DJs - Minimum Bitrate?

[hayze99]

When playing Mp3s on serato or whatever else, what is the minimum bitrate you'll go for?

Mine is 256 if it's a average system, 320 if it's a serious system and is in need of -relatively - high fidelity.

[bass hertz]

Dubstep should be ZERO compression imho. But if forced, I'd have to scrap anything under 320, unless it was so fucking exclusive and the tune didn't have any bottom end.

[tobo]

320, v0 does something weird in traktor.
Preferably FLAC.

[Novelty]

I only buy WAV, unless there is NO other option than 320...

I mean, I'm no professional DJ, but I can tell the difference between WAV and 320 over my monitors, not to mention a bomb system...

FLAC trumps all, however...

Lossless audio FTW

[Basic A]

If you gotta compress 450k ogg ftw, but wav and lfac are where its at... if you wanna know what were gonna play and what were not, if its anything lower then a 320, were not.

[tobo]

I only buy WAV, unless there is NO other option than 320...

I mean, I'm no professional DJ, but I can tell the difference between WAV and 320 over my monitors, not to mention a bomb system...

FLAC trumps all, however...

Lossless audio FTW

FLAC trumps WAV? You realize they're the same bitrate? Flac is just encoded differently so it takes up less hard drive space.

[hayze99]

Well then the question is - where do you get all these files in wav. It seems everywhere I buy my tracks only does it in 320 mp3s.

[bass hertz]

Well then the question is - where do you get all these files in wav. It seems everywhere I buy my tracks only does it in 320 mp3s.

you can select wav or flac from digital tunes on most releases. I bought a bit of 320 before I saw the option on the site.

[Novelty]

I only buy WAV, unless there is NO other option than 320...

I mean, I'm no professional DJ, but I can tell the difference between WAV and 320 over my monitors, not to mention a bomb system...

FLAC trumps all, however...

Lossless audio FTW

FLAC trumps WAV? You realize they're the same bitrate? Flac is just encoded differently so it takes up less hard drive space.

yes I do realize that.. its just personal preference. like when someone complains about receiving generic oxycontin when its no different than the name brand shit..

[Basic A]

ALOT of the releases on Beatport and Juno do that too, just carefully inspect... Juno wants more for wav though, which knda pisses me off, and often tempts me into full CDs, cause chances are, when you buy cds from an artist, thats what theyre presser put on them, WAVs...

[Depone]

Its a real shame iTunes doesnt have Flac support.

[kejk]

Its a real shame iTunes doesnt have Flac support.

Do people actually use itunes?

[HAACK]

Well then the question is - where do you get all these files in wav. It seems everywhere I buy my tracks only does it in 320 mp3s.

Many online digital distributors have the option for buying MP3, WAV, FLAC, and sometimes even lower bit rates?! Which if your really on budget then go for it, otherwise, preferably WAV files.

junodownloads.com

beatport.com

dubplate.net

boomkat.com

[tobo]

Its a real shame iTunes doesnt have Flac support.

Do people actually use itunes?

I use iTunes, but only because i have a mac. iTunes on the PC is a disgusting mess, but as theres no version of Foobar for OSX i'm stuck with itunes (It's not that bad running on OSX).

It needs FLAC support, I believe theres a petition somewhere online.

[hayze99]

For the record - I also use iTunes - just because it integrates so nicely with serato.

[Depone]

For the record - I also use iTunes - just because it integrates so nicely with serato.

And traktor

[bmills]

my lack of hd space makes me go all 320/256(VBR)+ but it doesn't really bother me i just do like house parties and stuff i dont take it too seriously...but nothing's better than blasting an uncompressed wav through some nice subs

[lowpass]

I only buy WAV, unless there is NO other option than 320...

I mean, I'm no professional DJ, but I can tell the difference between WAV and 320 over my monitors, not to mention a bomb system...

FLAC trumps all, however...

Lossless audio FTW

FLAC trumps WAV? You realize they're the same bitrate? Flac is just encoded differently so it takes up less hard drive space.

??

Flac = same bitrate as Wav
Flac takes up less space than Wav

therefore flac trumping ensues

[zeno]

If you're talking to DJs, FLAC isn't even an option. Serato doesn't play em. From what I've heard FLAC decompression is pretty CPU heavy compared to MP3. I don't have a source on this info, however, so take it with a grain of salt. Obviously WAV is not compressed, so it doesn't take any CPU to decompress. I can certainly see a difference in Serato on one of my ancient laptops b/t Wav & MP3. For most computers these days, this is a non issue. But with the inevitability of Serato djs joining up with Ableton, CPU may become an issue for some in the future. Shrug. I do know that converting FLAC to WAV can be a real pain in the arse if you don't have the right app.

Bottom line, if I can't get an AIF/'WAV, I'll take a 320 any day. I've also been seeing M4A's floating around lately, which is interesting.

[the dub lemon]

320 or at least 256....192 or lower I won't bother with.