As hard disc space becomes cheaper and computers increasingly become

the source for hi-fi stereo systems, the question often asked is whether

it makes sense to switch from lossy audio formats to lossless ones that

replicate the original CD's audio exactly.

This article doesn't go into whether it makes sense to make this switch,

as this is a personal decision based on your equipment, the type of music

you listen to, and your aural sensitivity. For those of you who have

decided to go lossless, there are several options in terms of audio formats:

o WAV - A ubiquitous but uncompressed format.  Also, tagging standards

   are somewhat ambiguous meaning that tracks tagged by one application

   my not be readable by another.

   This is fully supported (ripping & tagging) by MediaMonkey.

o FLAC - The most popular 'open' format at the moment, supported by a

   large number of applications.

   This is fully supported (ripping & tagging) by MediaMonkey.

o APE - Another fairly popular format supported by many applications, with

   marginally higher compression ratios than flac. MediaMonkey tags APE

   files, but doesn't presently rip them.

o WMA Lossless - Microsoft's standard. Not very popular at the moment, but

   may become more so if it becomes supported by new 'Plays for Sure'

   devices.

o ALAC - This is the lossless format supported by iTunes and the iPod.

   Despite the fact that it is supported on the #1 selling portable device, it

   doesn't seem to be used that often, probably in large part because it isn't

   an open standard.



As to which format is recommended, at present, none of these formats is an

overwhelming winner, however, your choice will depend on whether you

want to use an open format that you'll likely be able to play on other

players in the future and whether you want to play lossless formats on your

portable devices (usually not important for most people).



We believe that FLAC or APE are the lossless formats of choice, however,

there are certainly arguments for using WAV (some Audio devices support

WAV streaming but no other formats) or ALAC (if it's important that you

be able to play lossless on your iPod).  In most cases, though, lossless is

ideal for archival purposes, while a portable player that has limited storage

space, is better off using a more highly compressed audio format such as MP3.



How can MediaMonkey help you manage your lossless collection?

o It tags WAV, APE, FLAC, ALAC files

o It rips to WAV and FLAC

o It synchs WAV, APE, FLAC, ALAC to any MP3 Player by converting it on-the-fly to MP3

   or OGG, while preserving track metadata



MediaMonkey is the music manager for serious collectors.