Which format do you prefer?

[Blackbrook]

Hello everybody,

I am using MP3s which i bought at beatport or trackitdown. Till yesterday I was happy with the sound and I thought that nothing can beat this format. Till I read an interview about Steve Bug's new album where he is also talking about gear (the good old analog - digital discussion). He is using Traktor since the days it was called Final Scratch and so he was one of the first DJs playing this way. In this interview he said that MP3s are crap and if you play them the whole evening your ears will become crappy too. So he recommends Wav files which, even if they are bigger, are better. Good tuned ears will hear the difference he said but till now i did not recognize it wether i played live at parties or at home. Another matter of fact is that i.e. beatport sells wav files with 1€ extra per file.

What do you think about it? I was looking in the forum seaerch but did not find a topic that fits my problem. If this one already exists please copy this as a post and delete this thread. Thanks!

Thanks for your replies and greetings,

Steve

[Esca]

I agree that mp3 are quite all crap! I use mp3 at least at 192, if I can at 320, but when I can I use wav or aiff files, you can also try it by yourself if load an mp3 and start tweaking it with filters, eq, and so on you will find the missing point of the mp3. Simplifying the mp3 compression is: the frequency that can't be heard by the human ear will be removed. This sounds good in a normal listen condition, like mp3 player or in the car but not when you have to work with...I've ripped some vinyl in wav and also converted in mp3 (320khz) but after some test I use only the wave files, because when you start scratchin, using the eq, the fx and technique like a slow drag, the limitations of the mp3s came out.

So, in conclusion, I prefer wav, aiff or mp3 at least @ 192khz.

cheers mate

[gakto2009]

the only problem with perceptual coding and using psychoacoustic modeling around human hearing is.....

Dogs hate it!

[gakto2009]

And i’m not kidding either, there is a specific frequency rage (not sure what but it is quite high up) that when generated by an analogue tone generator (much like the one the doctor will use to test your hearing) will be fine for a dog... but if you encode it to a 96khz mp3, it will drive a dog MAD!!

Where is Daniel Clark? We could try it on that old dog!

[abitmessie]

Gakto thats some funny sh*t
just did it to my staffy havent laughed that hard in ages
dont think he found it that funny thou
Nice one!!

[abitmessie]

WAV's all the way now! if only i was thinking the same 3 years ago but hey can always re rip the vinyl now hard drives are so cheap!!

[daniel clark]

Yeah I just happened to be away for that one Gatko,Pretty funny,Dont mind a good laugh every once in a while that one caught me by surprise If that is the price to pay for your good efforts around here then i have to take the brunt some times

Second thougtht If you tried to get me to hear it thru the headphone set up in home i would be safe

[hemskoc]

Just don't use anything below 320k - it makes so much difference up loud. Scratching really does sound better when the file quality is higher. The only other format i use is WAV and VBR ( but only if it doesn't go below 192k)

[Blackbrook]

perhaps another question:

Where do you buy your music?

I buy my music mainly at beatport but there are costs of 1€ per wav file. Are there any other download shops where you do not have to pay for the wav files?

[abitmessie]

i generally use Juno or Junodownload, any they do charge extra for WAV files i haven't seen any store that does not charge extra