As a rule, today the term “audio” refers to everything related to sound, whether it is playback, processing, mixing, mastering or listening to recordings. But few people know that since its inception, audio formats have constantly undergone many significant changes, for the better or for the worse. The trouble is that, compared to the initial formats, the creators of the new formats tried to improve the sound quality, and this invariably affected the size of the file being played. Reducing the size, on the contrary, led to a loss of quality. But it was not always so.
The first audio format in computer games
The very first mention of computer sound came from the creation of games that were primitive at that time, in which the sound was played through the system speaker. But no matter how hard the developers of such software (software) tried, it was not possible to achieve the required quality, compatible with bobbin or cassette tape recorders or vinyl record players .
That is why many manufacturers are looking for a solution to how to change the audio format so that the sound is natural. Frankly, this led to the further competition that we have now. This applies not only to reproduced material, but also to studio sound, “live” performances, quality or tuning of basic parameters in terms of knowledge of physics, acoustics, etc.
The advent of the WAV format
It is believed that the first full-fledged quality of audio formats was associated with the emergence of the standard and the .wav file extension (such an abbreviation was derived from the English word “wave” or wave). Just then, he became the first-born who could be processed in computer programs at a professional level.
Such files already had their own characteristics: sampling rate, sound depth, bit rate, and much more. Such a sound was compatible even with what could be obtained after processing a regular audio CD using certain tools such as a conventional equalizer. But the size was clearly unjustified. For example, a three-minute track could take from 20 to 50 MB.
CDs
The audio CD format, more precisely, the .cda extension, appeared almost at the same time.
In contrast to the “wave” files stored on the hard drive, it cannot be edited. Today it can be opened in a sound processing program, changed the format by audio transcoding and saved in any other place except a CD-ROM.
MP3 codec
With the advent of the LAME MP3 Encoder codec, the music industry experienced a real shock, because such files were “weighed” tens of times less than the same WAV file. Even a five-minute composition at maximum compression rarely exceeds a size of 5-7 MB. Agree, a significant breakthrough, not to mention the fact that such files made it possible not only to correct the above characteristics, but also some additional parameters in the form of ID3 tags, which contained information, say, about the artist, album and track name, release date.
This type of audio file format has become the most popular. Look, almost the entire Internet is filled with this universal format. In general, we can say that the audio format in MP3 has become a real revolution in sound. It remains one of the most popular and most sought-after so far, despite the fact that it is replaced by other varieties of audio. But more on that later.
AIFF Files
Audio formats have another variety. The so-called .aiff format was originally created for use on Macintosh computer systems.
Only much later did the transformation take place, which predetermined the compatibility of sound formats with their use on platforms that differ in operating systems.
OGG format
Music in .ogg audio format is also common enough. This standard was developed by Vorbis. However, it is worth noting that it has a number of significant drawbacks. Firstly, this is an unjustified load on the system resources of the computer, despite the minimum size. Secondly, the use of proprietary codecs and decoders, which the system may not automatically install. For example, when working in the program FL Studio Producer Edition (or XXL) in versions below 9.xx, there was a folder with the installation file in the .inf format, which had to be activated for installation after installing the main application manually (otherwise, presets in this format simply do not lost).
Nevertheless, now audio formats of this type are found, and the sound itself looks very good.
AMR standard
As for this format, it is probably one of the most base ones. Its appearance is associated with the appearance of the first awkward mobile phones, which still could not set ringtones in .mp3 format to the call.
AMR then could still replace natural sound with a certain share of quality loss. But this quality cannot be compared with what is offered by more "advanced" formats.
MIDI
Oddly enough, MIDI can also be attributed to what is commonly called "audio formats." Although it is generally accepted (and many, in fact, still think so) that the MIDI system is just a set of commands, this can be argued. Decoding for MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. Actually, this is a system for recording and editing certain data such as keystrokes, pitch, tempo, key, effects, etc.
Nevertheless, there are files with the extension .mid or .midi that can be easily played in modern sequencers or studio recording programs using the standard set of GM (General MIDI), GS (which is the same) sounds from Roland or XG (Extended MIDI) from Yamaha Corporation. The first two sets contain 128 standard sounds, not counting the effects, in the third - almost three times as much.
Flac
Now we come to one of the most modern and unique formats of our time. FLAC audio music is becoming more common today. This is due to the quality that true music lovers pay attention to, first of all.
If you look, this format was created on the basis of the already known MP3. But only if the distribution to individual tracks was previously used, this format does not exist (for the time being, for the time being). A structure is one or two files, one of which is informational. Play this format can only specialized software audio players. The most famous can be called AIMP. Only when the main file is opened does a list of tracks recorded in the main container appear. In such a player, switching between tracks is performed in the same way as in any other. But there is no likelihood of accidentally deleting a particular composition (as already mentioned, information about them is contained in a single file).
Format compatibility
Naturally, all audio formats are compatible today. In other words, any standard home DVD player or software player can handle this easily. The same applies to sound processing programs. Semi-professional and professional programs recognize all formats known today (even despite the specifics of operating systems). Audio editors, sequencers, additional modules such as VST, RTAS (for Windows) or AU (for Mac OS X) are able to work with such formats in the so-called cross-platform mode.
Format conversion
There are several ways to change audio. For example, you can open the "native" format, and save the file in another. You can do even easier. There are special converters for this. In them, you can simply download the desired file of the initial format from the list, and then simply select the final one. As the saying goes, nothing at all.
Sound Quality Processing
Another thing when the question is about changing some frequency of the source file. Here you cannot do without specialized software packages. It is with their help that you can change the quality of audio files. In this case, you can change not only the standard sampling frequency 44100 Hz, increasing it, say, to 96000 Hz, but also adjust the depth from the same 16 to 24 or 32 bits. And we are not talking about the fact that you can also configure the bitrate, that is, the reproducible throughput, expressed in kilobits per second. The default value is 128 kbps. Bitrate can be changed at your discretion, however, the best sound quality is achieved at around 320 kbps. Of course, not every person is able to catch the difference between standard sound and maximum set characteristics. Nevertheless, it is worth trying once to play an audio track with different data on good equipment. Here the difference will not make you wait.
Moreover, in addition to all these parameters, you can edit and much more. What is the use of software equalizers, limiters, compressors, crossovers, normalizers, de-essers, etc., etc.? Each such module allows you to adjust the sound, as they say, "for yourself." And absolutely all formats known today, with programs of this type can be processed.
Final comparison
Let's try to make some comparison between the formats used (although this is far from all that is in the world of sound).
So! Although the WAV format is “heavyweight”, it can still be used as intermediate files for subsequent conversion in some audio reactors. Audio file formats of this type are most often present when saving open projects or when recording live instruments in the studio. It is clear that the sequencer will then process the incoming information in the form of an audio stream. And then you can change the format of the audio file or save it as a preset or track as you like.
Formats such as audio discs are also irrelevant today. If you take into account AIFF or OGG, it is better to use them in virtual studios. There is no need to talk about the AMR format. MIDI is only useful to musicians who know a lot about this.
It is believed that today the best audio format is still FLAC. According to many experts and musicians, it is not just the most “advanced”, but even revolutionary in comparison with what existed or exists today.
However, it is worth noting that you cannot discard MP3s either, because almost all encoded sound on the same DVDs or in MKV files has this particular format. The difference is only in the version of the codec and decoder. But the audio and video industry does not stand still in its development. It is very likely that we will soon see something else.