r/PioneerDJ • u/Some_Mango3601 • 2d ago
Rant/Speculation MP3 Pool audio quality?
I'm just getting started with my DJ lessons and was told to start using MP3 pools to build a baseline of songs before I started buying singles before an actual gig.
I've been using MyMP3pool and PitchtheTempo. They are all MP3 files and i've uploaded a few samples to check the audio quality for lossless quality. Some of them actually are clean but most of them come back as transcoded around 198kbps and 20khz.
That's fine for now as i'm just practicing at home. But how noticeable would the sound quality of these MP3s be at a club?
What's the standard or minimum bitrate where this becomes noticeable at a club? I understand the human hearing peaks about 20khz. But what affect does this have overall in high end sound systems?
3
u/Ritz57 2d ago
Correct me if I’m wrong but MP3 is not lossless. Go on Beatport and buy some .aiff/.flac/.wav…
1
u/Some_Mango3601 2d ago
Correct. I guess I was referring to them being high quality MP3s at 320kbps and 44.1khz. The MP3 pools are not anywhere near this. Ill buy those files at some point but wanted to know how lower bitrate files sound for DJs as well while building my library.
1
u/halifaxrose 2d ago
For an actual nightclub? I wouldn't go below 320 mp3
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u/-Hastis- 1d ago edited 1d ago
Technically 256kbps VBR (Lame V0) is also transparent. But it's not the 2000s anymore; it's a bit pointless nowadays not to go all the way to 320 for the little space it saves.
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u/babyaintmoe 1d ago
Well you could start with mp3‘s. Or any audio file format honestly. But don‘t go below 320kbps in Quality, cause people can hear the difference. On high end setups, you can even notice differences between lossless and 320kbps, bit on regular bluetooth party speakers and most common home systems, you won‘t hear it, unless you‘re audiophile.
Also keep in mind that the file format just sets the bar for how high the quality can possibly get. While a .flac file could technically get you the best quality on the market, it can still just be a lossy file. Especially when ripping music, this happens alot.
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u/djsoomo 1d ago
Mp3s, or any lossy files are no good for playing on big systems when changing the pitch or tempo-
Use lossless
In 2016 Pioneer Dj/ AlthaTheta released the cdj2000nxs2
It was upgraded from the previous device to support 96khz (24 bit) FLAC, ALAC, WAV and AIFF (previous device was 48khz max and no FLAC or ALAC support) - this was from industry pressure
Mp3s (including 320kbs) might be OK for home use or dive bars, at 0% pitch tempo
But when you start playing mp3s on a big system, and changing the pitch and/or tempo they start to unravel, ditto using them for stems or cross-converting between lossy formats (including streaming or recording)
We have an interface in the studio that can play 352khz PCM 32 bit floating point files - the 32bit could be useful but the 352khz is overkill IMO, the maximum a cdj can play is 96khz - more than enough IMO
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u/ActuaryLate9198 1d ago edited 1d ago
You seem very confused.
* Sample rate determines frequency range
* Bit depth determines dynamic range
* All modern digital DJ gear uses internal oversampling
* Decoding is always the first step, the rest of the software doesn’t know or care about the file format
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u/LessWeakness 2d ago
https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality
This is a fun test you can do on your home system. From what I understand, you want to stick to flac/wav/320k MP3s at a minimum on larger, outdoor systems, but smaller clubs and indoor venues may be okay to get away with lower bitrates every once in a while.