the perspective of many feedbacks, for blind listening to CDs and high decoding rates (320kbps) MP3, most consumers are already having a hard time discerning who is better than others, and higher quality APE, FLAC, WMA-Lossless lossless formats, The gap can be shortened even more.

The discerning ear always takes a long time to form. From the current point of view, when CDs and 320kbps MP3 files are put together, most consumers cannot hear the difference. When APE, WMA-Lossless, and FLAC appear non-destructively, , The difference between CD and MP3 sound quality is more dilute, and at this time if you listen to blind, it is even more difficult to distinguish the level.

Three: The so-called high-quality CD is still a few big brand products, the price is high, I would like to ask how many consumers can have. However, the sound quality of some CD-type CD players is even harder than that of MP3 and MP4.

If high-end audiophiles are asked to comment on high-quality CDs, it is estimated that brands such as SONY and Panasonic can be shortlisted. The CDs of these big brands have performed well in terms of sound quality, and have also laid the image of the advantages of high-quality CDs in one fell swoop. accept. The CD player that is taking advantage of it is difficult to compete with MP3 and MP4 sound due to its relatively poor quality.

Four: Lossless audio format is rich in resources and can be easily obtained. With the expansion of the supported product group and the increase in users, its acquisition is also easier. The price of genuine CDs is high. Compared with the two, lossless and more attractive.

The smoothness of the network has facilitated the acquisition of non-destructive resources. We can easily download many non-destructive format resources on the Internet. At the same time, through some simple conversion software, such as Monkey's Audio, FLAC frontend, Windows Media encoder, etc. It is very convenient. If you want to get high sound quality from a CD, you must consider buying a genuine disc, which is expensive and difficult to accept by the public.

Five: The large-capacity trend of MP3 and MP4 provides a larger carrier for APE, FLAC, and WMA-Lossless.

MP3 and MP4 have gradually embarked on the road of large capacity. On the one hand, consumers demand larger capacity to accommodate more things; on the other hand, the price of flash memory continues to fall, and the increase in capacity brings more bright spots. Although the volume of lossless audio is large, the huge capacity also ensures sufficient backing.

Opposition: Close to CD sound quality? MP3 and MP4 don't have this ability yet, and they can't become the first choice to enjoy music.

One: MP3 is much simpler than CD in terms of circuit and internal structure, and the hardware architecture determines that lossless audio cannot compete with CD.

The CD player is mainly composed of a turntable and a decoder. The turntable is responsible for rotating the CD disc, and then picks up the digital signal through the optical head, and the decoder is responsible for converting the digital signal into an analog signal and sending it out. , CDs have performed exceptionally well. The relatively simple circuit structure of MP3 is destined to be as perfect as a CD player.

Two: What affects the sound quality is a complete system, APE, FLAC, WMA-Lossless is just one of the links. It is too early to say that it can completely improve the sound quality of MP3 and MP4 and reach the height of CD.

In the MP3 complete music system, PCB wiring, chips, sound effects, and headphones all play an indispensable role. We see that some products support APE, WMA-Lossless, and FLAC formats, but due to unreasonable internal structure design and other factors Although it says that it supports lossless audio, the sound quality of the final output is not very good, and the later audio processing system has become a short board. The APE and Flac are just one of the links, but the larger capacity accommodates more details, and it is too early to reach the height of the CD.

Three: APE, WMA-Lossless, and FLAC have not reached the standards in the publicity. Due to technical restrictions, they can not improve the sense of hearing. It is better to improve the system and functions.

In some publicity, we have seen the standard for lossless audio, which is theoretically lossless compression. However, APE, WMA-Lossless, and FLAC are just representations of data. There is no high-precision pickup of CDs and complete signals. At the same time, due to the difference in design standards, it is better to make the system more humane, and it is less time to talk about losslessness.

Four: Due to the large size of the lossless audio format, which generally reaches tens of MB, everyone is required to buy high-capacity MP3 to a certain extent, which has increased the consumption budget.

When the lossless format is gradually approaching, it also challenges the memory capacity of MP3. Generally, a song is tens of MB in size, and 1G can also hold up to 25 songs. Massive memory must be available, which requires everyone to purchase more The high-capacity MP3 has increased the consumption budget to a certain extent, and the gains are outweighed.

Conclusion:

When the age of lossless audio approaches us step by step, is it deliberately welcomed or calmly accepted? Indeed, many enthusiasts have questioned the losslessness. The ratio of MP3 to CD is not enough for jokes. According to my experience, MP3 may still have a long way to go before it is lossless, but the data is more complete and restored to a certain extent. It has already entered the threshold, and everyone's hearing is different. Good sound quality may not have good hearing. This is an embarrassing situation. In short, only dawn can inspire the fighting spirit of the forward, and there can be gaps to learn to make up. Confused, where is the answer? In the end, it is still in the evaluation of consumers. ^[1]