MP3 or AIFF? Will AIFF work in Rekordbox or Traktor?
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- This topic has 8 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 5 months ago by
Terry_42.
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October 27, 2016 at 9:58 am #2458521
Terry_42
KeymasterActually most Pros I know use mp3 or aac (mp4, aac, m4p, m4a,…).
When listening to music over a PA system blind tests have shown that people cannot hear any difference between a good mp3/aac and a lossless format (wav or aiff). That means 320kbs mp3 or 256kbps aac.
Of course it also depends on the encoding, but sources as Apple (iTunes), beatport or Amazon, seem to have excellent encoding.Now there could be 2 reasons you still want lossless:
1. You are an audiophile and have an audiophile sound system at home (and we are talking 100000 bucks of equipment or more). On such systems with High-End DAC you might actually hear a difference, if you have good ears and are below 40 years of age.2. You are using the tracks for production (and I do not mean simple remixes) and are cutting them apart where every wavesignal counts (since you are asking about it, I doubt you are able to do this yet).
For everything else mp3/aac is plenty enough.
October 27, 2016 at 11:08 pm #2458751DJ Vintage
ModeratorWhat Terry_42 said!
One addition, it pays to always buy tracks in the highest possible quality (i.e. WAV or lossless). Then do any preparation you want to do (could be stuff like Platinum Notes) and then rip to MP3 or AAC yourself. That way you will always keep an original, full quality copy in some safe storage space. You can then also use the original WAV/Lossless versions in productions, remixes, mashups and such and only rip the end result to MP3.
If you start with MP3, then go to WAV (as will happen in most audio production software) and then bounce back to MP3, you will experience quality loss. Possibly to audible levels.
Another thing is that if you use WAV (with all it’s apparent shortcomings when it comes to tagging/art and such), there is no need to decompress anything on the fly. It is just played as is. As lossless compression is still compression, like MP3/AAC it still needs to be uncompressed. This will clearly add some processing load to your laptop. It could also interfere with “key lock” features that also need to real-time re-encode audio. With MP3 and “heavy” key locking going on, you will soon notice audible changes. A plug-in like Serato’s Pitch-N-Time claims time-stretching to extremes without audible effects.
With today’s storage prices (even for the much preferred SSDs) now at such levels that maintaining a manageable collection (say up to 1500 tracks) even in WAV format need not be a problem. So I’d say your optimal choice would be to buy original tracks in WAV format and then use them in AIFF for maximum compatibility. Apple’s lossless format ALAC (comparable to FLAC) is NOT supported by either RekordBox or Traktor!
More on topic:
Both Traktor and RekordBox do support AIFF. As we are big fans of using iTunes for collection management, AIFF is pretty much the choice to make as it’s supported by iTunes of course, unlike FLAC (which is also not supported by RekordBox, although it is supported by Traktor).October 28, 2016 at 4:10 pm #2458891Matt Prince
ParticipantHi,
Thanks for your replies. I may buy music in AIFF and keep them backed up on a separate hard drive and then make mp3’s for dj use then.
I am starting to get pretty fed up of Apple tbh and their ways and don’t like iTunes much anyway. You say you are a big fan of iTunes for collection management, what alternatives would their be? I plan on using Rekordbox and sticking with Pioneer for good anyway so could I not just download WAV and then let Rekordbox use them? I know WAV can’t do tagging etc but it will show the saved loops/cue points etc in Rekordbox won’t it? It just won’t if I moved them files to say Traktor for instance?
Matt
October 28, 2016 at 4:51 pm #2459011ModeratorCues and such would be proprietary to the DJ software and never show in iTunes. There is RekordBuddy which lets you move cues and loops and such between DJ software though.
I personally think iTunes is the worst thing to ever come out of Cupertino, but … if used exclusively for DJ-ing purposes and tuned accordingly it does give you the tools needed to do collection management. Since it’s 100% supported by all serious DJ software (including RB DJ), it will be easy to use your collection in other software if you so choose (for example if you plan on playing on iPad-based platforms).
If you go the Pioneer route and plan to stay there, you could indeed do all you need in RB.
October 28, 2016 at 9:31 pm #2459031ParticipantI hate iTunes tbh but they do have some songs I struggle to find elsewhere , but they are then AAC which are still compressed. I am thinking to go lossless so as and when I want to try and do a remix , I am dealing with the maximimum quality. Another idea could be to deal solely with AAC/MP3 and then buy the lossless versions of songs that I want to remix? Do most DJ’s in clubs use MP3 anyway?
Matt
October 29, 2016 at 12:59 pm #2459091ModeratorTo be exact, when I talk about iTunes I am only talking about the software, not the store!
October 29, 2016 at 10:37 pm #2459101ParticipantI know this is going off topic a bit but do you think its best to use MP3/AAC and play them in clubs and just use WAV for remixes?
October 31, 2016 at 11:17 am #2459471KeymasterI only and exclusively use WAV/AIFF in the studio and when pre-mixing a remix. And many times I can get away with using mp3 for remixes also. So WAV is mainly for real studio work.
All my live work is donw with mp3/aac, since they are much smaller and fit on the small SSD more easy.
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