Better than MP3?

After disussing MP3 compression, the question was "is there anything better than MP3?" Looking for an answer turned up some new resources that show some of the many factors involved in compressing sound. First MP3: The Definitive Guide provides more information on MP3. ITunes uses Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). One of the factors in compression quality is how many bits are used to encode each second of sound. MP3 or AAC are not implemented in only one way. The bit rate can vary and the compression details can vary.

Some people that are obviously musically well-trained have done comparisons of MP3 with AAC. See REPORT ON THE RELATIVE QUALITY OF AAC AUDIO TO MP3 PART 1 which also tests the Ogg Vorbis format and mentions the LAME encoder for MP3.

How MP3 Files Work

When I was a kid the state of the art was 78rpm records that played a song lasting about five minutes or less. I saw the advent of 45rpm record (with the hole in the middle) and long-playing 33rpm (30 minutes or so). When I was about 13 I got a tape player, but it was reel-to-reel.

So the world has changed. Now MP3 players are very popular. But what it MP3. Let's find out, atarting with How MP3 Files Work and following many of the links, including

How CDs Work
    How Analog and Digital Recording Works
          How Bits and Bytes Work (first three sections only)