FAQ

From Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase
Revision as of 19:33, 21 March 2006 by Pepoluan (talk | contribs) (Major Re-write! According to HA FAQ... partially done... help!)

This is a list of Frequently Asked Questions. The questions are grouped according to their categories.

Please note that this FAQ provides very short answers; explore the links to get deeper information.


General Audio Compression

Does encoding preserves surround info?
Short Answer: MP3 destroys surround sound information.
In addition, check the following links:


What is an ABX blind test?
Go see ABX
In addition, check the following links:


Why not use graphs to compare codecs?
Nothing can be said about quality or audible difference by looking at pictures, because a lossy encoder works by removing as much inaudible sounds as possible. A lack of frequencies can well mean that some audible parts are missing (bad work, or too low setting), or that the encoder managed a very good compression, removing a lot of useless things.
In addition, check the following links:


MP3-related

Why is joint stereo better than pure stereo ?
You better start here (thread on the HA Forums)


Quality

Simple

  • What do I need to get started?
  • What is transparency/cd-quality?
  • What are the best formats?
  • How do you tell what is the best format?
See Audio format guide
  • What is ABX?
  • Why is ABX needed?
  • Transcoding - Can I increase quality by converting X lossy compressed file to Y lossy compressed file?

Advanced

  • Can I use frequency analysis or other tools to judge quality?
  • What are good test procedures?