mp3 vs. uncompressed wav - can you hear a difference?

[Paul2]

http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality

take this test from the link above and see how many did you get right that is uncompressed wave instead of 320 kbps mp3 or 128 mp3. shocking and surprisingly, i only got 2 out of 6 correct.  quite embarrassing too.  but i realize that the majority of people (about 36%) got 2 out 6 correct too.  so i shouldn't feel too bad.

here is the link where i got that test link from: http://www.soundandvision.com/content/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality#5M7ot5xoW2z3GOtR.97

[Titan]

I didn't take the test. But the average person can't hear the difference between compressed and uncompressed audio. Especially if you have shitty speakers or headphones. I have hearing problems (tinnitus) so I can find it difficult to tell the difference unless I really focus my mind and hearing. But, I also don't really give a fuck either That being said, there are definitely some groups I try to find uncompressed or higher bit rate for better quality. I downloaded Rodrigo y Gabriela a few years ago with the .flac compression. Holy shit, is that amazing to listen to. You can hear the individual picks and the subtle sounds of their guitars. Well worth the space on my hard drive.

[Paul2]

i see.  when you say flac, is that the lossless compression codec?

[Titan]

i see.  when you say flac, is that the lossless compression codec?

Yeah. Downside is the files are much bigger, lol. But worth it

[Paul2]

yeah, but the file size is not that much bigger.  uncompressed audio eats up a lot less space than uncompressed video.  lossless compressed audio eat up a bit lesser space than uncompressed audio too but have the exact same quality.