Difference between revisions of "Hydrogenaudio Listening Tests"

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(Multiformat Tests)
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From time to time, various HydrogenAudio members have conducted listening tests, both private and public, to evaluate the merit of lossy encoding technologies '''at a point in time'''. These test results are provided for the explicit purpose of documenting the performance of various codecs in relation to one another, in turn providing useful data in gauging the best, most efficient encoder over certain bitrates at the time the test was conducted.
+
One of the most visible ways that HydrogenAudio members have shown their enthusiasm for audio quality and their respect for [[TOS 8|scientific principles]] over the years is by organizing and participating in public blind listening tests of lossy codecs and presenting statistical analyses of the results. These results show the advantages and disadvantages of different formats and encoders and help identify which are "state of the art."
  
It should be noted that these tests '''may become obsolete''' over time as development of the tested codecs progress.  With that in mind, please ensure that you consult the most recent test results before drawing conclusions.
+
[[Private Listening Tests|Private listening tests]] also provide useful data, but the public HydrogenAudio tests are a rarity in having enough participants to both average out variations among individual listeners and still have statistically significant results.
  
When you read the test results, you may come across unfamiliar terminology, especially concerning ''artifacts''. [http://ff123.net/training/training.html ff123's Artifact Training Page] is the place to go to understand what these 'artifacts' are all about.
+
Note that a listening test cannot really compare formats or encoder "brands." Instead, it compares particular versions of particular encoders at particular bitrates. Results will differ with different encoders, newer versions of the same encoders, or different bitrates. Use caution when extrapolating, and use the most recent results when extrapolating to the newest encoder versions.
  
'''Note:''' There is no such thing as listening tests for [[Lossless]] compression, as recordings encoded using Lossless codecs are, by nature, bit-identical in their output to their respective original uncompressed recordings. When testing Lossless codecs, only performance characteristics are taken into account (e.g. compression ration, encode/decode speed, etc). If you are interested in these aspects of lossless encoding, take a look at the [[Lossless comparison|Lossless comparison page]], instead.
+
'''Note:''' There would be no point in listening tests of [[lossless]] encoders; the decoded results are bit-identical to the original uncompressed recordings. [[Lossless comparison|Lossless encoder comparisons]] instead consider technical aspects such as compression ratio and encode/decode speed.
  
 +
All tests are sorted by date, newest first. All dates are in [http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-time.html ISO8601 format].
  
=Format-specific Tests=
+
==Tests and Results==
All tests sorted by date, with older ones at top. All dates are in [http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-time.html ISO8601 format].
+
{|class="wikitable" align="right"
 
+
!colspan=2| Result Symbol Key
 
+
==[[AAC]]==
+
 
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
+
|- style="background:#ffaaaa"
+
! Date !! Title<br>Samples !! Performed by !! Type !! Codecs !! Links
+
 
|-
 
|-
| style="width:064px" | 2004-12-09
+
| > || Better than
| style="width:174px" | Ahead vs Apple 128-kbps<br>Classical
+
| style="width:101px" | Guruboolez
+
| style="width:045px" | Private
+
| style="width:299px" | iTunes 4.1.052, 4.7.042;<br>Nero 2.5.9.7, 2.9.998 CBR, 2.9.998 VBR
+
| style="width:110px" | [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=29924&view=findpost&p=258644 HA Thread]
+
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005-09-05
+
| ~ || About the same as
| 48- & 64-kbps HE-AAC<br>Classical
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| CT aacPlus v.2 48- & 64-kbps<br>Helix 11.0.0.1897, Nero 3.2.0.20 VBR
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=36868&view=findpost&p=325091 HA Thread]
+
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006-02-05
+
| ~> || About the same, but slightly better than
| 48-kbps HE-AAC<br>Classical
+
| Ivan Dimkovic
+
| Public
+
| Nero HE-AAC v1 & v2
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=41191&hl= HA Thread]
+
|-
+
| 2006-02-20
+
| 48-kbps HE-AAC<br>General
+
| Gabriel
+
| Public
+
| 3gpp (v1), CT (v1 & v2), Nero (v1 & v2)
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=42679&hl= HA Thread]<br>[http://www.mp3-tech.org/tests/aac_48/results.html Complete Result]
+
 
|}
 
|}
  
 
+
===Multiformat Tests===
==[[MP3]]==
+
  
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
|- style="background:#aaffaa"
+
|- style="background:#aaffff"
! Date !! Title<br>Samples !! Performed by !! Type !! Codecs !! Links
+
! Date !! Title<br>Samples !! Performed by !! Codecs !! Result !! Links
 
|-
 
|-
| style="width:064px" | 2004-01-18
+
| 2014-07
| style="width:174px" | Dithering Test (1)<br>Special
+
| 96-kbps<br>General
| style="width:101px" | Guruboolez
+
| Kamedo2
| style="width:045px" | Private
+
| [[Apple AAC]] (iTunes 11.2.2), [[Opus]] (1.1),<br>[[Vorbis]] ([[aoTuV]] Beta6.03), [[MP3]] ([[LAME]] 3.99.5)
| style="width:299px" | [[MP3]] Decoders: <br>MAD, [[LAME]], Fraunhofer, foobar2000
+
| Opus > Apple ><br />MP3(V5) ~ Vorbis
| style="width:110px" | [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=17728&view=findpost&p=174740 HA Thread]
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=106354 HA Thread]<br>[http://listening-test.coresv.net/results.htm Complete Result]
 
|-
 
|-
| 2004-11-15
+
| 2011-04-10
| 130-kbps LAME<br>rjamorim
+
| 64-kbps<br>General
| Guruboolez
+
| IgorC
| Private
+
| [[Vorbis]] [[aoTuV]], [[QuickTime AAC|Quicktime]] HE-[[AAC]], [[Opus]]
| [[LAME]] 3.90.3 ABR, 3.96.1 ABR, 3.96.1 VBR
+
| Opus > Apple ><br />Nero ~ Vorbis
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=29422&view=findpost&p=253968 HA Thread]
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=87785 HA Thread]<br>[http://listening-tests.hydrogenaud.io/igorc/results.html Complete Result]
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005-01-11
+
| 2007-08-16
| 128-kbps LAME<br>ff123
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| 64-kbps<br>General
| Guruboolez
+
| Sebastian Mares
| Private
+
| [[Vorbis]] [[aoTuV]], [[Nero AAC]],<br>[[WMA]] Pro
| [[LAME]] 3.90.3, 3.96.1, 3.97a5
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| Nero > WMA Pro ~ Vorbis
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=30547&view=findpost&p=264411 HA Thread]
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=56397 HA Thread]<br>[http://listening-tests.hydrogenaud.io/sebastian/mf-64-1/results.htm Complete Result]
 +
|-
 +
| 2006-11-22
 +
| 48-kbps<br>General
 +
| Sebastian Mares
 +
| [[Vorbis]] [[aoTuV]], [[Nero AAC]],<br>[[WMA]] Pro, [[WMA]] Standard
 +
| Nero > WMA Pro ~ Vorbis > <br /> WMA Standard
 +
| [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=50408 HA Thread]<br>[http://listening-tests.hydrogenaud.io/sebastian/mf-48-1/results.htm Complete Result]
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005-10-17
+
| 2006-01-13
| [[LAME]] 3.98 -V5<br>Classical
+
| 128-kbps<br>General
| Guruboolez
+
| Sebastian Mares
| Private
+
| [[QuickTime AAC]], [[Nero AAC]], [[LAME]] [[MP3]],<br>[[Vorbis]] [[aoTuV]], [[WMA]] Pro
| [[LAME]] 3.98: -V5, -V5 --vbr-new,<br> -V5 --vbr-new --athaa-sensitivity 1
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| 5-way tie
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=37973&view=findpost&p=335086 HA Thread]
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=40607&view=findpost&p=357117 HA Thread]<br>[http://listening-tests.hydrogenaud.io/sebastian/mf-128-1/results.htm Complete Result]
 
|}
 
|}
  
'''''Notes:'''
+
===[[AAC]] Tests===
(1) Performed under extreme listening conditions not reproducible on daily listening.''
+
 
+
 
+
==[[MPC]]==
+
  
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
|- style="background:#aaaaff"
+
|- style="background:#ffaaaa"
! Date !! Title<br>Samples !! Performed by !! Type !! Codecs !! Links
+
! Date !! Title<br>Samples !! Performed by !! Codecs !! Result !! Links
 
|-
 
|-
| style="width:064px" | 2005-06-18
+
| 2011-08-20
| style="width:174px" | --standard<br>Classical
+
| 96-kbps <br>General
| style="width:101px" | Guruboolez
+
| IgorC
| style="width:045px" | Private
+
| CT, [[Fraunhofer|FhG AAC]] via Winamp (not [[Fraunhofer FDK AAC|FDK]]), [[Nero AAC|Nero]], [[QuickTime AAC|QuickTime]] TVBR & CVBR
| style="width:299px" | 1.01j, 1.15u
+
| Quicktime CVBR ~> TVBR ~><br /> Fraunhofer > CT > Nero
| style="width:110px" | [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=34911&view=findpost&p=306910 HA Thread]
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=89765 HA Thread]<br>[http://listening-tests.hydrogenaud.io/igorc/aac-96-a/results.html Complete result]
|}
+
 
+
 
+
==[[Vorbis]]==
+
 
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
+
|- style="background:#ffffaa"
+
! Date !! Title<br>Samples !! Performed by !! Type !! Codecs !! Links
+
 
|-
 
|-
| style="width:064px" | 2003-06-18
+
| 2006-02-20
| style="width:174px" | 128-kbps<br>ff123/rjamorim
+
| 48-kbps HE-AAC<br>General
| style="width:101px" | Guruboolez
+
| Gabriel
| style="width:045px" | Private
+
| 3gpp (v1), CT (v1 & v2), [[Nero AAC|Nero]] (v1 & v2)
| style="width:299px" | GT2 & PCVS
+
| All tie for most sample types;<br /> otherwise any v1 > any v2
| style="width:110px" | [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=10555&view=findpost&p=106189 HA Thread]
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=42679&hl= HA Thread]<br>[http://www.mp3-tech.org/tests/aac_48/results.html Complete Result]
 
|-
 
|-
| 2004-06-17
+
| 2006-02-05
| 160-kbps<br>Special
+
| 48-kbps HE-AAC<br>Classical
| Guruboolez
+
| Ivan Dimkovic
| Private
+
| [[Nero AAC|Nero]] HE-AAC v1 & v2
| CVS, GT3b2, [[aoTuV]]b2, [[aoTuV]]b2+QK
+
|
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=22495&view=findpost&p=218681 HA Thread]
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=41191&hl= HA Thread]
|-
+
| 2004-02-05
+
| -q4<br>Transients
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| RC3 2002-03, RC3 2002-04, 1.01, 1.01 QK2
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=18359&view=findpost&p=180697 HA Thread]
+
 
|}
 
|}
  
 
+
===[[MP3]] Tests===
==[[WMA]]==
+
  
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
|- style="background:#ffaaff"
+
|- style="background:#aaffaa"
! Date !! Title<br>Samples !! Performed by !! Type !! Codecs !! Links
+
! Date !! Title<br>Samples !! Performed by !! Codecs !! Result !! Links
 
|-
 
|-
| style="width:064px" | 2003-06-18
+
| 2008-10-17
| style="width:174px" | 128-kbps<br>ff123/rjamorim
+
| 130-kbps<br>General
| style="width:101px" | Guruboolez
+
| Sebastian Mares
| style="width:045px" | Private
+
| [[LAME]] 3.97, [[LAME]] 3.98.2, [[iTunes]], [[Fraunhofer|FhG MP3]], [[Xing|Helix]]
| style="width:299px" | [[WMA]]9 Standard & Pro
+
| style="width:110px" | [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=10551&view=findpost&p=106158 HA Thread]
+
|}
+
 
+
 
+
=Multiformat Tests=
+
 
+
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
+
|- style="background:#aaffff"
+
! Date !! Title<br>Samples !! Performed by !! Type !! Codecs !! Links
+
|-
+
| style="width:064px" | 2003-10-11
+
| style="width:174px" | 130-kbps<br>Classical (Baroque)
+
| style="width:101px" | Guruboolez
+
| style="width:045px" | Private
+
| style="width:299px" | [[AAC]] (FAAC, PsyTel, Nero, QuickTime)<br>[[MP3]] [[LAME]] 3.90.3, [[MPC]] 1.14, [[Vorbis]] GT3b1, [[WMA]]9 Pro
+
| style="width:110px" | [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=14091&view=findpost&p=142684 HA Thread]
+
|-
+
| 2003-12-13
+
| 128-kbps<br>Classical
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| [[AAC]] (iTunes, Nero, FAAC), <br>[[Vorbis]] 1.01, [[WMA]]9, [[MP3]] [[LAME]] 3.93.1
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=16395&view=findpost&p=163116 HA Thread]
+
|-
+
| 2004-07-12
+
| 175-kbps<br>Classical
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| [[Vorbis]] Megamix -q5,50, -q5,99 -q6,00<br>[[MP3]] [[LAME]] 3.97a3 -V3, -V2, [[MPC]] -q5
+
 
|
 
|
[http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=23355&view=findpost&p=225046 HA Thread]
+
| {{ha|https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,66564.0.html|Thread}}<br>[http://listening-tests.hydrogenaud.io/sebastian/mp3-128-1/results.htm Complete Result]
|-
+
| 2004-12-09
+
| 130-kbps<br>Classical
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| [[AAC]] Nero 2.9.9.998<br>[[Vorbis]] aoTuVb3
+
|
+
[http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=29925&view=findpost&p=258645 HA Thread]
+
|-
+
| 2005-03-05
+
| 140-kbps VBR<br>Classical
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| [[AAC]] Nero 3.0.0.4, [[Vorbis]] 1.1, QK28
+
|
+
[http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32080&view=findpost&p=279240 HA Thread]
+
|-
+
| 2005-03-17
+
| 256-kbps Transcode from MP3<br>subset of ff123
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| [[AAC]] iTunes 4.7, [[MP3]] [[LAME]] 3.97a8<br>[[MPC]] 1.15u, [[Vorbis]] aoTuVb3, [[WavPack]] 4.2b3 Lossy
+
|
+
[http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32440&view=findpost&p=282909 HA Thread]
+
|-
+
| 2005-07-11
+
| 80-kbps<br>Various
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| [[LAME]] [[MP3]], [[AAC]]-HE and -LC,<br>[[Vorbis]] [[aoTuV]], [[WMA]] Std
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35438&view=findpost&p=312296 HA Thread]
+
|-
+
| 2005-08-09
+
| 96-kbps<br>Classical & Various
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| [[LAME]] [[MP3]], [[AAC]],[[Vorbis]] [[aoTuV]] (Lancer), [[MPC]], [[WMA]]
+
| [http://forum.hardware.fr/hardwarefr/VideoSon/MP3-WMA-AAC-OGG-qualite-kbps-evaluation-sujet-84950-1.htm#t922011 Hardware.fr thread (in French)]
+
|-
+
| 2005-08-22
+
| 180-kbps<br>Classical
+
| Guruboolez
+
| Private
+
| [[AAC]], [[MP3]], [[MPC]], [[Vorbis]] [[aoTuV]]b4
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=36465 HA Thread]
+
|-
+
| 2006-01-13
+
| 128-kbps<br>General
+
| Sebastian Mares
+
| Public
+
| iTunes & Nero [[AAC]], [[LAME]] [[MP3]],<br>[[Vorbis]] [[aoTuV]], [[WMA]] Pro
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=40607&view=findpost&p=357117 HA Thread]<br>[http://www.maresweb.de/listening-tests/mf-128-1/results.htm Complete Result]
+
|-
+
| 2006-11-22
+
| 48-kbps<br>General
+
| Sebastian Mares
+
| Public
+
| [[Vorbis]] [[aoTuV]], Nero [[AAC]],<br>[[WMA]] Pro, [[WMA]] Standard
+
| [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=50408 HA Thread]<br>[http://www.maresweb.de/listening-tests/mf-128-1/results.htm Complete Result]
+
 
|}
 
|}
  
=External Tests=
+
==External Tests==
 
Other people have held listening tests in venues outside of Hydrogenaudio (although the organizers of the tests tend to be HA members :).  The results of these tests are found below:
 
Other people have held listening tests in venues outside of Hydrogenaudio (although the organizers of the tests tend to be HA members :).  The results of these tests are found below:
  
* [http://ff123.net/ ff123's site on audio testing and listening tests] (most recent test 2002-07-27)
+
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070720024213/http://www.ff123.net/ ff123's site on audio testing and listening tests] (most recent test 2002-07-27)
* [http://www.rjamorim.com/test/index.html Roberto's Public Listening Tests] (most recent test 2004-07-11)
+
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071014001946/http://www.rjamorim.com/test/ Roberto's Public Listening Tests] (most recent test 2004-07-11)
* [http://www.maresweb.de/listening-tests/ Sebastian Mares' Listening Tests] (most recent test updated 2006-11-22)
+
* [http://listening-tests.hydrogenaud.io/sebastian/ Sebastian Mares' Listening Tests] (most recent test updated 2008-11-22)
 
* [http://www.soundexpert.info/ SoundExpert Listening Tests] (continually updated)
 
* [http://www.soundexpert.info/ SoundExpert Listening Tests] (continually updated)
  
  
 
[[Category:Listening Tests]]
 
[[Category:Listening Tests]]

Latest revision as of 05:18, 5 March 2024

One of the most visible ways that HydrogenAudio members have shown their enthusiasm for audio quality and their respect for scientific principles over the years is by organizing and participating in public blind listening tests of lossy codecs and presenting statistical analyses of the results. These results show the advantages and disadvantages of different formats and encoders and help identify which are "state of the art."

Private listening tests also provide useful data, but the public HydrogenAudio tests are a rarity in having enough participants to both average out variations among individual listeners and still have statistically significant results.

Note that a listening test cannot really compare formats or encoder "brands." Instead, it compares particular versions of particular encoders at particular bitrates. Results will differ with different encoders, newer versions of the same encoders, or different bitrates. Use caution when extrapolating, and use the most recent results when extrapolating to the newest encoder versions.

Note: There would be no point in listening tests of lossless encoders; the decoded results are bit-identical to the original uncompressed recordings. Lossless encoder comparisons instead consider technical aspects such as compression ratio and encode/decode speed.

All tests are sorted by date, newest first. All dates are in ISO8601 format.

Tests and Results

Result Symbol Key
> Better than
~ About the same as
~> About the same, but slightly better than

Multiformat Tests

Date Title
Samples
Performed by Codecs Result Links
2014-07 96-kbps
General
Kamedo2 Apple AAC (iTunes 11.2.2), Opus (1.1),
Vorbis (aoTuV Beta6.03), MP3 (LAME 3.99.5)
Opus > Apple >
MP3(V5) ~ Vorbis
HA Thread
Complete Result
2011-04-10 64-kbps
General
IgorC Vorbis aoTuV, Quicktime HE-AAC, Opus Opus > Apple >
Nero ~ Vorbis
HA Thread
Complete Result
2007-08-16 64-kbps
General
Sebastian Mares Vorbis aoTuV, Nero AAC,
WMA Pro
Nero > WMA Pro ~ Vorbis HA Thread
Complete Result
2006-11-22 48-kbps
General
Sebastian Mares Vorbis aoTuV, Nero AAC,
WMA Pro, WMA Standard
Nero > WMA Pro ~ Vorbis >
WMA Standard
HA Thread
Complete Result
2006-01-13 128-kbps
General
Sebastian Mares QuickTime AAC, Nero AAC, LAME MP3,
Vorbis aoTuV, WMA Pro
5-way tie HA Thread
Complete Result

AAC Tests

Date Title
Samples
Performed by Codecs Result Links
2011-08-20 96-kbps
General
IgorC CT, FhG AAC via Winamp (not FDK), Nero, QuickTime TVBR & CVBR Quicktime CVBR ~> TVBR ~>
Fraunhofer > CT > Nero
HA Thread
Complete result
2006-02-20 48-kbps HE-AAC
General
Gabriel 3gpp (v1), CT (v1 & v2), Nero (v1 & v2) All tie for most sample types;
otherwise any v1 > any v2
HA Thread
Complete Result
2006-02-05 48-kbps HE-AAC
Classical
Ivan Dimkovic Nero HE-AAC v1 & v2 HA Thread

MP3 Tests

Date Title
Samples
Performed by Codecs Result Links
2008-10-17 130-kbps
General
Sebastian Mares LAME 3.97, LAME 3.98.2, iTunes, FhG MP3, Helix Thread on hydrogenaudio
Complete Result

External Tests

Other people have held listening tests in venues outside of Hydrogenaudio (although the organizers of the tests tend to be HA members :). The results of these tests are found below: