mp3 vs wav

[borat]

i always thought that wav was of a much higher quality than mp3 files however a freind of mine argued that an mp3 file sampled at 256kb from a studio would produce a higher quality recording than a wav file. could anybody tell me the quality difference between wav and mp3 in quantative terms if possible?

[Kruzin]

Relocated to General Hardware/Software forum...

[Wombat]

Wav files are uncompressed, mp3's are compressed. Given the same initial parameters (frequency range, sample rate, etc) a Wav file will never be beaten in quality by a compression-based standard.

Your friend was either wrong or playing on a technicality. If the mp3 was created from a better source than the wave file then it has the <I>opportunity</I> to sound better than a Wav from a poorer source.

Otherwise, I'd rather have the Wav as a better reproduction of the original.

[EvilDonnyboy]

Actually, maybe Mp3's could actually sound better. Of course never mor accurate , but possibly better. Because the mp3 looses some audio fidelty, it might mask some less pleasant sounds. Maybe making it sound a bit brighter than it should or something.

[Marshmallowman]

given 2 files one mp3 and one a wav file of the same size... an mp3 will sound much better.

80mbyte wav file kind of equivalent to a 5mbyte mp3

could possible have a kind of similar quality, but it is really a apples and oranges comparison

if you want to burn a sound file onto a cd (playable by a normal cd player) use wav files. if you are going to store and play them from your harddrive then mp3 is the way to go.

wav files are the exact waveform of the sound. (sample rate and sound accuracy permitting)

[Rags]

Originally posted by Marshmallowman
given 2 files one mp3 and one a wav file of the same size... an mp3 will sound much better.

80mbyte wav file kind of equivalent to a 5mbyte mp3

could possible have a kind of similar quality, but it is really a apples and oranges comparison

if you want to burn a sound file onto a cd (playable by a normal cd player) use wav files. if you are going to store and play them from your harddrive then mp3 is the way to go.

wav files are the exact waveform of the sound. (sample rate and sound accuracy permitting)

You are confusing the question. He said sampled at 256kb/s rate. NOT a 256 file size. With a fixed filesize, the wav will always be larger and will ALWAYS sound better all else being equal.

Rags

[borat]

thanks a lot for your knowledge.
i always thought that generally wav was better quality