|
Acoustic:
"Bad Timing," Jim O'Rourke
|
File
size
|
Hear
the
clip
|
|
AAC
|
128
|
8.0
|
9.5MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.08
|
14.2MB
|
Listen
|
|
MP3
|
128
|
7.33
|
9.4MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.19
|
14.1MB
|
Listen
|
|
OGG
|
128
|
7.38
|
9.1MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.8
|
13.3MB
|
Listen
|
|
WMA
|
128
|
7.16
|
9.4MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.19
|
14.1MB
|
Listen
|
If you
like acoustic guitar music, the AAC codec is clearly the way to go, although it's
odd we thought the 128Kbps file sounded significantly better than the
higher-quality clip.
|
|
Jazz:
"So What," the Miles Davis Quintet
|
File
size
|
Hear
the
clip
|
|
AAC
|
128
|
7.21
|
8.6MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.84
|
12.8MB
|
Listen
|
|
MP3
|
128
|
7.6
|
8.5MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.65
|
12.8MB
|
Listen
|
|
OGG
|
128
|
7.79
|
8.2MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.85
|
12.2MB
|
Listen
|
|
WMA
|
128
|
7.7
|
8.6MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
8.4
|
12.9MB
|
Listen
|
In the
jazz genre, the 192Kbps WMA file easily bested all competitors.
|
|
Rock:
"Cherub Rock," Smashing Pumpkins
|
File
size
|
Hear
the
clip
|
|
AAC
|
128
|
6.59
|
4.7MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.44
|
7.1MB
|
Listen
|
|
MP3
|
128
|
7.6
|
4.7MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.31
|
7.0MB
|
Listen
|
|
OGG
|
128
|
7.54
|
4.5MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
6.29
|
6.8MB
|
Listen
|
|
WMA
|
128
|
7.88
|
4.7MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.65
|
7.0MB
|
Listen
|
Chalk up
another win for the WMA codec, although scores in the rock genre didn't vary as
widely as those of other musical styles.
|
|
Hip-hop:
"Don't Say Nuthin'," the Roots
|
File
size
|
Hear
the
clip
|
|
AAC
|
128
|
8.0
|
3.4MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.75
|
5.1MB
|
Listen
|
|
MP3
|
128
|
7.35
|
3.4MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.9
|
5.1MB
|
Listen
|
|
OGG
|
128
|
7.69
|
3.2MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
7.88
|
4.7MB
|
Listen
|
|
WMA
|
128
|
7.69
|
3.4MB
|
Listen
|
|
192
|
8.1
|
5.1MB
|
Listen
|
All
formats turned in at least one decent score in this test, though WMA at 192Kbps
ended up with a slight edge on the 128Kbps AAC file.
|
How we tested >>
