Format Lossless - what is it? High quality music in Lossless format

Lossless in English means "lossless". If the audio signal is compressed using special lossless audio codecs, you can restore it with absolute accuracy if desired.

If you take an ordinary Audio CD with an analog sound, record it in WAV format for uncompressed audio, then perform WAV compression using the lossless codec, then decompress the resulting audio file into WAV and record the result on a blank CD, then you can get two completely identical Audio CD.

The advantage of lossless for storing a sound collection is that the quality of records is much higher than that of lossy codecs, and they take up less space than uncompressed audio. True, lossy files are smaller in size than music files without losing quality. Most of today's software players understand the format lossless. Those programs that can not reproduce it can easily learn this using the lossless plug-in. What is lossless audio format?

Sound formats without loss of quality

A true music lover is unlikely to accept the sound of music recorded in formats with compression of Ogg Vorbis or MP3. Of course, if you listen to audio recordings on household audio equipment, the lack of sound can not be caught by ear, but if you try to play a compressed file on high-end Hi-Fi equipment, you will immediately notice a lack of sound. Of course, it is not easy to create a collection of high-quality music on CDs or vinyl records. There is a reasonable alternative to this path for fans of quality sound - lossless music. It can be stored on a PC in a form that makes it possible to preserve the original music parameters unchanged, even if compression is applied. This path simultaneously solves the problems of high quality music and its compact storage, because audio equipment for listening (headphones, speakers, amplifiers) is quite affordable.

Uncompressed audio formats without loss of quality:

• CDDA - is the standard audio CD;
• WAV - Microsoft Wave;
• IFF-8SVX;
• IFF-16SV;
• AIFF;
• AU;
• RAW.

Compressed formats:

• FLAC;
• APE - Monkey's Audio;
• M4A - Apple Lossless - the format of high-quality music from Apple;
• WV - WavPack;
• WMA - Windows Media Audio 9;
• LA - Lossless Audio;
• TTA - True Audio.
• LPAC;
• OFR - OptimFROG;
• RKA - RKAU;
• SHN - Shorten.

FLAC format

The most common format is the FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) format. From audio codecs with losses, it is distinguished by the fact that no data is deleted from the audio stream when using it. This makes it possible to successfully use it to play music on Hi-Fi and Hi-End equipment, as well as to create an archive of the collection of audio recordings.

The great advantage of the format is its free distribution. This is important for musicians who independently record music. The format has recently gained a lot of popularity, thanks to which its support is included in the vast majority of media players.

APE format

Unlike FLAC, for the APE format there are only codecs and plug-ins that are designed for the Windows platform. For other platforms, there are expensive solutions from third-party software vendors. The algorithm is able to achieve compression of audio information without losses by approximately 1.5-2 times. It includes three main stages of coding, of which only one is based on applying properties inherent in the sound for compression. The rest are similar to ordinary archivers. Despite the fact that the compression algorithm is distributed free of charge, the license restrictions are such that for amateur musicians it is almost inaccessible.

Apple Lossless Format

High quality lossless music can be audible using the audio compression codec without compromising quality from Apple. This format is developed by Apple for use in their own devices. The format is compatible with iPod players that have special docking connectors and the latest firmware. The format does not use specific rights management (DRM) tools, but the container format contains such features. It is also supported by the QuickTime application and is included as a function in iTunes.

The format is included in the libraries that are freely available, which makes it possible to organize the listening of files in Windows applications. In 2011, Apple released the source codes of the format, which opens wide prospects for the codec. In the future, it can seriously compete with other formats. Tests showed good results. Compressed files have a size from 40-60% of the size of the originals. Impressive is also the decoding speed, which justifies its use for mobile devices, whose performance is not high.

One of the drawbacks of the codec is the coincidence of the expansion of audio files with the audio codec AAC (Advanced Audio Coding). This leads to confusion, because AAC is not a high-quality music format. Therefore, it was decided to store the data in MP4 container with the extension .m4a.

Of the other formats worth mentioning is Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless, which is part of the Windows Media application. It works with Windows and Mac OS X. True, users do not approve of it very approvingly. There are often problems with codec compatibility, and the number of supported channels is limited to six.

WavPack Format

WavPack is another freely available audio codec that compresses audio information without loss of quality. In WavPack integrated exclusive mode is integrated, allowing you to create two files. One of the files in this mode is created in a relatively small size with the loss of quality .wv, which can be played independently. The second ".wvc" file corrects the previous ".wv" and in combination with it makes it possible to restore the original to the fullest. For some users, this approach may seem promising, because you do not need to choose between two types of compression - both will always be implemented.

Also worthy of attention is the video codec with high-quality sound - lagarith lossless codec. It works quickly and efficiently.

Soft for listening lossless-audio

Software players did not immediately learn how to work with specific lossless codecs, which can reproduce sound without loss.

WinAmp Player

This player is able to cope with almost all formats of music playback without loss of quality lossless. What is a good lossless player can be understood by its example. He is able to correctly handle the processing of individual tracks in the format lossless. This is a typical problem for FLAC or APE codecs. It consists in the fact that the whole audio disk is digitized at once and recorded in one file without dividing it into tracks. The problem of splitting into tracks is designed to solve an additional file with the extension .cue. It contains a description of the access parameters for each track of the album. An ordinary player plays the whole lossless file as a whole. The player for lossless AIMP perfectly reproduces most of the audio formats and recognizes tracks in a file of lossless format.

Digital players with lossless support

Well responded to users about digital players jetAudio, Foobar2000, Spider Player. There are no cardinal differences between them. The choice of any device is based on the subjective opinion of the music lover about the convenience of the interface for the playback of lossless. What is lossless format, you can learn by testing these players.

The Apple Lossless format is played using iTunes. In addition, this codec is supported by the popular VLC video player.

Hosts of computers compatible with Apple can use two interesting programs: Vox and Cog.

They support such lossless formats:

• Apple Lossless;
• FLAC;
• Monkeys Audio;
• Wavpack.

In addition, there are many useful features, for example, Last.fm services are supported.

Owners of computers with the Windows system can use any application that is compatible with music codecs without loss of quality: Foobar2000 or WinAmp. Winamp requires special plugins. Lossless music plays well on iTunes and KMPlayer. The advantage of iTunes, which is not in other players - the ability to support tags.

Compatible with lossless

It is unlikely that the owner of the library will want to spend time converting files from the FLAC format to MP3 to be able to listen to the recordings on his gadget. A smartphone or tablet has limited capabilities incomparable with a computer, but nevertheless many of the mobile devices lose lossless formats.

For example, owners of devices running Android can use the player andLess. It is able to play files in FLAC, APE, uncompressed WAV and other formats supported by Android.

Worse things are with the owners of devices on the Blackberry platform. Only owners of models Bold 9000 and 8900 and later versions can listen to the lossless format.

Holders of Apple devices can easily use the ALAC codec. It is supported by the iPod (except shuffle) player, iPhone phone and iPad tablet. For FLAC format, you can download FLAC Player in the App Store.

The FLAC codec is supported by Samsung Galaxy devices, some Sony Ericsson smartphones and iriver players.

Have received support for FLAC and fixed devices from many manufacturers. Media players and media centers allow you to do without a personal computer when listening to tracks without losing quality.

For now, before the full support of absolutely all formats is far, but it's enough that the media player understands the FLAC codec - the most common quality lossless codec. What is lossless playback hardware?

Equipment for listening

To get real pleasure from the sound quality, you need special equipment: headphones, amplifiers, speakers. The easiest way, of course, is with headphones. If you intend to enjoy music sitting at the computer, they will do the best. Well responded users about the products of companies Koss and Sennheiser. Particular attention should be paid to the size of the membrane. The bigger it is, the better the sound. It is important not to be deceived. Some manufacturers put a small membrane in large ear cups - these headphones look solid, and the sound is only suitable for listening to mp3.

For fans of high-quality sound equipment (Hi-Fi or Hi-End) it is difficult to recommend anything. The choice in this area is limited only by the budget and tastes. Equalizer, amplifier, acoustics - the choice of these devices has many options. Owners of PCs that choose their own quality acoustics for a computer, it is better to stop on the budget monitor columns of any famous brand. Well answered users about the acoustics of Microlab SOLO series. To music in lossless quality sounded good, it is important to purchase acoustics with the presence of a subwoofer. Two-way acoustics can not cope with the reproduction of the lower frequency band.

Results

New formats of digital sound enabled the fans of high-quality music to acquire their own libraries on high-capacity media and listen to their favorite songs in high quality, saving a lot of money and quite a lot of space. The ideal option, of course, is a complete set of Hi-End equipment, but budget options will give music lovers great pleasure. After all, the sensations of listening to music are incomparable with MP3 on plastic speakers.

Lossless format is often used in the work of home music studio. It allows you to save the created track in good quality. The composition does not take much space, but it can be shared with friends. Lossless music is becoming more common. It is possible that it will even begin to displace traditional mp3 formats.