MP3 players forum: AAC or MP3

Actually AAC is better than Mp3 at all kbps. AAC takes up 2/3 of the space of mp3 files while offering a little bit better quality. So, at 128 kbps AAC, a song sounds better than 192 kbps mp3. AAC is actually a continuation of the mp3 conversion project. Some samll company(sorry, forgot the name) wanted to compress cd files to put on a computers harddrive to save space while minimalizing the loss of quality. Hence, mp3 was born. The AAC conversion is a continuation of that project, that's why if you look under the file type for your AAC songs, it actually lists them as MPEG-4. Apple has sence then bought the rights to AAC and that's the reason why only ipods are allowed to play them.

you get my gist tho, AAC is still the better choice for the amount of space you want to take up. But, isn't apple the only company that has the rite to call thier encoding AAC? I'm pretty sure i read that somewhere...
Btw, wow where did u get all this stuff? That's creeping me out how much u focus on this stuff. Do u work with mp3 players for a living?

Nice post.

I am an audio engineer and systems integrator. I read posts like this all the time and it always baffles me that no one talks about the quality of the source material. So I have to say something. DUH! ever heard of GI/GO?? Even if you are compressing a store bought CD doesn't mean ANYTHING except the 44.1 blah blah. And also test how good your ears are! Everyones are different. Just because of the format or bitrate doesn't mean YOU will tell the difference. (some will of course) I just compressed ''Master of Reality'' for example. Unless it's remastered, (by you preferably) it's going to sound just as crappy as it origionaly did, no matter the bit rate. Of course there has been a huge difference in technology since then, but consider today's music. Some are produced masterfully, but most are noisy crap right from the studio. UR right about storage and MP3, personally the way storage is going I will probably revert to .wav. Consider the source, the quality, and if it's good, go to 192 MP3 and that should about do it. Just my 2 cents. I'm not going to get into it, but screw AAC.

nkren is right. AAC and WMA have much better sound quality at low bit rates. By the time you get up to 192kbps there is very little difference and which is best is arguable. With memory prices dropping the way they are I don't see why anyone would want to encode at any less than this (many people encode at 320 kbps). Stick with MP3 (use the LAME VBR encoder) and you can be sure your music will work on any device you choose in the future. Personally, I'm in the process of reripping everything to FLAC (true lossless quality, 65% of the size) ready for when I get my iAudio U3 in the new year.

Good luck finding a DVD player that plays AAC and there are fewer car players also.

People overlook the other elements of any sound system also: the headphones/speakers and environment are just as important, and often moreso, than the quality of the compression format.

For example, in all but the most quiet of Mercede's Benz's (assuming you believe the commercial) good luck hearing all the details of even the best quality recording while road and outside noise impacts the environment.

Then there's your ears and the speakers/headphones. Everyone's ears are different and are able to appreciate a quality reproduction less and less with age as frequency range sensitivity decreases (40 +/- seems to be an increased time of decline setting in). Finally the speakers may or may not accurately represent even what the player is sending out. So, we have ear buds that can't handle bass (though getting better with closed designs).

The bottom line often on sound is too often what a spec tells anyone. As a major retailer of audio systems for a decade, I know that the most important part is what you perceive you as an individual are hearing and whether it sounds good, or good enough, to you. Nothing else matters.

Better off to go with the universality of MP3, determine the compression rate that satisfies your hearing and reap the benefits of a wider standard: more players with more features avaialable.