Learn More About Listening to Music - MP3 vs WAV

Do you download music from the internet?

Did you know you have a choice of audio file formats - .mp3 or .wav?

Improve the quality of your music listening experience

Read on to learn more...

.mp3 vs .wav - what's the difference?

.mp3 and .wav are both digital audio file formats. .mp3 has gained popularity through file-sharing and downloading music tracks over the internet but .wav files are the industry standard for CD-quality recordings.

An .mp3 audio track downloads faster than a .wav version of the same track because the file size is smaller - approximately one-tenth of the size. The difference is achieved through compressing or reducing the range of frequencies contained within the original recording.

.mp3 format has revolutionized our music listening and buying habits and offers a cheaper alternative to buying CDs, but the hidden 'cost' lies in a loss of quality of your listening experience which is not so easily determined.

Why should this matter to us?

Our bodies are capable of responding to a 'symphony' of different frequencies (our audible hearing range extends from 20 to 20,000 hertz cycles per second). Music provides a rich, broad spectrum of sound frequencies that our bodies respond to naturally during our 'real-time' listening experiences.

Everything in our physical world vibrates, whether it's a table, wine glass or part of the human body. Any object or 'system' responds most easily to its 'natural' or resonant frequency, producing the biggest spontaneous response with the smallest input of energy.

As we listen to any kind of music, sound waves pass through our bodies producing subtle movement in different areas, helping us release stress & tension at a physical level, creating a 'therapeutic' benefit to our listening experience. The wider the range of frequencies in the recording, the greater the potential benefit.

Choose quality over quantity

The quality of the audio files you choose when listening to music may have more impact on your health and well-being than you realize.

Download music sites like iTunes offer a huge selection of music tracks to buy. The majority of visitors download their music as .mp3 files because they don't realize they have a choice. .mp3 is the default download option in iTunes software but can be easily changed.

To change your download option to .wav on iTunes software:

Click on 'Edit' on the File menu
Choose the 'Preferences' option
A dialogue box opens with several tabs
Click on the Advanced tab - you see 3 options, click on 'Importing'
Click on the 'Import Using' drop-down box and click on 'WAV Encoder'
Click on the 'OK' button at the bottom of the dialogue box to save your new settings

If you buy your music from other download sites, check to see if you can request .wav files instead of mp3.

Whilst the size of the files you download will be much larger, you'll be listening to the same quality audio files as the original cd recording, containing the full range of sound frequencies.

Enhance your listening experience

Useful references:

www.wikipedia.org