Which format do you prefer?

Padraic wrote: Mr ProgFreak wrote: My favorite: MP3 VBR ~256kbps. Replace MP3 with OGG and you have my answer. Although I do have FLAC backups for all my physical discs.

I just like the fact that I can use MP3 on any device. OGG/Vorbis may be superior in quality, but usability is very important for me, and you can't hear a difference between either MP3, OGG/Vorbis or FLAC at these bitrates anyway. Granted, FLAC is cool because you can use it to create MP3 or OGG/Vorbis on the fly when streaming via Subsonic/Audiogalaxy without any loss through transcoding. But many years ago, when I started to rip my collection, I neither had the storage capacity nor the mobile player / network for this streaming solution. So all things considered, I'm happy and content with my collection of 16,000+ 100% legit MP3 tracks.

Mr ProgFreak wrote: My favorite: MP3 VBR ~256kbps.

Vibrationbaby wrote: All my friends comment about the ticks and scratches on vinyl. I just tell them I don't listen to the ticks and scratches, I listen to the bloody music. All this high tech crap makes me want to go to the toilet and lose my buiscuts.

Interesting, bllerrrrggghhh. 

There is software that can fix those things somewhat but you have to rip them to a digital format these days.  Back in the vinyl days I did have a device you could run the turntable signal through.  Didn't work really well, but for the more serious record flaws, it was better than listening to the music straight up.


Edited by Slartibartfast - October 20 2010 at 10:33

FLAC is very useful you don`t lose quality and also more and more players are including a codec to reproduce this kind of format.

1- Vynil, even if storage becomes difficult.
2- CD for the sound and the feel/artwork/sitting down while noone can just hit "shuffle" and ruin your listen
3- OGG for digital formats. mp3 isn't better and is proprietary. plus, i've always been reassured (no objective reason) by Ogg at max quality (~500kbps)

I find flac to be the most useless (for me), unless you're in the following situation:
you want to see if you can differentiate 96kHz (or more) encoding from 48/44 and you managed to get a 96kHz version of a studio recorded track.
If not, just buy the CD. Equal quality plus the artwork/booklet/physical format...

A live performance 

Paravion wrote: Tape. No contest.

When I get a better sound card and speakers, FLAC/CD. At this point though it's really hard to tell the difference between 320/V0 mp3 and CD and lossless formats. Overall, V0/320 kbps mp3, because FLAC files are overall too impractical, but essential for classical recordings, if possible.

CDs