{"id":202378,"date":"2021-03-15T12:31:01","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T09:31:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/whats-bitrate-and-whys-it-important-for-music\/"},"modified":"2021-03-15T12:31:01","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T09:31:01","slug":"whats-bitrate-and-whys-it-important-for-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/whats-bitrate-and-whys-it-important-for-music\/","title":{"rendered":"#What\u2019s bitrate? And why\u2019s it important for music?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a326c9fbde0f\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a326c9fbde0f\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/whats-bitrate-and-whys-it-important-for-music\/#How_does_bitrate_impact_music\" >How does bitrate impact music?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#What\u2019s bitrate? And why\u2019s it important for music?<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                                We\u2019ve all listened to digital music, right? And that means you\u2019ve probably heard of\u00a0 \u201cbitrate\u201d or come across files that have \u201ckbps\u201d at the end. Thing is\u2026 what does that mean? What the <em>hell<\/em> is bitrate? Well, we\u2019re here to help you out.<\/p>\n<p>In the simplest terms, bitrate is an expression of the amount of data a file produces each second.<\/p>\n<p>For example, you may see something like \u201c320kbps.\u201d This literally means\u00a0320 kilobits per second, which is how much data is being produced. To make things easier, we\u2019ve put this into a handy image for you:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\">\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1341630 size-featured_img\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/9-what-is-bitrate-796x448.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/9-what-is-bitrate-796x448.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/9-what-is-bitrate-280x158.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/9-what-is-bitrate-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/9-what-is-bitrate-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/9-what-is-bitrate-1592x896.jpg 1592w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/9-what-is-bitrate-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" alt=\"what is bitrate\" width=\"796\" height=\"448\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/plugged\/2021\/03\/15\/what-is-bitrate-bit-rate-why-important-music-audio\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fplugged%2F2021%2F03%2F15%2Fwhat-is-bitrate-bit-rate-why-important-music-audio%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: That, friends, is bitrate.\" data-title=\"Share That, friends, is bitrate. on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share That, friends, is bitrate. on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>That, friends, is bitrate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_does_bitrate_impact_music\"><\/span>How does bitrate impact music?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here things get a little bit more complicated.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re most likely to see bitrate attached to lossy files, like MP3, OGG Vorbis, or AAC. We go into depth about what lossy and lossless files are here, but the key thing is that lossy files are compressed in a way where certain information is lost. On the other hand, Lossless files (like FLAC or WAV) retain all the audio information.<\/p>\n<p>This is why lossless files are described with both sampling rate and bit depth, while lossy ones aren\u2019t. But we don\u2019t need to worry about that too much.<\/p>\n<p>Now, bitrate can be attached to\u00a0<em>any<\/em> music file, but as we mentioned earlier, it\u2019s used more often for lossy files like MP3s. Taking this format as an example, the highest possibly bitrate is\u00a0320 kilobits per second.<\/p>\n<p>But if we take a format like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jAIdYernX0w\">the humble CD<\/a>? That has a bitrate of 1,411 kilobits per second, effectively 4.5 times the quality of the highest MP3.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1341633 size-featured_img\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/10-spotify-vs-cd-bitrate-796x448.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/10-spotify-vs-cd-bitrate-796x448.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/10-spotify-vs-cd-bitrate-280x158.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/10-spotify-vs-cd-bitrate-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/10-spotify-vs-cd-bitrate-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/10-spotify-vs-cd-bitrate-1592x896.jpg 1592w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/10-spotify-vs-cd-bitrate-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" alt=\"spotify vs cd bitrate\" width=\"796\" height=\"448\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/plugged\/2021\/03\/15\/what-is-bitrate-bit-rate-why-important-music-audio\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fthenextweb.com%2Fplugged%2F2021%2F03%2F15%2Fwhat-is-bitrate-bit-rate-why-important-music-audio%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Spotify actually uses OGG Vorbis, but the fundamental truth about bitrate remains.\" data-title=\"Share Spotify actually uses OGG Vorbis, but the fundamental truth about bitrate remains. on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Spotify actually uses OGG Vorbis, but the fundamental truth about bitrate remains. on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Spotify actually uses OGG Vorbis, but the fundamental truth about bitrate remains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There is a direct relationship betweeen bitrate and music quality \u2014 but it\u2019s a little bit more complex than that.<\/p>\n<p>We mentioned that MP3s are lossy files, meaning they\u2019ve been compressed in a way that means certain bits of audio have been lost. But this is done in an intelligent way, taking advantage of\u00a0<span>psychoacoustic principles like as\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Auditory_masking#Temporal_masking\">temporal<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Auditory_masking#Simultaneous_masking\">simultaneous masking<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>In reality this means that although something like an MP3 has a far lower bitrate than a lossless file, it doesn\u2019t\u00a0<em>sound that way.\u00a0<\/em>For example, using the image above, a 320kbps MP3 doesn\u2019t sound 4.5 times worse than a CD track.<\/p>\n<p>This image does a good job of summing up the impact bitrate has on recorded music:<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1341636 size-featured_img lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\" alt=\"lossless vs lossy file differences hearing\" width=\"796\" height=\"448\" data-offset=\"13155.625\" data-lazy-loaded=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/13-lossless-vs-lossy-file-differences-hearing-796x448.jpg\" data-lazy=\"true\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/13-lossless-vs-lossy-file-differences-hearing-796x448.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/13-lossless-vs-lossy-file-differences-hearing-280x158.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/13-lossless-vs-lossy-file-differences-hearing-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/13-lossless-vs-lossy-file-differences-hearing-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/13-lossless-vs-lossy-file-differences-hearing-1592x896.jpg 1592w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/13-lossless-vs-lossy-file-differences-hearing-1200x675.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>At 128kbps, you\u2019ll hear trebly registers (like hi-hats) sound a bit tinny. But the higher the bitrate of the lossy file is, the less difference you\u2019ll hear from a non-compressed one.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to read and explore all this a bit more, head over here.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s sum everything up before we go though. Bitrate is an expression of how much data an audio file produces per second. And, the higher the bitrate, the higher the quality of music is \u2014 up to a point.<\/p>\n<p>H<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y hunting out there, people!<\/p>\n<p><i>Did you know we have a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>letter all about consumer tech? It\u2019s called Plugged In \u2013<br \/>\n            <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/share.hsforms.com\/1tNyJLC_3RjuVWih9ygK_6A47gef\">and you can subscribe to it right here<\/a>.<br \/>\n            <\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-post-pubDate\">\n                                    Published March 15, 2021 \u2014 09:31 UTC<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script data-src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;appId=378011798897423&amp;version=v2.6\" id=\"socialSrcFacebook\" type=\"text\/template\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/plugged\/2021\/03\/15\/what-is-bitrate-bit-rate-why-important-music-audio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What\u2019s bitrate? And why\u2019s it important for music?&#8221; We\u2019ve all listened to digital music, right? And that means you\u2019ve probably heard of\u00a0 \u201cbitrate\u201d or come across files that have \u201ckbps\u201d at the end. Thing is\u2026 what does that mean? What the hell is bitrate? Well, we\u2019re here to help you out. In the simplest terms,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":202379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/plugged?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/03\/header-image-what-is-bitrate-bit-rate.png&signature=cdae863b97eac91fd660664dd8b70e01","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-202378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}