Audio formats are more than just a means to an end, they’re an integral part of the whole way we experience music. Finding an original printing of your favorite records, and bringing it home to sit and listen on your stereo system is a totally different experience than popping in earbuds, pulling up your Spotify playlist and going for a run. With the options available for listening to music – and the times and places that we bring music – constantly expanding, finding the best format to help you enjoy your music is more important than ever.
There are two main ways we can divide audio formats:
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Analog vs. Digital
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Portable vs. Home Audio
Analog vs digital describes whether music playback is amplifying vibrations from the media itself, or reconstructing the audio signal from digital data to amplify the result. Records are the only analog format still in wide use, though tapes are popular in some niches. Streaming, CDs, and digital files, are the main digital formats. Portable vs home audio is more about where a format is easiest to use or if it has any limitations that make it either more complicated to use in some situations.
Analog Audio
No matter what you start with, by the time you hear a sound, it’s technically “analog” but when we talk about analog audio, we’re typically talking about the media that’s carrying the music itself. The key differentiator for analog formats is that you can – ideally – make a through-line from the original vibrations that the artist played in the studio to the vibrations that your player transmits through your speakers. Analog also means that the complete audio waveform is preserved in the record or tape that you bring home without a need for reconstruction or conversion. Higher fidelity analog systems extract the exact recorded details as they were inscribed onto the media.
Vinyl
The technology behind records is one of the oldest tools used to record and transmit music, and while some elements of the design has changed, the core design continues to stand the test of time. The combination of being capable of delivering the full dynamic range and detail of music, with packaging that allows artists to add visual art to their musical vision has given records appeal across generations. Even people without record players buy records for the art and simple collectibility of the format.
With records, the sound wave of the music is etched into the surface of the record, and the needle on the record player generates the vibrations of the music by following the grooves of the record. The physical contact is responsible for much of a record’s appeal, but also can result in problems, since dust or scratches on the surface of the record will be transmitted along with the intended sound. Records can also wear with use, leaving bits of the original detail and dynamics lost over the years.
For true vinyl enthusiasts, the player is just as much a part of the hobby as the records themselves. Every component of a record player can impact the way vibrations are transmitted and the cartridge, tonearm, and platter (among other components) of turntables can be swapped out and upgraded for an endless pursuit of the perfect sound.
Cassette Tapes
While cassette tapes are still around, they’re more of a novelty now, or something that analog diehards might use for portable audio, rather than a real competitor among high fidelity music formats. Tapes use a magnetic encoding that, like records, still contains the complete analog signal, but unlike records, cassette tapes can degrade even when unused and properly stored, as the magnetic field wears out. Their compact size and portability made them a huge hit for bringing in your car, or on the go with a walkman, and they were more reliable than previous portable formats like 8-track tapes. While in their peak in the 1980s and 90s, HiFi tape systems with top tier components were common in both home and portable audio, now they’re more of a niche product.
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Media Type |
Originally Introducted |
Storage Type |
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Record |
1948 |
Sound waves etched into vinyl discs |
Pristine sound quality, collectibility |
Large and fragile, requires complicated setup |
|
Cassette Tape |
1963 |
Magnetic storage |
Only viable portable analog format |
Hiss, quality degradation |
Digital Audio
Digital audio transformed the way music is recorded, listened to and preserved, by taking the original vibrations of sound, and converting them into a format that can be stored, copied, and played back without any further loss or degradation to the audio source. Digital audio relies on samples: digital reproductions of a distinct moment in time. The larger the sample is, the more accurately it can reproduce the original sound of each moment, and the greater number of total samples you have, the more accurately you can reproduce the complete song with its dynamics and original vision. As digital formats have improved – and the amount of storage we have available has improved with it – digital has become the standard for high fidelity audio.
CDs
Digital audio first made its mark in the home audio market with CDs. A CD could store more than twice as much high fidelity audio content as a standard LP record, and it was a fraction of the size and a lot less sensitive to damage or vibration. Where records were always going to be best listened to in a home, at a desk or table, CDs gave you the convenience of tapes, with sound that rivaled records. The sample and bitrate of CDs, 44.1kHz/16-bit, was backed by years of research and to this day remains the standard for “lossless” audio. SACDs were also introduced with higher capacity and significantly improved sound quality, but failed to achieve mainstream success.
Digital Files
Technically, both CDs and Streaming are using digital files to store and playback the music, but there are a myriad of other digital file formats that you can use on other devices. MP3s probably remain the most famous, as their small file size and reasonably good sound quality sparked a complete transformation in personal audio. With the first wave of portable MP3 players coming in the late 90s followed by the iPod in 2001, listeners could now fit their entire music collection in their pocket.
Digital Files offer extreme portability and the best possible digital audio quality on the market, and the only real downside is getting them. You’ll either need to go through the process of “ripping” CDs into a high quality format, or purchase and download tracks from a service that provides high resolution – often better than CD quality – digital downloads. Once you have the files though, this is the easiest way to store, listen to, and transport your music collection.
Streaming
The most recent transformative technology for listening to music is high resolution streaming. Along with the increase in storage capacity available, we’ve also seen an increase in internet bandwidth. While phone networks could barely manage to stream a blurry YouTube video in 2010, streaming video in 4K is commonplace on modern mobile networks. This means that with music, we have one of the easiest, most convenient ways to listen ever possible. Services like Spotify, TIDAL, Apple Music, and Qobuz offer different formats and sound quality levels ranging from lossy compressed formats to better than CD quality high resolution audio.
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Media Type |
Originally Introduced |
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Compact Disc |
1982 |
Physical media can be collected, standard for “high fidelity” quality |
Physical media needs to be stored and transported, better audio standard have been created since CDs |
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Digital Files |
1997 (First production MP3 player) |
Can be easily copied and distributed, best possible digital media quality |
Acquiring can be expensive or time consuming, high quality files have large storage requirements |
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Music Streaming |
2003 |
Can stream virtually any song ever, better than CD quality options available, convenient |
Requires internet access and subscription fee, no ownership of the music |
What’s best for Portable?
Most modern formats are reasonably portable, but digital files are probably the most portable overall. Their main advantage over streaming is that if you already have the digital files downloaded, you don’t need an internet connection to listen to them. Even though streaming services offer the ability to download files for offline listening, they still require you to check-in periodically by connecting your player to the internet, and of course, if you stop paying your subscription fee, you can’t listen anymore. On the other hand, streaming services don’t require any preparation or additional storage to work at their best, meaning that you can typically sign in on any supported device and start listening right away.
While they’ve largely fallen out of fashion and can’t deliver the same level of sound quality as the other options, cassette tapes remain a cool portable option for those who don’t like fitting into the mainstream mold. They’re small, durable, not as prone to interruptions like skipping from bumps as CDs, and you can easily make your own “mix tapes” by recording songs from other sources on a tape. Tapes are also the only portable option for the analog purist.
CDs offer higher fidelity, less risk of degradation over time, remain much more accessible – with most major and independent music still releasing on CD alongside as digital/streaming to this day – and there are also a number of CD player options still being developed and produced.
Digital files and streaming are almost always going to be the best choice for using during vigorous physical activity, while CDs still have a place for walks, commuting, or transportable setups, like in your car or your desk at work.
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Best Portable Media Formats |
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|---|
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Ultra-convenient, massive library of music easily available, can play right off your phone |
Needs internet access to work |
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Can easily store a large library of music with no need for internet access or subscriptions |
May need an additional device (like a DAP) for storage |
|
Easily available and inexpensive to build a collection |
Bulky to carry around a large collection, too much movement can interfere with playback |
Home Audio Formats
While any of the formats can be used at home, records are really the only current format that’s only usable in a home audio setup. Traditionally, CDs have been the crossover choice for building a collection that worked both in home setups and on the go, while up into recently, digital files and streaming weren’t considered as seriously for home audio setups.
15 years ago high resolution files and streaming audio just weren’t a major part of typical two channel home systems. Most components designed for digital files were clunky, and while there were plenty of DIY options, it could be a lot of work to integrate a large digital library into a HiFi home setup. Streaming wasn’t even really on the menu before Spotify’s US launch in 2011, and streaming wasn’t taken seriously by audiophiles until TIDAL and Qobuz launched lossless services a few years later. Even with the availability of high resolution streaming, there was still a bit of a learning curve for brands to build the tools needed to integrate streaming and digital files into serious HiFi systems. Now, with modern HiFi streamers, listening through a streaming service or using a library of digital files in your home system has become one of the easiest, most convenient ways to listen.
For home audio, records are almost as big as they ever were, with a myriad of options available for turntables and accessories. While they’re the most complicated by far, records remain the only real choice for those who want to stick to analog, and remains a top choice for overall sound quality – and HiFi turntable design gives you the ability to tweak the minutiae in your audio chain. Taking in the full experience of the art and design of a record, along with the collectible aspect, make them a great choice for those who like to take it slow and appreciate the full experience rather than just tap on a screen to pick their next album.
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Best Home Audio Format |
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|---|
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If you have internet access, modern streamers can integrate into virtually any system to stream any song you want at the press of a button |
If the internet goes down, or Spotify has an outage, your perfect music collection disappears |
|
The best possible digital sound quality, with the same benefits as streaming if you have a large collection |
You need to have the music collection |
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Records combine sound quality, collectibility, and aesthetics with systems that can become the centerpiece of your home |
Steep learning curve for vinyl system setup, expensive, not for everyone |
|
Most of the benefits of vinyl in a more compact format with less potential setup challenges |
Lack the aesthetic appeal of vinyl and the convenience of streaming and digital |
What’s the Best Format For You?
While there might be a stereotype of an audiophile as a stodgy, middle aged man meticulously selecting every component and cable for their system, the hobby has spread far beyond that in recent years. Whether you’re looking to build the ultimate home audio system or something that you can take on the go, so much of your system will rely on the initial choice of what you’re going to be doing while you listen to music and what you’re using as your source.
If you’re going the traditional route of a home system, vinyl and CDs will be best if you have a pre-existing collection of CDs or records that you want to continue using – similarly collecting a large collection of high resolution digital audio files from scratch can be an expensive and daunting undertaking. Of course, for some, the physical part of collecting albums can be as much fun as listening to them, and in that case CDs or records are definitely the way to go.
On the other hand, if you don’t have a collection, and don’t have the desire (or maybe just don’t have the space) to spend thousands of dollars buying hundreds of albums, then streaming gives you access to just about every album and recording you could imagine without the cost or time spent in collecting.
For a home office or office-office setup, digital files, streaming, and CDs are going to be your best choices. Since you’re pretty much guaranteed to have internet while you’re working, streaming will always be a great option, and it has a very high convenience factor, since it doesn’t require anything other than a phone or laptop. CDs mean carrying more around, but if you like the collection aspect and prefer to listen to full albums, rather than playlists of individual tracks, CDs still work really well. Of course, having a digital collection on a DAP or your computer works pretty much anywhere.
For travel, commuting, or exercise, streaming and digital files will almost always be the best option. If your internet access is in question, having digital files will be the best option, but otherwise, streaming is usually the simplest option – especially if you just want to have a phone and wireless headphones on the go, with no DAP or other extra gear.
Overall, while physical media still has its benefits – and will doubtless continue to have fans – digital formats provide a level of audio quality that's unmatched and convenience that exceed what can be achieved with physical formats.
