Audio quality of encoders at 96 kbit/s

Encoders 96 kbit/s

AAC+ [email protected] (Nero 6.0)

4.47

~2%

AAC [email protected] (Winamp 5.63)

4.39

~0%

AAC [email protected] (NeroRef 1330)

4.37

~1%

wma 9 [email protected]

4.31

~3%

AAC [email protected] (NeroRef 1540)

4.29

~1%

mp3PRO [email protected]

4.17

~2%

wma 9 [email protected]

4.08

~3%

wma 8 [email protected]

4.05

~2%

AAC [email protected] (QTime 7.7.3)

4.03

~0%

AAC [email protected] (QuickTime 6.3)

3.99

~3%

Vorbis [email protected] (Xiph 1.3.3)

3.76

~1%

AAC [email protected] (PsyTEL(R) 2.15)

3.68

~2%

AAC [email protected] (Nero 5.5)

3.67

~2%

mp3 [email protected] (Lame 3.91)

3.67

~1%

mp3 [email protected] (Lame 3.99.5)

3.66

~1%

mp3 [email protected] (Musicmatch 6.10)

3.60

~2%

Opus [email protected] (libopus 1.0.2)

3.56

~1%

AAC [email protected] (PsyTEL(R) 2.15)

3.55

~1%

mp3 [email protected] (Musicmatch 8.10)

3.43

~1%

mp3 [email protected] (Musicmatch 8.10)

3.27

~3%

mp3 [email protected] (Lame 3.90.3)

3.13

~2%

QDesign Music 2 [email protected]

2.86

~2%

in alphabetical order

AAC [email protected] (Nero 5.5) - MPEG-4 AAC CBR Low Complexity, 94.8 kbit/s FBR
CODER: Ahead MPEG-4 AAC Encoder Plugin for Ahead Nero Burning Rom 5.5.10.0
- Ahead audio RAW convertor (resampling plugin) - SINC, Quality 100
- Encoder quality: High
- AAC Profile: Low Complexity
- Enable PNS: No
- 32000 Hz Stereo
DECODER: Ahead MPEG-4 AAC Decoder Plugin for Ahead Nero Burning Rom 5.5.10.0

AAC [email protected] (PsyTEL(R) 2.15) - MPEG-4 AAC CBR Low Complexity, 95.6 kbit/s FBR
CODER: PsyTEL(R) MPEG-4 AAC Encoder V2.15
- usage: aacenc -production -br 96 -if test.wav
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: Freeware AAC Decoder: Dec 28 2001 for WinAmp 2.78c
- output to Nullsoft Disk Writer plug-in 2.0a

AAC [email protected] (QuickTime 6.3) - MPEG-4 AAC CBR Low Complexity, 97.7 kbit/s FBR
CODER: MPEG-4 Audio Compressor for QuickTime 6.3
- 32000 Hz (Recommended), Stereo
DECODER: QuickTime 6.3

AAC [email protected] (Winamp 5.63) - MPEG-4 AAC LC, VBR, 89.8kbit/s FBR
CODER: MPEG-4 AAC Encoder v1.04 from Winamp 5.63 (Fraunhofer IIS)
- Mode: Variable Bitrate (VBR)
- Preset: 3 (AAC LC)
- 44100Hz, stereo
DECODER: FAAD v2.7 (build Jun 14 2010)
- usage: faad.exe -b 4 out.m4a
- 32bit output

AAC [email protected] (NeroRef 1540) - MPEG-4 AAC LC, Constrained VBR, 90.0kbit/s FBR
CODER: Nero AAC Encoder 1.5.4.0 (build 2010-02-18)
- usage: neroAacEnc.exe -q 0.34 -if ref.wav -of out.mp4
- AAC Profile: Low complexity (AAC LC)
- 44100Hz Stereo
DDECODER: FAAD v2.7 (build Jun 14 2010)
- usage: faad.exe -b 4 out.mp4
- 32bit output

AAC [email protected] (NeroRef 1330) - MPEG-4 AAC Low Complexity VBR, 91.2 kbit/s FBR
CODER: Nero Digital Audio Reference MPEG-4 & 3GPP Audio Encoder 1.3.3.0 (build 2008-09-17)
- usage: neroAacEnc.exe -q 0.35 -if ref.wav -of out.mp4
- AAC Profile: Low Complexity
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: Nero Digital Audio Reference MPEG-4 & 3GPP Audio Decoder 1.3.3.0
- usage: neroAacDec.exe -if out.mp4 -of out.wav

AAC [email protected] (QTime 7.7.3) - MPEG-4 AAC LC, True VBR, 92.1kbit/s FBR
CODER: Apple QuickTime (7.7.3) AAC Encoder via qaac 2.18
- CoreAudioToolbox 7.9.8.2
- usage: qaac -V45 ref.wav
- 44100Hz Stereo
DECODER: FAAD v2.7 (build Jun 14 2010)
- usage: faad.exe -b 4 out.m4a
- 32bit output

AAC [email protected] (PsyTEL(R) 2.15) - MPEG-4 AAC VBR Low Complexity, 96.3 kbit/s FBR
CODER: PsyTEL(R) MPEG-4 AAC Encoder V2.15
- usage: aacenc -qvbr 38 -if test.wav
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: Freeware AAC Decoder: Dec 28 2001 for WinAmp 2.78c
- output to Nullsoft Disk Writer plug-in 2.0a

AAC+ [email protected] (Nero 6.0) - MPEG-4 AAC CBR High Efficiency, 96.2 kbit/s FBR
CODER: Ahead MPEG-4 AAC Encoder Plugin for Ahead Nero Burning Rom 6.0.0.23
- Encoder quality: High
- AAC Profile: High Efficiency
- Enable PNS: No
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: Ahead MPEG-4 AAC Decoder Plugin for Ahead Nero Burning Rom 6.0.0.23

mp3 [email protected] (Lame 3.90.3) - MPEG-1 Layer 3, Average Bit Rate, 92.2 kbit/s FBR
CODER: Lame 3.90.3 (Aug 2003)
- usage: lame --preset 96 test.wav test.mp3
- 32000 Hz Stereo
DECODER: THOMSON mp3PRO Audio Player Demo 1.1.0 Build 0

mp3 [email protected] (Lame 3.91) - MPEG-1 Layer 3 CBR, 96.0 kbit/s FBR
CODER: Lame 3.91
- usage: lame -b 96 -q 0 test.wav test.mp3
- 32000 Hz Stereo
DECODER: THOMSON mp3PRO Audio Player Demo 1.0.2 Build 85.

mp3 [email protected] (Musicmatch 6.10) - MPEG-1 Layer 3 CBR, 96.1 kbit/s FBR
CODER: MUSICMATCH Jukebox 6.10.0225CJJ
- input from Audio CD
- processing level - "very high"
- maximum bandwidth - "let encoder choose"
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: THOMSON mp3PRO Audio Player Demo 1.0.2 Build 85

mp3 [email protected] (Musicmatch 8.10) - MPEG-1 Layer 3 Constant Bit Rate, 96.3 kbit/s FBR
CODER: MUSICMATCH Jukebox 8.10.2017CJJ
- input from Audio CD
- processing level - "very high"
- maximum bandwidth - "let encoder choose"
- Near CD quality
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: THOMSON mp3PRO Audio Player Demo 1.1.0 (Build 0)

mp3 [email protected] (Lame 3.99.5) - MPEG-1 Layer 3 VBR, 90.2 kbit/s FBR
CODER: Lame 3.99.5
- usage: lame -V6.9 ref.wav out.mp3
- 32000 Hz Joint Stereo
DECODER: MAD 0.15.2b
- usage: madplay -b 24 -o wave:.\out.wav out.mp3
- 24bit output
- 32/24 -> 44.1/32 by Audition CS6

mp3 [email protected] (Musicmatch 8.10) - MPEG-1 Layer 3 Variable Bit Rate, 92.4 kbit/s FBR
CODER: MUSICMATCH Jukebox 8.10.2017CJJ
- input from Audio CD
- processing level - "very high"
- maximum bandwidth - "let encoder choose"
- Custom Quality (VBR) - 34%
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: THOMSON mp3PRO Audio Player Demo 1.1.0 (Build 0)

mp3PRO [email protected] - mp3PRO CBR by Fraunhofer IIS & Coding Technologies, 95.9 kbit/s FBR
CODER: Nero mp3PRO Encoder Plugin for Ahead Nero Burning Rom 5.5.4
- Allow intensity stereo coding - yes
- Allow downmix - yes
- Padding - ISO
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: THOMSON mp3PRO Audio Player Demo 1.0.2 Build 85.

Opus [email protected] (libopus 1.0.2) - free audio format (IETF RFC6716), VBR, 90.7 kbit/s FBR
CODER: opusenc from opus-tools 0.1.6
- 44.1/16 -> 48/24 by Audition CS6
- usage: opusenc --bitrate 90 ref48.wav out.opus
- 48000Hz Stereo
DECODER: converter from foobar2000 v1.2.5 (32bit)
- 48/32 -> 44.1/32 by Audition CS6

QDesign Music 2 [email protected] - 95.9 kbit/s FBR
CODER: QDesign Music Encoder 2 Pro for QuickTime 5.0.2 Pro Player Edition
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: QuickTime 5.0.2 Pro Player Edition.

Vorbis [email protected] (Xiph 1.3.3) - Ogg Vorbis, 90.4 kbit/s FBR
CODER: OggEnc v2.87 (libVorbis 1.3.3)
- usage: oggenc2 -q2.2 ref.wav
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: OggDec v1.9.7 (libVorbis 1.3.1)
- oggdec.exe -b5 out.ogg
- 32bit output

wma 8 [email protected] - Windows Media Audio 8 CBR, 96.7 kbit/s FBR
CODER: Microsoft Windows Media 8 Encoding Utility
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: Windows Media Audio 4.02 for Windows ACM.

wma 9 [email protected] – Windows Media Audio 9 CBR, 97.4 kbit/s FBR
ENCODER: MS Windows Media Encoder v9.00.00.2799
- 16bit 2-pass CBR
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: MS Windows Media Encoder v9.00.00.2799

wma 9 [email protected] - Windows Media Audio 9 VBR, 91.7 kbit/s FBR
ENCODER: MS Windows Media Encoder v9.00.00.2799
- 24bit quality-based VBR – Q75
- 44100 Hz Stereo
DECODER: MS Windows Media Encoder v9.00.00.2799

The ratings above are live. Each time a participant of SE listening test sends a grade - the corresponding rating updates immediately. You can participate as well, it's easy and looks like fun, no need for "golden ears" or special equipment. Just visit our Testing Room, download a random sample, listen it in headphones and send back your grade. Afterwards corresponding rating will get new value and become more accurate. As the testing is fully blind you'll get to know the device/technology you've tested after sending your grade only. Thanks.

Testing Room ►

You can add a codec/setting to SE listening tests for $50 donation. Please, make your request ►

How to read the ratings

The rating bar consists of the following elements:

- Device or technology being tested.

- Value of actual perceived audio quality (rating) which is also indicated
by the bar length . Anchor points could be interpreted as follows:

In most cases using this device/technology:

1.0 – you will hear heavily distorted sound
2.0 – you will hear unpleasant sound artifacts
3.0 – you will hear distinctly audible but tolerable sound artifacts
4.0 – you will hear faintly discernible sound artifacts
5.0 – you will not hear any sound artifacts
above 5.0 – all sound artifacts will be beyond threshold of human perception with corresponding perception margin

and - "low" and "high" of rating. As each device is tested with nine different sound samples, there are nine different local ratings for a device. In fact, the actual rating is an average of those nine local ratings. The highest and the lowest ones are indicated. Big gap between them means that sound quality of device/technology is not consistent enough. It varies with type of sound material: music of different genres and complexity, voice with or without music, noisy/clear recordings etc. The lowest local rating is more important in this sense as it indicates worst case behavior of tested device.

- Accuracy of rating. It is also indicated by the color of bar - more accurate ratings have darker bars and less percentage values. Accuracy depends on number of grades returned by participants. In most cases 5% or less is OK.

- Ruler for convenient estimation of "highs" and "lows".

For devices with small impairments (not audible in ordinary listening tests) SoundExpert amplifies their sound artifacts to some predefined extent. Ratings of such devices are calculated analytically taking into account both the grades received and the amplification applied. They are above 5th grade on the scale showing certain quality headroom of such devices.