Proof You Can't Hear the Difference Between MP3 and WAV

Loopmasters sample packs I made:

Multiplier on the web:

And his label, Relentik Records:

Multiplier's old podcast BLOUNCE:

[BinaryCounter]

Let's all agree that a crash cymbal in a low bitrate mp3 is the worst sound known to humanity.

[MadelnMachines]

I've tried to tell the difference between 320kb/s and Wav ages ago and concluded I can't.

[DesuchanSugoi]

MP3 and other lossy formats get a lot of hate in the audiophile world, when in reality they're perfectly viable and 99.9% transparent for most people. I feel like shitty YouTube rips at 128 kbps ruined the format's reputation. AAC is even better.

[woobilicious.]

Not all MP3s are created equally, The Encoder is more important than the format, LAME which is the most developed MP3 encoder around is transparent for even golden ears at 240kbps VBR, if you're using BladeEnc (an encoder from the late 90s) then you'll easily hear artifacts at 320kbps.

[OfficialFatherBeat]

Thank god I thought I was the only one out of all my producing friends

[ferrellms]

Finally some evidence-based sanity on this topic.

[cssmanheadshot]

Just a side not some people try to upscale a 128k MP3 back to 320k and say it is 320k, you cant gain that lost information back

[connorhopwood]

Ive noticed. Ripping a cd to my laptop and mixing it sounds alot better than downloading a 320kbps track it sounds alittle tinny and distorted in my ears but that me 🤷🏼‍♂️

[DD-swdd]

Playing music above 44.1 doesn't really matter.

Producing is an entirely different story. Sometimes I produce in 88.2 when I can noticeably hear my filter plugins not opening all the way up in 44.1.

I can really hear it with the WOW FILTER. While producing in 44.1 put a low pass Wow filter on a sound (preferably a bright sound). Open the low pass Wow filter so that none of the sound is supposed to be filtered. You'll notice it still sounds as if the filter isn't opening all the way up. It's like it stops opening short by 1%. Your sound should sound EXACTLY like it did prior to putting Wow Filter on it. More than likely it doesn't. It's just a hair less bright. Change your production sample rate to 88.2 and it fixes the issue.

This is the reason certain EQ's, distortion plugins, and even certain compressors (like Cytomic "The Glue") offer a "oversampling" option. EQ's are nothing but abunch of filters after all....so essentially what's happening with the Wow Filter also happens to your EQ when processing the high frequencies.

That's literally the only reason I'll sometimes produce at over 44.1.

I convert all my tracks to only after I'm completely done mixing and mastering.

Nobody accept the most eccentric of audio nerds will claim to hear the difference in a song in WAV format or 320-256kbps MP3. And almost all of them are lying.

Deadmau5 on his $17, 000 pair of Genelec 1038b studio monitors says he can't tell the diff in a 320kbps MP3 and a WAV.

[MySpaceDxC_Suffo_AtTheGates]

I can tell but it’s subtle. Truth is 128 k is enough for music. They used a psychoacoustic algorithm set to our hearing capabilities. You’re not supposed to be able to detect any compression at and above 128 k. Again it’s subtle but I CAN tell a difference between FLAC and mp3. However 128 k AAC is indistinguishable as they say.

[debashishchakravarty]

i found that subtraction shows the reality, there is some loss. for sure. take one track in wav and take an mp3 and invert the phase, you will hear what was removed

[jvpify]

I love your videos like this. Thought I was missing something when I couldn't hear the difference.

[GuidoHaverkort]

I believe you, i have a question tho. Does this still apply while playing on bigger systems? like in a club or something

[mickfly]

I'm one of the "golden ears" but it's true; if the headphones are not top quality it's still hard to tell. MP3's don't bother me unless I'm just sitting and listening with my eyes closed. Casually it never bothers me. 128k is garbage though. 320k VBR is the sweet spot though.

[bass_rhino]

This is a similar phenomenon to wine tasting. Studies have shown even professional wine tasters will rate exactly the same wine much higher if it’s put in an expensive bottle compared to a cheaper bottle. They are deceiving themselves. Not saying all wine tasters. It is probably the same with audio, only a very small percentage can and the rest are just imaging the difference.

[empiamusic]

wanna hear the difference between 320mp3 and wav? Load a copy of both a 320mp3 and wav of the exact same song/sample and then phase invert one of them. It's mainly just hi-end from whitenoise/snares/hi-hats and some lower-sub frequncies. So unless your ears are super sensitive to 5 to 20kHZ, I doubt you can tell the difference lol

[gg]

Most people won't just because it's Youtube and it already compressed the sounds upon the upload of the video

[Afura]

Yep if the mp3 is 320kbps and well ripped then it is pretty hard to tell the difference. I like the mp3 320kbps quality, I use it pretty often for me it is good enough, I am not an audiophile though.

[Kintu]

i cant even tell a diffrence from a youtube ripp, at the end of the day  i think what matters the  most is a set of trained ears really, theres to much confusion going on when it comes to quality, to me i like to think of it as either good, ok, or bad, theres nothing inbetween, its either shitty, workable or awesome

[drumpounder]

 I like to Use WAV files when Djing, because they tend to have a bit more headroom, and you can turn them up louder as a result.