MP3 to WAV conversion
- Thread starter sean5340
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dspear99ca
Super Member
No, there's no way to restore data that's not there.
When music is converted from WAV to MP3, a compression algorithm is used which throws away bits of the music... which bits and how many bits get discarded depends on the settings used and the particular codec. There's ongoing research and development which make the codecs better at figuring out exactly what can be discarded with no, or minimal, loss of fidelity... but it's as much an art as a science as there isn't a clear understanding of exactly how the brain interprets various harmonics and frequencies above that which is normally considered the upper range of human hearing. For example, your neighbor 5 houses away is playing guitar in his backyard. You can almost ALWAYS tell it's a real guitar vs. even a killer pair of speakers... why is that? There are qualities of music we still don't understand and cannot quantify.
When music is converted from WAV to MP3, a compression algorithm is used which throws away bits of the music... which bits and how many bits get discarded depends on the settings used and the particular codec. There's ongoing research and development which make the codecs better at figuring out exactly what can be discarded with no, or minimal, loss of fidelity... but it's as much an art as a science as there isn't a clear understanding of exactly how the brain interprets various harmonics and frequencies above that which is normally considered the upper range of human hearing. For example, your neighbor 5 houses away is playing guitar in his backyard. You can almost ALWAYS tell it's a real guitar vs. even a killer pair of speakers... why is that? There are qualities of music we still don't understand and cannot quantify.
kevzep
Its all about the Music
Correct, I agree.
sean5340
Active Member
Why is there such a huge difference in file size and Bit rate?
PickyEars81
Super Member
The WAV files are encoding the data from the MP3s at a higher bit rate, thus using larger files. But even though you are encoding them at a higher rate, the data that was lost in the original compression (when the MP3 was ripped) is no longer available.
Kind of like you can record a scratchy record to a CD, and it will take up CD space, and be at a CD bitrate (16/44.1 IIRC) but you can't restore the music that was lost due to damage in the record, and your CD will still sound crappy.
TebbieBear
Active Member
Yep, its the only way to get that info back. You can use Apple lossless or Flac to get a smaller file size while still saving some space.
sean5340
Active Member
Well I went with a 2TB HDD might as well go WAV.
Not really. Lossless really means lossless. It is just as good. In fact, it is equivalent in the amount of information - basically the opposite of the situation we have been discussing
whoaru99
Epic Member
I do (WAV) but many disagree and say to use FLAC. I don't necessarily disagree, I just still do WAV. Old habits I guess.
kevzep
Its all about the Music
I would, Ive made the mistake before and had to change the settings and go back and do it again.....
Thats a very good analogy, well put.
Go .WAV, at some point you will be playing it on a nice system and wished you had gone .WAV........
Why you wish you had used a lossless format that takes twice as much space and doesn't have any metadeta?
PickyEars81
Super Member
Compatibility would be a big reason to use WAV instead of FLAC - there is support in more applications (and receivers that connect directly to hdd) for WAV than there is for FLAC.
voltcontrol
Fizheuer Zieheuer
Most 'pro' dj's use WAV too. half of my digi Dj collection is WAV, half of it is FLAC.
I have no clear preference. Quality depends more on the recording quality (I mean what the artists and engineers did) than on one of either file types. WAV is the full monty of course. FLAC will save some diskspace at unnoticable loss.
Pick your favourite..
No loss. Compatibility issues are totally valid, but I consider a lack of metadata to be compatibility issue too...
P.S. I would want wav if I were a DJ, actually. Not having to decompress allows for lesser hardware+software to be able to apply whatever effects or etc. in real time.
uxwbill
Lurking in the Shadows
No, and it can't be. MP3 is a lossy form of compression. It is the encoder or compressor for MP3 format that throws data away. When the data is lost as part of how the encoding process works, you can't get it back unless you have the original, totally uncompressed source file.
However...you can use lossless compression to encode your original music sources, as the idea behind lossless compression is that you could later uncompress the file and will get a bit-for-bit match of the original back. (If you don't, something was lossy, there was an error or someone's counting a bit differently.) Lossless compression won't typically accomplish the same file size reduction that lossy compression will.
A good random example of lossless compression is that of a ZIP file.
There is some difference in MP3 decoders. I won't say that one sounds better than another, but some handle encoding errors better than others do, and may be able to "ride through" distortion.
Computer optical drives aren't always capable of stable audio extraction, especially if they do it at high speed and exceed the rate at which reliable, streaming communications between processor and peripherals can be maintained. If your source is an optical drive and disc, consider enabling "error correction" or slowing down the read rate used by your encoder.