WMA vs. MP3 Which one has better SOUND QUALITY?

[Jarrod]

I've always been ripping music using 192kbps WMA, but it is as good as the 320kbps MP3? I'm just curious as to which format has better sound quality, since I'm getting a new mp3 player soon. (it's 4GB and supports both)

[Raven322]

i think wma sounds better than mp3 at the same kbps. aac sounds the best though

[Calvin]

Yes, it makes a huge difference. You can hear things you couldn't before and most of that background noise is out of it. Now what's better is Lossless and since you have a 4gb it's perfect for you. Also remember no talk of piracy here.

[Airman]

no talk of piracy here.

Too late...


People nowadays, they hear Music and thats the first thing that comes to their minds. wow

I guess the RIAA is doing their job right.

[Calvin]

Well maybe he...or...hrm. =\ I guess it is to late.

[Jarrod]

Piracy huh?
I though mp3 players doesn't support WMA Lossless...

[David]

Here's cut and paste from wikipedia (note that WMA is made by microsoft):

"Microsoft claims that audio encoded with WMA sounds better than MP3 at the same bit rate; Microsoft also claims that audio encoded with WMA at lower bit rates sound better than MP3 at higher bit rates. Double blind listening tests with other lossy audio codecs have shown varying results, from failure to support Microsoft's claims about its superior quality to supremacy over other codecs. One independent test conducted in May 2004 at 128 kbit/s showed that WMA was roughly equivalent to LAME MP3; inferior to AAC and Vorbis; and superior to ATRAC3 (software version). Another test performed by ExtremeTech showed different results, however, placing WMA at the top of the list in terms of quality."

[Jarrod]

Wait, I just realized that I can use AAC as well. So does AAC beat both mp3 and WMA?

[sasanac]

I would go with AAC out of those options IMO. Whether or not it beats WMA or mp3 I've no idea lol, but, I think it sounds better!

But out of any music format I would use FLAC if it were an option or Ogg tho very few music players will play those two formats.

[Fade To Black]

AAC beats MP3 and WMA. There is also OGG, but people ignore that as it is not supported by hardware players.