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MQA (hi-res): A lossless compression format that packages hi-res files for more efficient streaming. Convenient for storing music on phones and iPods. MP3 (not hi-res): Popular, lossy compressed format ensures small file size but is far from the best sound quality. The downside is that it’s not supported by Apple (so not compatible with Apple Music).


It's royalty-free and is considered the preferred format for downloading and storing hi-res albums. It comes in 2.8MHz, 5.6MHz and 11.2MHz varieties but, as it's high quality and uncompressed, is (mostly) impractical for streaming.įLAC (hi-res): This lossless compression format supports hi-res sample rates, takes up about half the space of WAV, and stores metadata. It is lossless and uncompressed (so big file sizes) but not hugely popular.ĭSD (hi-res): The single-bit format used for Super Audio CDs. In addition to AAC, the entire Apple Music catalogue is also encoded using ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) in resolutions between 16-bit/44.1 kHz (CD quality) and 24-bit/192 kHz.ĪIFF (hi-res): Apple's alternative to WAV, with better metadata support. ALAC (hi-res): Apple has also developed its own lossless audio compression technology.
