mp3 and m4a
 

So m4a's are apparently better quality then mp3's. Can anyone actually tell the difference or is there a certain device that the difference is noticeable?

If you're going for quality, get FLAC files.

Yep. Go from FLAC to your desired format for optimal quality.

m4a and associated file types are the successors to mp3.

Unless you have high end speakers or headphones, you won't notice a major difference between the two formats.

k, thanks

MP3 is a compression method, while MP4 (m4a) is a container that could be one of several different types of streams. It's really comparing apples and oranges.

For the most part, you really can't tell the difference between an MP3 with a good encoding and a CD unless you've got really good ears and good equipment. Granted, the files encoded at the higher bitrates tend to be a bit on the large size compared to the average MP3.

I really haven't dealt much with the mp4 container, but it isn't an encoding method. For listening on a computer (with fairly large memory resources) I'd stick with keeping files in FLAC (a lossless encoding method, opposed to the lossy MP3 encoding method) but if you're looking for files to put on a portable player, you can usually get by with middling MP3 encoding.

Okay thanks, I just have a standard mp3 player and decent head phones, so I probably wont notice the difference. Can't notice the difference between mp3 and m4a on my computer. Though, I was listening to difference songs...