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FLAC vs CD . . . Which is higher audio quality?

Crazy MarcusCrazy Marcus Posts: 1,823
edited October 2009 in The Porch
If you're an audiophile and you're purely looking for highest quality of sound, which is better? What is the average bitrate of a CD? What's the bitrate of FLAC? Does FLAC vary? I know you can rip audio from a CD into FLAC but if you're purchasing an '09 bootleg, are you better off getting the FLAC for quality and then archiving the files to DVD so you have a hard copy? It's a digital world and all my music is already on my iPod and most likely, that's how I'll be listening to the two Seattle boots I ordered yesterday. I'm just wondering if I should have bought them as FLACs instead.
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  • given2fly23given2fly23 Evanston, IL Posts: 5,947
    edited October 2009
    CD is 16 bit.
    FLAC can be 16 or 24 (and higher I believe), so it depends on the quality of the FLAC.

    in terms of quality of the bootlegs, you're getting the same quality whether you buy the CD or the FLAC. the FLAC are not at a higher bitrate than 16, because we would have been told that's the case (because 24-bit cannot be burned directly to CD).
    Post edited by given2fly23 on
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  • 37pheet37pheet Posts: 433
    FLAC is better hands down. i am not going to get into the tech crap about it, go with FLAC
  • aNiMaLaNiMaL Posts: 7,117
    When you burn FLAC to CD, regardless of the bit rate, the CD will always be 16 bit.

    I believe the only thing you can play anything higher than 16 bit on is a computer with a higher bit rate sound card.
  • JammalamboJammalambo Posts: 1,321
    For the OP, buy the FLAC if you're interested only in the music.. The quality is practically the same. Hard copies CD are for PJ collectors freak like me and many others ;):D
    ..but, again, the sound quality is pretty much the same
  • Crazy MarcusCrazy Marcus Posts: 1,823
    I've already ordered the Seattle '09 bootleg CDs. I guess I was just wanting to make sure that the quality I'd get would be as good as FLAC. From what everyone is saying, the FLACs being offered aren't any better than the CDs. I was at both these shows so having the CDs is worth it to me. Thanks for the replies. ;)
  • bazzerbazzer Posts: 3,126
    Some others are a bit wishy washy about it. Here are the facts: In this case, FLAC and CD are identical. Well, I haven't tested that, but it is sure to be the case, both identical bit depth and sampling rate.

    CD bit rate = 16 bit * 44.1kHz * 2 (stereo) = 1411.2kbps.
    FLAC = losslessly compressed, bitrate is meaningless really - like saying a zip files size relates to the files inside it, it doesn't and depends on a lot of things (i.e. try silent WAV -> FLAC).

    given2fly23 is right, FLAC is capable of compressing higher than CD quality sound (bit rate and/or smapling rate e.g. 24 bit/96kHz) but these files aren't. As said, if they were it would be harder to burn to CD.
  • Hammartime33Hammartime33 Posts: 207
    cassette.
  • F5F5 Posts: 791
    Do flac files play in iTunes and on you iPod?
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  • bazzerbazzer Posts: 3,126
    mitchmoore2 wrote:
    Do flac files play in iTunes and on you iPod?
    No, but it is trivial to convert them to a compatible format.
  • EvergreenEvergreen Posts: 492
    mitchmoore2 wrote:
    Do flac files play in iTunes and on you iPod?



    I always download and/or upload flac files and then convert them to apple lossless for my itunes. It's a pretty simple step.
  • ARazorbackguy1ARazorbackguy1 Posts: 456
    I use Db Poweramp to convert FLAC to Apple Lossless. It's very simple and AWESOME!
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  • MysteryTrainMysteryTrain Singapore Posts: 1,189
    So after converting Flac to a lossless format like .WAV, what is a good program for burning the files onto CD? Does the burning software affect the sound quality in any way?
  • Evacuation RulesEvacuation Rules Posts: 2,162
    KevDylan wrote:
    So after converting Flac to a lossless format like .WAV, what is a good program for burning the files onto CD?

    Nero comes with a plug-in that can burn FLAC directly to CDR. No need to convert.
    KevDylan wrote:
    Does the burning software affect the sound quality in any way?

    No.
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