🚀 go-pugleaf

Pascal <pdurocher@usa.net> wrote in message
news:369A4971.D050DBD3@usa.net...
>Well... ATRAC is known to suck real badly with it's 4:1 compression (is
>this the one?). It is not using a psychoacoustic model like the MPEG
>Layer 3 standard. But honestly, technically speaking, I don't know much
>about the ATRAC standard other than it sucks. :)

I wouldn't go that far...but I will state for the record one of the main
reasons I sold my MD deck was the ATRAC artifacting. I found it particularly
noticeable and irritating in the upper range of the audible frequency
spectrum. My postulation is that the ATRAC coding scheme is fundamentally
flawed because it allocates a fixed number of bits in the lower (bass) range
of audible frequencies and varies the number of bits devoted to the upper
(mids/treble) range. Since the human ear is most sensitive to distortions in
the mids and treble, you'd think it would make more sense to allocate a
fixed number of bits for encoding that information. On the other hand, I
think if ATRAC were configured in that manner the compression ratio would be
less than 4:1.

>About the MP3 standard, well... you have total control over how much
>compression you get. The "internet standard" of 128kbps will sound okay
>but it is known not to sound right on a good system (I couldn't try it
>myself). You can compress at 160kbps, 192, 256 and 384kbps (or lower
>than 128kbps) for example. At 256kbps experts CAN'T distinguish between
>the original signal and the compressed one.
>
>I know I am going to get BLASTED for that but... imagine this :
>
>You copy 256kbps .mp3's on a CD-R and play them back through your
>hyper-noise PC house and through the S/PDIF output of your Sound Blaster
>card... to your external DAC... and you get equal or better results than
>your CD Transport with alumnium CDs to your DAC...
>Take that ! :)

I agree. What I notice most about MP3 playback on my PC through my stereo is
the vast improvement in dynamics and bass defintion and control. I do trade
an iota of smoothness, but that is probably explained by the fact it's an
MP3. My theory is that the output stage of my AWE32 card provides marginally
higher current than the output stage of my CD player. Or I may not have them
properly level matched.

Adam

>Kit-pui Wong wrote:
>
>> ATRAC (for MD) and MP3 are both irreversible data "compression"
>> algorithms.
>> Which one loses more data during "compression" ?
>> Which one gives worse audio result, theoretically and/or
>> practically ??
>>
>> Thanks in advance !
>