• more about #lossless more comments →
    DarianEileithyia: Wait, do codecs really die? At least ones which have achieve any sort of widespread (cross-app, cross-platform) usage? This is a serious question. ... more »
    NovaDuge: regarding "the ultimate archival format would be 24-bit, 96KHz tracks, maybe even 192KHz someday" I suggest you read The Emperor's New Sampling Rate (... more »
    SigmundTheSeaMonster: Awww, you didn't back up your iTunes library??? Awww.... more »
    Eulatos: Did i really just read "When AAC is put out to pasture" WTF does that even mean? AAC is just a better .mp3 format. IT IS NOT A DRM format. While it i... more »
    grovberg: Giggle. It's adorable how delusional you guys are. I often work with professional musician who constantly claim they can tell the difference between v... more »
    ColinRobertson: I totally 100% agree with this article. As it is, I tend to rip a lossless, and then create a lossy version for my iphone and ipod for the car. Whic... more »
    ProperBritish: i dont want lossless files, that would turn my 14.2GB library into a 142GB one. No thanks, lossy files still deliver the punch required without wastin... more »
    AbrahamErinyes: you're missing the point here. really. you're in a true tiny minority that cares about audio quality. i'm right there with ya, but it doesn't matter u... more »
    RenitaBabcia: My experience with LPs was that they didn't sound crystal clear anyway--Pops and crackles anyone? Perhaps Apple is keeping alive the memory of those ... more »
    NadineSalamander: You do realize when a format is lossless, you can encode it to any format you want? You have the original source files, there is no "standard" - just... more »
  • #itunes

    iTunes LPs Should Be Lossless

    The iTunes LP is Apple's attempt to recreate the "feel" of buying a physical record in an intangible format. Without lossless audio as a part of the package, though, iTunes LPs are much less than an album. More »
  • #homeentertainment

    Niveus and MusicGiants Offering HD Music Downloads

    Apple and EMI stole the spotlight earlier this month with their DRM-free music announcement, but now Niveus and MusicGiants are teaming up to bring you the first joint HD music store. The store will let audiophiles listen to and download music in the Lossless WMA format at rates up to 1,100 kbps. You'll also be able to download "Super HD" songs—tunes remastered in DVD Audio or SACD in 5.1 surround or 2.0 stereo with sample rates at 11,000 kbps. More »
  • #portablemedia

    Gemei X21 Portable Audio Player With Monkey's Audio Support

    Chinese manufacturer Gemei is coming out with the X21, an otherwise run-of-the-mill portable audio player save for its ability to play Monkey's Audio files. Monkey's Audio format files can be identified by their file extension, .APE. It's a lossless audio codec like FLAC, meaning you shrink the size of the song files without any hit on sound quality. These files are bigger than the average MP3 file, which is why it's so puzzling that the X21 only ships with 512MB of storage space (enough for about 1.5 CDs). Oh, wait, it's cheaper that way. Silly me. More »
  • #portablemedia

    MusicGiants Among Men

    At a press conference at the Sony Studios in Manhattan yesterday MusicGiants announced its music download service, the first to use the Windows Media Audio Lossless format. To access the service users must download the free MusicGiants Network software and pay a $50 yearly fee (which is redeemable in credit towards purchasing music) created to discourage the online musical bandit demographic from getting their sticky hands on the high-end service. Audio Lossless downloads reproduce music at up to 1100 kbps versus the 128 to 192 kpbs of your standard download services. More »