Audio codecs

Not all audio is equal, there's many ways to squish and cram audio data inside of a file, often different file formats follow different constraints or goals. I'll explain here what each does and how to know if you want it or not.

OGG ~192 kbps

This is the highest quality I deliver via this server. This is the best kind of file. If you just want to listen to a file, this is the correct answer, click it, and music will come out your computer or cellphone. If you're a normal person, this is also the correct file type to download and use.

MP3 128 kbps

If you're using a computer with Microsoft Windows, an MP3 music player or an older cellphone, this is the highest quality I serve for them. For more than one decade, the most normal audio format for music files was MP3, and the most common bitrate that balanced quality and file size efficiency (i.e. not too big, not too slow to download or upload) was 128 kbps. If the previous format failed, this is the correct one for you.

MP3 32 kbps

If you really have a slow internet connection, a retro computer or you're in the middle of an experiment that needs small music files, this is it. The audio quality is lower and you'll hear problems with the audio, but it's largely fine if you get used to it.

AMR 13 kbps

This is a highly experimental audio format I use for downloading via really old phones that do not accept normal .MP3 files. It has the audio quality of a phone call (i.e. the bottom of the barrel) and to survive the codec, it has undergone audio compression and hi-pass/low-pass filtering, which further damages the audio but also makes it more optimal for this particular audio format. It's rarely the correct answer, but VLC will play it just fine. It's there for science.

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