Expert: Gary Housknecht - 12/20/2004

Question
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Followup To
Question - Thank for the Quick awnswer but could you tell me on average  on a 100% scale  how much audio is lost on MP3 compared to .WAV.  
Thanks, Van


Is there a way I can convert MP3 audio files back into Wav format and get back the superior Wav Quality sound.
Thanks ,Van
Answer -
Not exactly. Once a file is converted to mp3 portions of the original are stripped. However, if the mp3 is at or near the highest quality (320 kbps), less is stripped and conversion back to wav form restores the file to near original. Unless you have some fine tuned equipment in quiet surroundings (headphones, for example) you can hardly tell the difference.

The real answer to your question, however, is that once a file (song) is in mp3 format, it cannot be restored to its orginal state. When a data file is 'zipped', blank space in the file's code is eliminated so that when it is uncompressed (unzipped) it is restored to its exact orginal. Not so with mp3.

Hope this helps ... Gary

Answer
Sorry - I do not have that detailed of information. Besides, like I indicated in the first answer, an mp3 can range from extremely high compression with very poor quality sound, to the 320 kbps I mentioned with lower compression and high quality sound. So there is no simple answer to your question.

Do a Google search for mp3 info ... there are many sites offering the type information you are after.

Gary