Why You Shouldn't Convert MP3s to MP3s

Have you ever gone and listened to one of your mp3s, only to hear bad problems with phasing, channels dropping out, and lost frequencies? Even if you hadn't noticed audio issues at first, the problem with bad-sounding mp3s is usually not just the bitrate or the original rip, but rather the fact that somewhere along the line, someone converted an mp3 to an mp3, damaging the audio quality and leading to substandard sound. The quality will be worse even if you buy one of Top 5 MP3 Players for College Students Under $200. Here's a look at why it's a bad idea to convert an mp3 to another type of mp3, and what you'll lose in the song if you choose to do so.

What is an mp3?

First of all, consider what the mp3 itself is; it's a compressed copy of an audio file. The "mp3" is simply the type of compression used, and there are other types of compression out there, including AAC and WMA, to name some of the more popular alternatives. The compression makes the file smaller and more manageable. Because mp3 files are so small, you can fit thousands of songs onto your iPod or other mp3 player. Compression is an almost essential part of modern music.

What happens when you convert to an mp3?

So, what is that compression that we speak of? Ideally, you'll start with a perfect, lossless copy of an audio file--as close as digital audio can get to lossless, anyways, but that's the subject for another article. The conversion software throws away bits of information that the human ear can't hear in order to create the mp3. At 256kbps, an mp3 is virtually indistinguishable from the lossless file it was created from, usually a CD, and especially on most of today's audio equipment. Audio "artifacts," or actual, distinguishable evidence of the mp3 conversion (those clicks, clacks, and jumps you'll hear in lower bitrate mp3s) begin to pop up around 128kbps.

When you convert from a "lossy" format (i.e. the mp3) to another "lossy" format (i.e, the mp3 again) you apply the same compression to a sound that has already undergone one type of compression. The same areas are thrown away, but this time, they're in areas that the human ear can hear. Thus, when you convert from an mp3 to another type of mp3, you'll lose sound that should be there. A 128kbps mp3 that was created from a 192kbps will have the same size as a 128kbps mp3 made from a CD, but it'll be missing more sound and it'll have more artifacts. And, since mp3s are "lossy," you can't convert up from, say, a 128kbps mp3 to a 192kbps mp3--the sound is gone forever. What to Look for when Buying a MP4 or MP3 Player on EBay this question will arise before you as soon as you understand what is quality music.

The result is, in short, bad sound.

This is why it's important to avoid mp3 to mp3 conversion. If you're trying to make more room on your iPod or other mp3 player and you want to get your songs in a lower bitrate, you've got to track down your CDs or another "lossless" form of the audio, such as WAV or FLAC versions of the songs. Otherwise, you'll be sacrificing an unnecessary amount of the quality of your music.

Do you have any other audio conversion tips? Post in our comments section below.