What Audio Quality Is Better Than MP3?

Image by Freepik

MP3 is a convenient file format that offers excellent audio quality. There are, however, other encoders that produce a cleaner, higher-fidelity sound. So, what are some of the encoders that provide better audio quality than MP3?

Audio file formats with superior sound to MP3 include the AAC lossy compression encoder and lossless codecs like FLAC and ALAC. Uncompressed formats like WAV, AU, and AIFF have higher audio quality than MP3. These quality differences, though measurable, are barely noticeable to the casual listener.

Knowing which format to store and listen to audio files is crucial for maximizing data storage efficiency while ensuring a suitable level of audio quality. Anyone needing to learn more about how the sound value of MP3 compares to other audio formats might find the following information edifying.

Which Audio Files Sound Superior To MP3?

The audio quality of the MP3 codec is more than adequate to satisfy the ears of the average music listener. Nevertheless, there are digital audio file formats that sound superior. These alternative codecs provide audio quality that is cleaner and more faithful to the original recording than MP3.

As a lossy encoder, MP3 discards a portion of the original audio data during the compression process. The result is that MP3 files have lower sound quality than other coding formats that retain all (or a higher proportion) of the source data. 

For instance, the AAC encoder produces a slightly better sound than MP3. AAC uses lossy compression like MP3 but has a more advanced and efficient algorithm that reduces the loss of input audio data. While the AAC encoder produces higher-quality audio than MP3, the difference is minimal.

The audio quality of lossless compression formats like FLAC and Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) is significantly higher than MP3. These lossless compression encoders reduce the size of original files but do not lose audio data from audio data.

Uncompressed encoders such as WAV, AU, and AIFF also provide dramatically superior audio quality to the MP3 format. Files that are uncompressed consist of raw audio data whose bit stream is not coded into frames or blocks for the sake of compression.

For further clarity, here is a brief overview of the MP3 codec, followed by an elucidation of the file formats that produce better audio quality.

MP3

The MPEG-1 Layer 3/MPEG-2 Layer 3 (MP3) audio coding format has been in use since the early 1990s. The codec uses lossy compression to significantly reduce the size of the input audio data.

The MP3 encoder relies on a dual algorithmic strategy. MP3 coding combines the modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) and fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithms to convert and compress audio data.

As a lossy format, MP3 encoding compresses data by approximating and removing information to replicate the source audio in a smaller file size. MP3 quantizes the source data, taking multiple signals and integrating them into a smaller set.

The MP3 format achieves this feat through a method of psycho-acoustics called perceptual coding, which identifies and discards input signals that are barely perceptible to the average human ear. For example, MP3 encoders use perceptual coding to remove frequencies at the highest and lowest ends of the spectrum.

The reduced size of MP3s means the files require less hard-drive space to store. MP3 files are also easy to share online because they need less bandwidth than larger formats. Yet the convenience of lossy compression comes at the expense of depreciation in audio quality.

Tests performed according to international standards demonstrate that MP3 files produce a timbre with slightly unpleasant emotional effects on listeners. MP3 also lacks the fidelity of many other codecs. Nonetheless, MP3s offer adequate audio quality for most casual music listeners, especially at bit rates of 256Kbps or more.

AAC

Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is a new and improved iteration of the MP3 format offering higher quality audio than its predecessor (when converted at the same bit rate).

Like MP3, AAC is a lossy compression codec. The difference, however, is that AAC uses a pure MDCT algorithm to convert and compress audio data. This algorithmic configuration processes data more efficiently and accurately than the MDCT-FFT hybrid built into the MP3 format. 

As a result, AAC files produce better sound quality than MP3 encoders. Listening tests demonstrate that people with trained ears can discern between MP3 and AAC. The sound difference between MP3 and AAC is subtle, however, and most people will struggle to distinguish between the formats.   

FLAC

Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) is a lossless compression format that sounds significantly better than MP3. This freeware codec reduces the size of audio files by 50% to 70% without losing data during the compression process, resulting in sound quality that surpasses that of lossy formats like MP3.

FLAC is usually used for compressing and storing pulse code modulation (PCM) data. The codec can encode for an impressive PCM resolution of 32 bits per sample and sampling rates as high as 640Hz.

FLAC encodes through linear prediction, which involves:

  • blocking โ€“ breaking input data into a series of interlinked blocks,
  • interchannel decorrelation โ€“ creating optimal mid and side signals to optimize stereo,
  • prediction โ€“ mathematical modeling to approximate original data in reduced size,
  • residual coding โ€“ resolves discrepancies between the input and predicted signals.

The outcome of FLAC encoding is a compressed audio file that is higher quality than MP3, and that sounds indistinguishable from the original recording.

ALAC

The Apple Lossless Audio Coding (ALAC) format also uses lossless compression. This codec is primarily used for Apple software and devices, though it is compatible with Windows (from v.10 onward). ALAC is an open-source codec (since 2011), though Apple initially released it as a proprietary format (in 2004).

Like FLAC, the ALAC codec relies on linear predictive coding to convert and compress input audio data. This efficient coding enables ALAC encoders to compress audio by 40% to 60% without losing data.

ALAC can encode at an impressively high resolution, with a 384Hz maximum sample rate. 

Due to these coding capabilities, ALAC produces higher-quality sound than MP3.

WAV

Waveform Audio File Format (WAV) is an uncompressed codec offering higher sound quality than MP3 or any other compression encoders described above. 

WAV is probably the most recognized and widely-used type of uncompressed file format (and can also potentially store compressed data). This codec holds raw, unaltered audio data.

WAV is a Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) and stores original audio information in tagged chunks (data containers). The four-character tags prescribe the interpretation of the data in each chunk.

The data is generally stored as linear pulse code modulation (LPCM), which enables more uniform quantization levels than PCM bit stream on FLAC files. Due to its high quality, LPCM is typically the format for CDs.

As an uncompressed audio file storing audio data in the LCPM format, the WAV codec provides noticeably higher sound quality than MP3. The disadvantage is that WAV files are considerably larger than compressed formats such as MP3.

AIFF

Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an uncompressed encoder that Apple created in the late 1980s. AIFF is found predominantly on Mac computers. The audio quality of AIFF is markedly superior to MP3.

AIFF stores high-resolution PCM audio data in uncompressed form. The codec uses a similar storage method to WAV, compartmentalizing the bit stream into chunks containers.

As an uncompressed format, AIFF surpasses compressed codecs like MP3 in sound quality. The superior clarity, dynamics, and fidelity of AIFF come, however, at the cost of storage space.

Conclusion

The MP3 lossy compression encoder produces decent audio quality, but other file formats are available that sound better.

AAC has higher audio quality than MP, though it is a lossy format. Lossless compression codecs like FLAC and ALAC also sound superior to MP3. In addition, the quality of uncompressed audio encoders like AIFF and WAV surpasses that of MP3.

References

Similar Posts