Find solution
What are some of New Zealand's prehistoric artifacts?

Audiophiles: What are the best "tests" for clearly hearing MP3 compression artifacts?

  • I've never really noticed MP3 compression artifacts before. I guess if it's really low like 96k, something seems off about it, like it's tinny, but I actually can't put my finger on what exactly is wrong. At something like 160kbps, I would never spontaneously notice something to be MP3 rather than OGG or whatever. So the question is: what are the ideal circumstances for plainly hearing compression artifacts at, say, 160kbps MP3? (Or 128k, whatever) For example: What 10-second section of what song would work well? What types of listening setups will work? For concreteness, have a laptop and I can plug in Grado headphones, Philips earbuds, or a basic computer speaker (Logitech S715i). Nothing fancy. Are any of these setups sufficient? As specifically as you can manage, what about the compressed version sounds like crap? The overall point of this is to better understand what noticeable artifacts actually happen, i.e. why anyone ever cares that something is "only" 160k.

  • Answer:

    On a song that's recorded well, it's very easy to hear the difference between 128kbps vs 256 kbps mp3 files, assuming you have decent gear (Your Grado headphones should be fine). Here's an example on Pandora free user vs Pandora One user audio quality difference (I'm guessing 128 kbps vs 192kbps). Listen and compare the compressed vs less compressed version. http://www.pandora.com/one What you'll find: It's tough to describe, but the music generally sounds flatter, muddier, separation between instruments in the recording are non existent, and the music doesn't sound open and clean. These are just a few characteristics. you'll notice for all extra compressed music. The Pandora One example may be a more extreme version of the difference, so here are a few audiophile community accepted reference tracks you should download and use for testing. Compress the file to a 128 and 256 version, and you should hear the difference. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (any track is good) The Eagles - Hotel California Diana Krall - Live in Paris - Track 1 Personally, there's a huge audible difference between 128 kbps -> 256 kbps, but law of diminishing return kicks in, and the marginal difference between 256 kbps -> 320 kbps -> FLAC becomes less and less. 256 kbps should be acceptable for most people, and most people can't hear the difference between 256 onwards.

Kevin Choy at Quora Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

The best place to hear artifacts of any sort in audio would probably be a studio with a full range monitoring system. Usually Mastering engineers rely on such a system when introducing dither. Quite honestly, to a consumer the artifacts are near absent, especially at higher bitrates. I'm assuming you don't have access to a mastering studio. Maybe see if you can find yourself a pair of professional headphones (Not DJ ones). Professional headphones by Sennheiser, AKG, Shure, might be good choices to consider, and I can't promise you'll the artifacts in plain sight with this gear. It is also a matter of how much you are used to There are ways of telling that an mp3 is inferior when compared to its lossless counterpart, and it goes without saying that the monitoring system should stay the same. Make sure the level is fairly loud. Most of the artifacts are masked, and its best to make sure you magnify before looking. Some places where the compression might be more prominent: 1) Listen for fades - Fade ins and outs have lesser resolution in most cases. Quiet parts might have reverb tails that get truncated sooner than the lossless counterparts. 2) Exaggerate the compression - Encode from Lossless to 160Kbps, and from lossless to 64 or lower. Load each file into a separate lane in a multi track software, and try to replay parts while switching between the tracks. You might notice the degradation better. 3) Listen for change in High Freqency Content - What you described as Tinny. The best way is to exaggerate the effect I guess. I think it also helps to listen to no mp3s as much as you can. Somehow it just gets to you and you find a slight difference when it is more obvious.

Aditya Tirumala

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.