What Is Lossless Audio? - How-To Geek

Lossless audio is also compressed, but it is compressed in a way that maintains audio detail. Lossless audio is always presented in the ... 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Bysubmittingyouremail,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy. darksoul72/Shutterstock.com SpotifyandAppleMusicarebringinglosslessmusicintothemainstream,butthey’renotthefirsttoofferaudiophilesahigherqualitystreamingexperience.Sowhatexactlydoes“lossless”meanintermsofaudio,andhowcanyouexperienceit? LosslessAudioPreservesDetail Inordertosavediskspaceandbandwidth,musicfilesareoftencompressed.MP3wasoneofthefirstcompressedformatstotakeoff,withAAC/MP4beingthedominantformatusedtoday. Whenafileiscompresseditiseffectivelysqueezeddownintoasmallerfilesize.Todothis,somedatamustbediscarded.Whendataisdiscarded,audioqualitysuffers.Youcanhearthismostclearlyinthehighandlowendofarecording,forexample,thecrashofacymbal. Losslessaudioisalsocompressed,butitiscompressedinawaythatmaintainsaudiodetail.LosslessaudioisalwayspresentedintheCD-qualityresolutionof 16-bit/44.1kHzorbetterandmaygoallthewayupto24-bit/192kHz. RELATED:WhatDoesTheHz-KHzRangeForSpeakersAndHeadphonesMean? Thetrade-offhereisdiskspace(orbandwidth,ifyou’restreaming).FormatslikeFLACorALAC(AppleLossless)arearoundhalfthesizeofanoriginaluncompressedrecording.Bycomparison,alossyversioncouldconsumefarlessspace(around1/5oftheoriginaluncompressedrecording)withoutfallingapartcompletely. HowCanYouExperienceLosslessAudio? Tidalwasoneofthefirststreamingservicestoreallypushlosslessaudio,butthefeaturehassincebeenaddedtoAppleMusicfornoadditionalfee.SpotifyisalsosettolaunchaseparatetiercalledSpotifyHifi forlosslessaudio. OtherservicesthatofferlosslessaudioincludeDeezerandQobuz. Advertisement Beforeyouupgradeyoursubscriptionplan,makesureyouhavethehardwaretoenjoylosslessaudio.Forexample,manywirelessheadphonesandBluetoothspeakersusetheirownformoflossycompressiontogetaudiofromyourdevicetoyourears. ThisincludesApple’sentireAirPodsrange(yes,eventheAirPodsMax)andthevastmajorityofstandardBluetoothheadphonesthatuselossycodecslikeaptX. Thegoodnewsisthatnew,losslesscodecsareonthewaysuchasaptXHD.Beawarethatsome“highresolution”solutionslikeLDAC(includedonmanySonywirelessearphones)lackthebandwidthtopassthroughunalteredlosslessaudio. FiiO Somedeviceswillrequireanexternaldigital-to-analogconverter(DAC)toplaybackmusicatresolutionsthatexceedCDquality.Forexample,theDACintheiPhonecanoutputuptoCD-qualitylosslessaudiovia3.5mmstereojackorUSB. Youcanalsobuymediaplayerswithhigh-qualityDACsbuilt-in,designedspecificallyforhigh-resolutionlosslessaudio. RELATED:WhatIsSpatialAudio,andHowDoesItWork? CanYouTellTheDifference? Mostpeoplecanhearthedifferencebetweenalow-bitrateNapster-eraMP3andamodernAACstreamfromSpotifyorAppleMusic.Therealdebateiswhetheryoucantellthemodernstreamsapartfromtheirlosslesscounterparts. Advertisement It’spossiblethattheequipmentyou’reusingtolistentotheaudio—theheadphones,theamplifier,theacousticsoftheroom—willmakeabiggerdifferencethanthequalityofthestream. Ifsourcequalityiseverythingtoyou,makesureyoucheckoutReviewGeek’sguidetoamobileaudiophilesetup. RELATED:WhenIsLosslessAudioStreamingActuallyWorthIt? READNEXT ›8WaystoImproveYourHomePodListeningExperience›WhenIsLosslessAudioStreamingActuallyWorthIt?›GetSpatialAudioonAnyHeadphonesWithAmazonMusic›Lossyvs.LosslessCompression:What’stheDifference?›Disney+toOfferIMAXMovies,Here’sWhatThatMeans›What’sNewiniOS15.1foriPhone:SharePlayandMore›BluetoothLosslessAudioIsFinallyHere›Listen,YouDon’tNeedThatManyBrowserTabsOpen JOINGEEKTALKONFACEBOOK Theabovearticlemaycontainaffiliatelinks,whichhelpsupportHow-ToGeek. How-ToGeekiswhereyouturnwhenyouwantexpertstoexplaintechnology.Sincewelaunchedin2006,ourarticleshavebeenreadmorethan1billiontimes.Wanttoknowmore?