All you wanna know about Flacs

[Joa23]

Theres a lot of questions and doubs in the forum about FLAC files and how are they different from mp3, Im gonna try and compile enough information about it in an easy, understandable way.

Differences between Analog Audio and Digital Audio

Analog sounds exist as waveforms. To convert a waveform into digital bits, the sound must be sampled and recorded at certain intervals (or pulses).
Digital Audio has a Sampling Rate or how often a sample is made (kHz) a Bit Depth or how many bits are used to represent each sample (Bits) and a Bitrate or how many Bits are processed in a second (kbps)

Bit Depth: Computer stores information in 1 and 0s. Those binary values are called bits . The higher the number of bits indicates more space for information storage.

Sample Rate: In digital audio recordings, sample rate is analogous to the framerate in video. The more sound data (samples) gathered per period of time, the closer to the original analog sound the captured data becomes.

Bitrate: Bitrate (or bit rate, if you prefer) refers to the number of bits conveyed or processed per second, or minute, or whatever unit of time is used as measurement.
It’s kind of like the sample rate, but instead, what’s measured is the number of bits instead of the number of samples.
In essence, the more bits you can fit into a unit of time, the closer it comes to recreating the original continuously variable sound wave, and thus the more accurate it is as a representation of the song.

Lets get familiar with the most common Audio Formats:

• PCM: PCM stands for Pulse-Code Modulation, is a digital representation of raw analog audio signals. There is no compression involved. The digital recording is a close-to-exact representation of analog sound.
  PCM is the most common audio format used in CDs (44.1 kHz/16-bit) and DVDs (from 48 kHz/16-bit to 96 kHz/24-bit).

• WAV: WAV stands for Waveform Audio File Format. It’s a standard that was developed by Microsoft and IBM back in 1991. Most WAV files contain uncompressed audio in PCM format.

• MP3: MP3 stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 . It was released back in 1993 and exploded in popularity, eventually becoming the most popular audio format in the world for music files.
  MP3 is a highly compressed audio file and can only go up to 16 Bits, 320 kbps in quality, which is a huge drop from the full PCM capability.

The main goal of MP3 is three-fold:

1. To drop all the sound data that exists beyond the hearing range of normal people.
2. To reduce the quality of sounds that aren’t easy to hear.
3. To compress all other audio data as efficiently as possible.

• WMA: WMA stands for Windows Media Audio . It was first released in 1999 and has undergone several evolutions since then, all while keeping the same WMA name and extension. It’s a proprietary format created by Microsoft.

• AAC: AAC stands for Advanced Audio Coding. It was developed in 1997 as the successor to MP3, and while it did catch on as a popular audio format, it never really overtook MP3 as the most popular.
  The compression algorithm used by AAC is much more advanced and technical than MP3, so when you compare the same recording in MP3 and AAC formats at the same bitrates, the AAC one will generally have better sound quality.

• FLAC: FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. It has quickly become one of the most popular lossless formats available since its introduction in 2001.
  What’s nice is that FLAC can compress an original source file by up to 60 percent without losing a single bit of data. What’s even nicer is that FLAC is an open-source and royalty-free audio file format, so it doesn’t impose any intellectual property constraints.

• ALAC: ALAC stands for Apple Lossless Audio Codec. It was developed and launched in 2004 as a proprietary format but eventually became open-source and royalty-free in 2011. ALAC is sometimes referred to as Apple Lossless.
  While ALAC is good, it’s slightly less efficient than FLAC when it comes to compression. However, Apple users don’t really have a choice between the two because iTunes and iOS both provide native support for ALAC and no support at all for FLAC. Unless you use VLC Player.

Now… Why Flac is so convenient?

• FLAC is basically a “ZIP” file for the full WAV file, as you would get from the original recording.
• FLAC is not just restricted to 16-bit/44.1kHz (CD quality), you can get files up to 24-bit/192kHz.
• FLAC Bitrate is variable (Can easily go higher than 4096 kbps) It will go as high as it needs to be in order to keep full sound quality.
• Audio data incurs no loss of information as the integrity of audio data is further insured by storing an MDS signature in the file header.
• FLAC is asymmetric, and it requires integer arithmetic, which is less compute-intensive than most perceptual codecs.
• Dozens of consumer electronic devices are compatible with FLAC, from simple players to stereo equipment.
• FLAC supports tags, tables, cover art, and cue sheets. It allows the implementation of new metadata without breaking older streams.
• FLAC files are suitable for use in editing applications, and it supports fast sample-accurate seeking.
• In the FLAC file, the cue sheet can be exported to burn an exact copy of the original CD.

The easiest way to understand the main difference between an Mp3 and a Flac audio file is with a little analogy.

Lets say you find a picture you like on the internet and download it, its a .jpg (Compressed and Lossy), you wanna use the picture and it looks good in your screen, but when you zoom on it, you discover it pixelates a lot.
You go find another version of the same picture on the internet and you find the same picture, but its a bigger file in .PNG format (Compressed and Lossless). When you download that new photo you notice you can zoom in a lot more and it has a lot more detail and depth.

Image Sample: (Notice how the info is “shaved off” at 20kHz on the Mp3 and not in the Flac.

Does this means that listening to subs in .mp3 format is a subpar experience?

Thats a definitive NO! They work perfectly fine in mp3 and we all have had plenty of amazing results with them. They are masterfully crafted and tested.

Why do I want FLAC then?

You get much more sound clarity, better overall quality, specially in all the little details and nuances.

Theres a reason why listening to your favorite music with High End Headphones or Speakers, from a well mastered CD feels so much better than listening from youtube over some low quality headphones/speakers. You enjoy the former so much more, because it engages you on an emotional level, with all the details, the clarity of the instruments, the whole experience is just better. Youtube on the other hand is compressed as hell.

[Joa23]

Did some Spectrogram analisys with Spek, both versions of True Sell (mp3 and Flac)

You can notice the Shave off in the mp3 at 20 kHz, but I noticed a surprise! The Flac is 24 Bits instead of 16, like the mp3 or what I supposed the Flacs would be.
Im gonna check the other Flacs to see if they are all 24 Bits.

[Joa23]

Yeah the same is true for Emperor Flac and Ascension Chamber Flac, both are 24 Bits.

@SaintSovereign maybe thats the reason flac is taking so much longer to produce, you can safely set it to 16 Bits to make it quicker.

Dont get me wrong I prefer 24 Bits, but is a bit of an overkill… I believe you can get a little smaller file and produce them faster if you keep them in 16 Bits.

[Sungaze]

Wow very informative!

I’d love to learn audio post production

[Present1]

It just shows us how far ahead ZP is, respect . Thx for the confirmation @Joa23

[Joa23]

@Sungaze

Wow very informative!

Thank you!

[Joa23]

@Present1

It just shows us how far ahead ZP is

ZP rules!!

[TheSunlightCaller]

@Joa23

higher the number of bits indicates more space for information storage.

Sample Rate: In digital audio recordings, sample rate is analogous to the framerate in video. The more sound data (samples) gathered per period of time, the closer to the original analog sound the captured data becomes.

Bitrate: Bitrate (or bit rate, if you prefer) refers to the number of bits conveyed or processed per second, or minute, or whatever unit of time is used as measurement.
It’s kind of like the sample rate, but instead, what’s measured is the number of bits instead of the number of samples.
In essence, the more bits you can fit into a unit of time, the closer it comes to recreating the original continuously variable sound wave, and thus the more accurate it is as a representation of the song.

@Joa23 Wow, thanks for the info! My brain hurts, lol! This is great information to know.

[aaa]

24 bit hi-res is better for subliminals?

[SubClubHouseMafia]

@Joa23

You can notice the Shave off in the mp3 at 20 kHz, but I noticed a surprise!

what exactly is being shaved off?

[Chase]

The details/data top out at 20kHz.

[Joa23]

All the sound frequencies higher than 20kHz are cutted off in all mp3, to save space and get a smaller file. Its how mp3s are design.

In a 44.1kHz file you could have sound info up to 22kHz per channel, in a 48kHz you could have 24kHz per channel, in a 96kHz file up to 48kHz per channel of audio.

Its claimed that the human ear can only hear between the ranges of 20Hz and 20kHz, and when you get older your capacity to hear on the higher range diminishes considerably.

Theres a long endless debate in the audiophile comunity that argues they can hear/percieve the higher frequencies and claim that given the same master of a song it will sound much better in a 24bits/96kHz flac than in a mp3… they swear by it, but most refuse to do blind test… I wonder why?

I find that a 16/44.1 flac comming from a well mastered source is more than enough and sounds great, better than the mp3 of the same song from the same source… at least to my ears with my audio setup. Since listening to music has a great subjective component… I get my music in that format and I enjoy it more.

[aaa]

@Joa23

I find that a 16/44.1 flac comming from a well mastered source is more than enough and sounds great, better than the mp3 of the same song from the same source… at least to my ears with my audio setup. Since listening to music has a great subjective component… I get my music in that format and I enjoy it more.

Is this also valid for subs?

[Joa23]

@aaa

Is this also valid for subs?

Subs are different, they are not really music per se. Music has way more frequencies at the same time from all the instruments and voices. The whole purpuse of the experience of listening to music is different than listening to subs.

Ive been listening to subs in mp3 format through my headphones with excellent results for more than 3 years… So for me having subs in flac is not a necessity, but a cool choice.

Its my belief that we had a great improvement when subs got updated from 192kbps mp3 to 320kbps mp3, to me thats more than enough, but again having flacs appeals to the collector in me that looks for the best quality possible.

[SubClubHouseMafia]

@Joa23

Anyways the human ear can only hear between the ranges of 20Hz and 20kHz

what about the subconscious mind? can it receive auditory input above 20kHz?

[Joa23]

I would say Yes… Some parts of our nervous system can definitely react to frequencies that are beyond the scope of human Hearing/Seeing, like Magnetic fields and all sorts of cool stuff.

[RVconsultant]

@Joa23 The reason I might want a higher quality file is to reduce the amount of processing my brain has to do to interpret the audio. That way, my brain could focus more on the script itself.

Would you please comment on how the different files might be relative to what I posted in the paragraph above?

[Joa23]

@RVconsultant

Would you please comment on how the different files might be relative to what I posted in the paragraph above?

The type of file is only 1 part of the equation, the original audio recording, mastering, equalization is at least as important, I would argue even more important.

As an example if I digitized a 1st edition LP of Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon in 24 Bits/96 kHz Wav, then convert that wav to 24/96 Flac, 16/44 Flac and 320 kbps mp3 and you have good quality audio equipment you will most likely notice a diference in quality between the mp3 and the other 2. Not so much or not at all between the 2 flac versions. All come from the same original recording.

If I have the same album on mp3 from a top notch original recording vs a 24/96 flac digitized from a shitty/compressed recording, the mp3 will sound better.

Since all the subs are created with the same process (same source) I dont think theres such a huge difference between a 320 mp3 and a 16/44 flac. I mean theres a quality improvement for sure, but its not going to be the thing that makes or breaks your results.
There was an important quality improvement between 192 and 320 mp3 though. Im up for having Flac as the standard.

Theres a point in which if you continue to create higher quality files you get diminishing returns, too big of a file and too little of a difference in percieved quality. I dont see a point in releasing subs in Wav.

For me the sweet spot is 16/44 Flac, thats the point in which you can keep the original audio intact and have a small enough file.

Would any of this have an effect in the amount of processing your brain (or anyone elses) has to do to interpret the audio? It might, but I have no way to be sure of that… We already started with a clear, well produced audio in the first place.
I think you can achieve a lot of improvement in that area by investing in a good enough pair of headphones.

[aaa]

@Joa23

For me the sweet spot is 16/44 Flac, thats the point in which you can keep the original audio intact and have a small enough file.

If it is inaudible is it still audio? Anything in the subliminal range(which we cant’t hear) is that still audio or ‘energy’?

What is best for results?

Edit: also if an suggestion is received by our subconscious does tone matter and would clarity be better if the flac would be higher than 16/44? What direct or indirect effects would this produce?

[Joa23]

@aaa

If it is inaudible is it still audio?

Yes, thats what your Ultrasonic subliminal is, an audio file that you cant hear consciously, but its unconsciously percieved and acted upon.

@aaa

Anything in the subliminal range(which we cant’t hear) is that still audio or ‘energy’?

Its both, we give the name audio to a specific range of electro-magnetic energy that stimulates the eardrum and is processed by the auditory cortex of the brain. As far as I understand (not being an expert) ultrasonic and subliminal audio is still processed in the brain by the auditory cortex, they still stimulate the eardrum.

Anyway Im not an expert, nor a neuro scientist.

@aaa

Edit: also if an suggestion is received by our subconscious does tone matter and would clarity be better if the flac would be higher than 16/44? What direct or indirect effects would this produce?

Im not sure I understand what you are asking or whether I can answer it.