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Up Options explained Bit Rate (Kbps) File Sizes & Formats Audio FAQ Audio Glossary


Bit Rate and how to choose?

The higher the bit rate, the higher the Quality - see the table below. However 1st ask yourself,  how do I want to use my music collection? If its for playing at home on a PC / Media server, where storage capacity is not constrained, use higher bit rates. However for portable devices, think about the listening environment and if you need your whole collection or just your favourites. To have your music on the move perhaps you can accept a lower quality bit rate to maximise choice.

E.g. a 30G player, stores ~230 CDs @224kbps MP3 or ~325 @160kbps AAC or ~410 @128kbps WMA and just 60 CDs lossless.

Classification MP3 WMA AAC FLAC WAV
FM radio 96 kbps 96 kbps 96 kbps - -
OK 128 128 128 - -
Good 192 160 160 - -
High Quality 224 192 192 - -
CD Quality 320 256 256 - -
Lossless Audio - WMA Lossless Apple Lossless FLAC WAVv1/v2

Use our Bit Rate Quality advisor:

How many CDs are you Converting?
Available Player Storage: GByte
Highest Quality Bitrate is: Kbps in Format
 

Note: We err on the safe side i.e. maximum fill CDs (80mins) and using Constant Bit Rate (CBR).

For more flexibility and peace of mind for the future, go for the maximum bit rate now. The music can always be downsized in your PC media player software before it is synced to your portable device, whereas the converse is not possible  i.e. a 192kbps track cannot be upgraded later to a better quality 256kbps bit rate.

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