ROUND 4

Resolution

Though technically lossy, MP3s encoded at 320Kb/s, 48,000Hz challenge all but the fussiest ears to pick out the compression; at the standard 128Kb/s or 192Kb/s resolution, though, MP3 creates a much flatter sound. Check out Ryan Maguire’s experiments in rendering the audio lost in MP3 compression at http://vimeo.com/ryanmaguire for an audible example. Ogg Vorbis is also lossy, but if quality settings are pushed up during compression, it’s much more adept at retaining subtle sounds. Both can employ variable bitrate encoding to maximize compression, with a little extra attention paid to complex areas.

FLAC is the king, and there’s a good reason it forms the basis of most hi-res digital distribution networks. You can push it far beyond the limits of human hearing, and as it’s lossless, beautiful compositions can’t be ruined by audible artefacts. It’s also built for accuracy; tiny errors in rendering are contained and don’t ruin the whole track, and the checksums of compressed files can be compared against other copies to ensure they’re absolutely correct. If you’re not using FLAC, you’re doing it wrong. Winner:

FLAC