We explain the difference between MP3 and AAC with table. Both MP3 and AAC are settings for audio files. Mp3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer III / MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) and AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) are coding formats used for digital audio.
AAC was designed to be the most improved and efficient successor to mp3s, but the sound quality of both audio files is almost the same. difference-between-mp3-and-aac
Mp3 is basically a standard technology that uses a format to compress a sound to approximately one twelfth size of an original file while maintaining the original level of sound quality.
AAC can be used to encode audio files from low to high bit rates. AACs is built as a successor to Mp3s with more effective and efficient sound quality. difference-between-mp3-and-aac
What is Mp3?
Mp3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer III) is digital audio that was developed by the Fraunhofer Society (Germany) with the help of a scientist in the USA. Mp3 uses lossy data compression (relative to audio compressions) to encode the data. Mp3s is famous for its ability to compress files and making it convenient to store music.
Basically 4 parts describe Mp3s algorithm
- Breaks the audio system into smaller parts (called frames)
- Sample at 1024 point FFT (fast Fourier transform)
- Then counts and encodes each sample (known as noise mapping) difference-between-mp3-and-aac
- Format the bit streams.
The encoder algorithm and bit rate are also terms on which the quality of mp3 encoded sound depends. The sound quality depends mainly on the encoding parameters.
Mp3 encoding technology is basically patent-free as all patents expired in 2012. Mp3s only supports up to 2 channels in MPEG-1 mode and up to 5.1 channels in MPEG-2 mode. Mp3s handles a frequency from 16 kHz to 48 kHz. difference-between-mp3-and-aac
What is AAC?
Advanced audio encoding is a successor to mp3 with more efficient audio quality and higher frequency sound that is 8 kHz to 96 kHz. AAC achieves better sound quality than mp3s at the same bit rate. AACs is comprised of 48 full-bandwidth 96 kHz channels. AAC is also a default standard audio format for iPhones, iPods, etc.
The main improvements that AAC has over mp3sare the following.
- It has a higher sampling frequency.
- More High Bandwidth Channels (48)
- Higher encoding efficiency
- More flexible, i.e. multiple methods can be used for various frequency ranges
- Additional tools.
AAC has strong industry support and is therefore a strong competitor. difference-between-mp3-and-aac
AAC is an international standard that many companies have kept in use, for example, Dolby Company Inc, Sony Corp. and Nokia Corp. difference-between-mp3-and-aac
Although still, not all devices use AACs. Most iTunes and iPods have given access to the AAC audio format.
Difference between MP3 and AAC with table
The differences between Mp3s and AAC are their sample frequencies with Mp3s having a frequency of 16 kHz to 48 kHz and AAC having a frequency of 8 kHz to 96 kHz.
Also, AACs has up to 48 channels, while MPEG-1 mode has 2 channels and MPEG-2 only has about 5.1 channels.
Comparison table between MP3 and AAC
| Comparison parameters | MP3 | CAA |
| File extension | Use .mp3s as an extension. | Use .m4p, .m4a, .m4b, .mp4, .acc as extension. |
| Quality | Mp3s offers lower voice quality than AAC and the same bit rate | AAC offers better voice quality although it gives a very loose compression |
| Popularity | Mp3s is available on all devices | AAC is popular with iPod and iPhone, but not as popular as mp3s |
| Launch | 1994 | 1997 |
| Frequency | 16 kHz – 48 kHz | 8 kHz – 96 kHz |
Key differences between Mp3 and AAC
- The main difference between AACs and Mp3s is the frequency that the two use. While AAC uses a frequency of 8 kHz to 96 kHz, Mp3 uses only 16 kHz to 48 kHz.
- The number of channels that are present in AAC is 48, in which the MP3 MPEG-1 mode has only 2 channels and the MPEG-2 mode has around 5.1 channels. difference-between-mp3-and-aac
- The block length of both audio formats also varies greatly. AAC uses a block size of 1024 (or 960 samples) and Mp3s uses a block size equivalent to 560 samples.
- Mp3 has a file extension of .mp3, while AAC has extensions like .m4a, .m4b, .m4p, .m4v, .m4r, .mp4, .aac.
- Both audio files use a different MIME type (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions). AACs uses audio / aac, audio / aacp, audio / 3gpp, audio / 3gpp2, audio / mp4, etc. Mp3 on the other hand uses audio / MPEG as its MIME type
Final Thought
Mp3s and AAC are two audio file formats. AAC is a successor to mp3 that was built with higher efficiency and better sound quality. AAC reduces file size without compromising sound quality and also uses a higher frequency for better results. Mp3 is available on all devices, unlike AACs, which is only available on iPods and iTunes. difference-between-mp3-and-aac
AACs requires a file size of 6.7 MB at a 192K encoding speed, while Mp3s requires a 3.9 MB file size at a 128K encoding speed.
There are differences in the sound files of both audio formats, but they seem quite similar when listening to them and therefore the difference between the two cannot be differentiated.
Mp3 is an older file format and therefore compared to AACs it does not have a small file or better sound quality, but the biggest advantage it has is that it is accepted and available on all devices (notebooks). or not portable). iTunes can be used to convert any AAC file to Mp3s format if any device does not support AAC. AAC will sound better at high frequencies while MP3 sounds better at low frequencies. As AAC is roughly two generations younger than Mp3s, file formats have definitely improved since then, which is why Apple opted for AAC as the file format for iTunes. Converting MP3s to AAC audio format may deteriorate the sound quality and make it less efficient to use. difference-between-mp3-and-aac
