Joint stereo vs. Normal stereo...whats the difference when importing a CD?

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Level 1

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Joint stereo vs. Normal stereo...whats the difference when importing a CD?

I used to import my cd's at 192kbps and the default setting was normal stereo, but now I do it at 256kbps and the default is joint stereo...whats the difference? Since it defaults to joint at 256, should i keep it there? Thanks!

Message was edited by: noisexcore

Custom, Windows XP Pro

Posted on Mar 15, 2008 3:05 PM

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Answer 1

ed2345

Level 9

62,462 points

Mar 15, 2008 3:16 PM in response to noisexcore

In audio encoding, "joint stereo" takes advantage of the fact that the two stereo channels are well-correlated to each other, and uses that fact to capture the audio information more efficiently. "Normal stereo" treats the two tracks independently.

If it is done right, joint stereo does offer an advantage in fidelity at a given bit rate, but there is a lot of folklore about whether various implementations really do it right. I can't say for sure what goes on in the Apple implementation, but unless you are noticing a perceptible difference, my inclination would be to go with the defaults.

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