The MP3 file format was always encumbered with patents, but as of 2017, the last patent finally expired. Although the format became synonymous with the digital music revolution that started in the …
Since it appears this happened 8 years ago, and uh, I can’t say that I’ve seen a single MP3 file since then, perhaps nobody still cares.
If you’re building a music library, and you’re NOT using some sort of lossless format, I’d love to know why. I know a lot of people with massive libraries, medium libraries, and just shit they like one song at a time and not a one of them isn’t using FLAC files for it.
They might transcode into something occasionally, but it’s always something like AAC or OPUS, not MP3.
If you’re building a music library, and you’re NOT using some sort of lossless format, I’d love to know why.
Because MP3 is the only thing my car stereo, my wife’s car stereo and my daughter’s book shelf system will reliably read. Sometimes they’ll work with an m4a, but it’s hit or miss.
Now I always rip to FLAC & MP3, but other than local listening, it tends to be all MP3’s that get used.
I’m not arguing in the slightest that FLAC shows an audible difference in most cases for most tracks. However, it just makes sense as an archival format given it’s lossless which means you can transcode to any other format without generational loss.
This means if there is a massive breakthrough in lossy compression in the future, I can use it for mobile purposes. If you store as lossy, you’re stuck with whatever losses have been incurred, forever.
Since it appears this happened 8 years ago, and uh, I can’t say that I’ve seen a single MP3 file since then, perhaps nobody still cares.
If you’re building a music library, and you’re NOT using some sort of lossless format, I’d love to know why. I know a lot of people with massive libraries, medium libraries, and just shit they like one song at a time and not a one of them isn’t using FLAC files for it.
They might transcode into something occasionally, but it’s always something like AAC or OPUS, not MP3.
Because MP3 is the only thing my car stereo, my wife’s car stereo and my daughter’s book shelf system will reliably read. Sometimes they’ll work with an m4a, but it’s hit or miss.
Now I always rip to FLAC & MP3, but other than local listening, it tends to be all MP3’s that get used.
Because I don’t want it to take up too much space? My phone has a ton of storage but I would still rather not spend tons of it at a time…
Store the original library as FLAC, then transcode on-the-fly (or once if you don’t want to use something like Navidrome or Jellyfin).
This is pure elitism refusing to see another point of view though. FLAC is an excellent format, but it is a format that doesn’t meet everyone’s needs.
I’m not arguing in the slightest that FLAC shows an audible difference in most cases for most tracks. However, it just makes sense as an archival format given it’s lossless which means you can transcode to any other format without generational loss.
This means if there is a massive breakthrough in lossy compression in the future, I can use it for mobile purposes. If you store as lossy, you’re stuck with whatever losses have been incurred, forever.
I’ve never seen a single flac file in the wild in the last eight years. You have to look specifically for them.
Wav files are far more common than flacc.
Have you ever used Bandcamp before?
No