MIDI, formats and standards · updated 2026-08-16

LOSSY VS LOSSLESS

Lossless coding reconstructs the original samples exactly; lossy coding discards detail the model predicts you will not hear, and cannot be undone.

MIDI, formats and standards — MIDI DIN in/out connectors on an RME audio interface card — the physical ports behind the MIDI, interface and I/O terms in this section.

Key takeaways

Lossless coding reconstructs the original samples exactly; lossy coding discards detail the model predicts you will not hear, and cannot be undone.
Lossy is fine for delivery at reasonable bitrates and unacceptable for archives, mastering sources or anything that will be processed further.
Keep a FLAC or WAV archive of every master.
Watch out: working from an MP3 stem someone emailed.
Sits under midi, formats and standards in this glossary, with 2 primary sources below.

Quick checklist

Can you define lossy vs lossless in one sentence without looking?
Can you point at lossy vs lossless in a real session, mix or contract?
Have you tried the practical move above at least once?
Would you catch the common mistake before it costs you a take?
Have you opened one of the primary sources below rather than a forum thread?

LOSSY VS LOSSLESS IN DEPTH

Lossless encoding reconstructs the original bit-for-bit; lossy encoding permanently discards data using a psychoacoustic model. Lossy is fine for delivery at reasonable bitrates and unacceptable for archives, mastering sources or anything that will be processed further.

How it works in practice

Keep a FLAC or WAV archive of every master. Distributors and sync clients will eventually ask for a lossless file.

The mistake people make

Working from an MP3 stem someone emailed. Any processing amplifies the encoding artefacts already baked in.

WHERE LOSSY VS LOSSLESS SITS

Lossy vs lossless belongs to midi, formats and standards in the Sampled music glossary. The plumbing — the specs your gear, files and delivery pipeline agree on.

TERMS THAT DEPEND ON LOSSY VS LOSSLESS

True peak
The real analogue peak an inter-sample reconstruction can hit — often higher than your meter's sample peak. Leave around -1 dBTP for lossy encoding.
WAV vs FLAC vs MP3/AAC
WAV is uncompressed PCM; FLAC is lossless compression; MP3 and AAC are lossy. Deliver lossless masters and let platforms encode.

TEST YOURSELF

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3 quick questions on lossy vs lossless. Answers are marked instantly — nothing is sent anywhere.

1. Which statement best describes lossy vs lossless?
2. What is the mistake people most often make with lossy vs lossless?
3. In practice, which of these applies to lossy vs lossless?

Ready for the full thing? Take the 25-question terminology test and get a certificate with your name and score.

SOURCES AND CITATIONS

Free, primary references for lossy vs lossless — standards bodies, manufacturers, government offices and university course material. Each one lists the line of this entry it backs up.

Xiph.org — FLAC (opens in a new tab)
Open-source standards group · Xiph.Org Foundation
“Lossless coding reconstructs the original samples exactly; lossy coding discards detail the model predicts you will not hear, and cannot be undone.”— the claim this source supports
Why it counts: Xiph's write-ups are free, technically rigorous and famously careful about the myths around digital audio.
Xiph.org — Opus codec (opens in a new tab)
Primary reference · opus-codec.org
“Lossless encoding reconstructs the original bit-for-bit; lossy encoding permanently discards data using a psychoacoustic model.”— the claim this source supports
Why it counts: Published by the organisation responsible for the thing being defined, so it is a first-hand source rather than a summary of one.

RELATED TERMS IN MIDI, FORMATS AND STANDARDS

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