Audacity Forum

AudiOw wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 04, 2018 4:05 pm

I also have plenty of FLAC files. How can I tell if those are 24-bit or better?

In my opinion, it doesn't really matter. 16-bit is the same as is used by audio CDs. Unless you intend to always listen in a professional studio environment, it will not be possible to hear the difference between 16-bit and 24-bit.

The only difference between 16-bit and 24-bit is the level of the digital noise floor. For 16-bit, the digital noise floor is extremely low - typically much lower than other noise sources that will be present. For 24-bit, the digital noise floor is even lower.

One benefit of using 24-bit FLAC is that you never need to change the dither settings - just leave it set to "shaped" all of the time. The reason being, that dither noise for 24-bit is totally inaudible.

Alright. Thank you very much steve and everyone else for your elaborate answers. What a nice community :)

steve wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 04, 2018 4:15 pm

Last question if I may, is there a difference if I File>>Export >>Export as WAV then from that window select FLAC or if I File>>Export>>Export Audio then from that window select FLAC? Or is it the same?

This would be a grand time to find The Goal. Why are we doing this? Who gets the files? I would not, for example, send a FLAC file to a client in this lifetime, unless they specifically asked for one.

Also, if you're skating that close to running out of storage, you're going to have a lot more problems than compression bitratres.

There are editor programs which will do simple editing (cutting) without impacting the quality of the file. Those are highly recommended if your job calls for that kind of editing.

As above, compression is a time bomb. If you have a highly compressed MP3 music file, you can edit it in Audacity and export it as a perfect quality WAV with little or no damage. However, if you then edit the WAV file and export an MP3, original compression rules apply and your music will likely turn to honky, bubbly trash. The WAV step in the middle doesn't magically get rid of the compression distortion.

Koz

AudiOw wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 04, 2018 6:08 pm

is there a difference if I File>>Export >>Export as WAV then from that window select FLAC or if I File>>Export>>Export Audio then from that window select FLAC? Or is it the same?

Both the same.
The "Export as WAV" option is just a shortcut to "File>>Export>>Export Audio then from that window select WAV".

steve wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 04, 2018 9:02 pm

AudiOw wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 04, 2018 6:08 pm

is there a difference if I File>>Export >>Export as WAV then from that window select FLAC or if I File>>Export>>Export Audio then from that window select FLAC? Or is it the same?

Both the same.
The "Export as WAV" option is just a shortcut to "File>>Export>>Export Audio then from that window select WAV".

Steve, I'm sorry for bumping, as well as troubling with a subject you've so elaborated on already, but if for example I have an audio file of 192kbps and I do simple edits on Audacity, what is ideal saving as if I don't want to loss quality but also not to 'pointlessly' increase the file size? I mean- Is there a point to save it as 320kbps or even FLAC if it was 192kbps from first place (since that would double or even triple the file size)? Or if I save it as 192kbps, there will be no quality loss?

AudiOw wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:21 pm

if I don't want to loss quality

Encoding in a "lossy" format such as MP3, WMA, OGG, M4A,... will always lose some audio quality. Higher bit-rates minimize the loss of quality.

If you need to use a lossy format, then it's up to you to decide how much loss is acceptable to you. The lower the bit-rate, the greater the losses.

The standard recommendation, is to always work with lossless audio formats (such as WAV), and only encode to a lossy format (if required), as the final step of the production (after saving a backup copy in a lossless format).

steve wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:38 pm

AudiOw wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:21 pm

if I don't want to loss quality

Encoding in a "lossy" format such as MP3, WMA, OGG, M4A,... will always lose some audio quality. Higher bit-rates minimize the loss of quality.

If you need to use a lossy format, then it's up to you to decide how much loss is acceptable to you. The lower the bit-rate, the greater the losses.

The standard recommendation, is to always work with lossless audio formats (such as WAV), and only encode to a lossy format (if required), as the final step of the production (after saving a backup copy in a lossless format).

Oh. I was under the impression there would only be quality loss if it was originally a lossless and it is saved as something lower than that. I didn't know that if it was 'low' from first place and saved as the same, there would still be loss.

As always, thanks.

AudiOw wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:43 pm

I didn't know that if it was 'low' from first place and saved as the same, there would still be loss.

That's the thing that catches lots of people out.

Encoding in a lossy format is like making a photocopy. The quality of a photocopy is always a bit lower than the original. A photocopy from the original may "look" identical to the original, but if you make a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy.... then after a few "generations", the losses become apparent, because of the cumulative effect of the losses.