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klogg4 t1_j11y36u wrote

AAC to AAC is almost 100% resistant to generational loss, so use FDK, mode VBR 5. Opus is compressed better, but it's up to you.

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silver-shot OP t1_j11yc1k wrote

Hmm.. did not know that, I might do that - thanks!

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klogg4 t1_j128kbp wrote

You can also have some great experience with Musepack (sounds amazing, no generation loss because it's subband), but the problem is general compatibility - I refused it because I couldn't transfer it to my smart watch and to friends through messengers. Shame, because it's my favourite free open source format, I like it even more than Opus for my tasks.

To my experience AAC FDK VBR 5 is good. Bitrate is something like 200-210 kbps. Sound is generally transparent to me.

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silver-shot OP t1_j1343gn wrote

Yeah, considering it's my first time hearing musepack existing.. I can imagine it might not be as widely supported.. :/

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klogg4 t1_j134spl wrote

Imagine it being older than Vorbis and Opus. Early 2000s.

Maybe the lack of documentation killed it, but in fact it's one of the most epic lossy codecs I have seen.

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blorg t1_j12whrw wrote

Nine different codecs 100-pass recompression test

AAC wins over 100 decode-reencode cycles. But as /u/klogg4 says it's not likely to matter with a single re-encode. I use the same earbuds as you and I don't really worry about this, I mostly use Spotify and Tidal.

AAC is decoded and re-encoded for BT transmission, it's not passed directly to the earbud. But it's also particularly resistant to generational loss.

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silver-shot OP t1_j1340i8 wrote

Wow what a great read! I'll go for AAC then I think! :) Cheers.

e:grammar

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_j122i4v wrote

But Opus would be transcoded to AAC via Bluetooth, right? Couldn't that affect the audio quality?

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klogg4 t1_j1286v7 wrote

Any codec is transcoded to AAC, including AAC itself. The question is if you can hear generation loss or not.

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ultra_prescriptivist t1_j129kua wrote

Sure .. but presumably AAC > AAC would be less prone to audible degradation, right?

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klogg4 t1_j12bw3z wrote

According to tests - yes. Practically, assuming we work with relatively high bitrates, - I don't think it matters so much.

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RB181 t1_j12snqa wrote

I'm not even sure about the "almost" part, if you're not applying EQ or other kinds of DSP to the sound.

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