Difference Between AIFF and MP3

In the contemporary world, music plays a vital role in the source of entertainment. But for a musician, music is a profession, and their music records need to find a good file format. In this, file format stores data of digital audio on a computer system.  

There are a variety of formats available such as .act, .aax, .gsm, .flac, .ivs and many more. Choosing the best among these formats is not an easy task due to differences between them. In this article, the differences between AIFF and MP3 formats are highlighted. 

AIFF vs MP3 

The main difference between AIFF and MP3 file format is that AIFF is mainly uncompressed and means that its size is enormous. On the flip side, MP3 files are compressible due to their size of a tenth of an AIFF file. AIFF is preferred over MP3 when the music playing location is large enough, such as a large club.  

The abbreviation for Audio Interchange File Format is AIFF. It registers the waveform of audio as accurate samples with the help of PCM to offer the highest possible sound replication and audio recording quality. Just like WAV, it also stores data with no quality.  

The abbreviation for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 is MP3. It is a format and standard technology for a sound sequence into small while preserving the sound quality’s original level when it is played. These files are available on several websites to download. 

Comparison Table Between AIFF and MP3 

What is AIFF? 

AIFF is a standard audio file format that is used for electronic audio devices to store sound data. This format is based on the Interchange File Format of Electronic Arts in which IFE is used on the Amiga system. It is most commonly used on computer systems of Apple Macintosh.  

In most AIFF files, the audio data is uncompressed PCM or pulse code modulation. It almost weighs up to 80 MB and takes up very much space as their files are four times heavier than MP3. This type of file uses much more disk space compared to lossy formats like MP3. AIFF-C or AIFC are two of the compressed variants of AIFF with several defined compression codecs.  

For the usage by musical applications and hardware samplers, AIFF can include the musical note and Loop point data of a sample. For the compressed variants of AIFF, the file extension is .aifc, but .aif or .aiff are also accepted by the audio application that supports this format.  

AIFF files can store metadata in Annotation, Name, Comment, Author, and Copyright chunks. The file is generally divided into several chunks. With the chunk ID, a chunk is identified. Examples of chunks are marker, common, sound, data, application, audio recording, and many more. 

What is MP3? 

When it comes to digital audio, MP3 is a coding format developed by the Fraunhofer Society located in Germany. US digital scientists’ also contributed to it. Originally it is defined as the MPEG-1’s third audio format, it was retained and extended further as the audio format at third and succeeding MPEG-2 standard.

This file commonly designates files including MPEG- 2 or MPEG-1 Audio encoded data’s elementary stream, but lacking other complexities of MP3 standard. When it comes to audio compression, it uses lossy data compression for data encoding.

As a result, in file sizes, there is a large reduction compared to uncompressed audio. Acceptable fidelity and small size combination led to an explosion in music distribution across the Internet in the 1990s. When storage and bandwidth were still at a superior, it served as an enabling technology.

When sounds of certain components are reduced, then compression of MP3 works. The sounds are regarded far away from most human hearing power. This procedure is called psychoacoustic modeling, in other words, perceptual coding. 

Main Differences Between AIFF and MP3 

Conclusion 

It can be concluded that both AIFF and MP3 are two audio file formats. A musician needs to know the difference between file formats because for the music record of it is necessary to find a good file format. The file extension of AIFF is .aif or.aiff, whereas .mp3 is the file extension of MP3.  

When it comes to the type of format, AIFF is an audio file format and container format. On the other hand, MP3 is digital audio. AIFF file format was developed by Apple Inc in 1988, while MP3 was developed by Moving Picture Experts Group in 1991. AIFF is generally uncompressed, which means that its size is extensive. But MP3 files are compressible due to their size of a tenth of an AIFF file. 

References 

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