I've always wondered how you go about checking if a file is truly lossless or not. I've seen multi-colored rainbow screenshots, but how do you go about capturing that image? What program is used? I have audacity and have used the spectrum button, but I don't understand what I'm seeing (it's also only a uniform purple in color).

What does this image mean? How can you tell if it is lossless or not?

YES, it is likely true lossless.

If there is no cut-off line anywhere on the spectrogram, then it is likely lossless or at least very good lossy.

You'll often be able to tell if something is a lossy transcode if everything abruptly cuts out at, like, 16 kHz.

That was actually just a sample image I grabbed from Lockdown's Jurassic World thread. What program makes an image like that?

I use Spek (http://spek.cc/).

Thanks for the info.

Just a quick question; which of these has the best quality?

http://i.imgur.com/vY6FESR.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/8JuJjzY.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/Iz62hoi.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/TXosg2u.png

Well... that's kind of an arbitrary question. Definitely not the first one though.

It all depends on your ears.

4

Hi, all.

You can't tell which is best by "looking" at pictures.
Art is created by other people and what you tell other people what you are making will effect their judgement.
You cant look at a picture and call it art without having experienced the work of others. This case? What all different versions sound like.
I look at Still Life and see the art in it because I have seen "lively" art. to me, still life is best. it shows the abscence that most are willing to hide.
You slowly peel the face of the mona lisa and you begin to see the true art of creation.
Thats what art is to me. Its not for you. Or maybe it is?

these images don't show you anything except what you are told: lossless or lossy. Right?

Listen to each because your ears only hear what they want to hear. Which makes it art for you.
Dont stop and smell the roses. You must cut them, dry them and crush them into tea.

Bye for now.

I prefer Spectro (http://alternativeto.net/software/spectro/), it also has a built in image capture function and is easier to read.

Always best to rely on your ears - if it sounds good to you then why worry about how it was made?

This has been an issue since compression of audio files was started.

There are a few pointers here which you can use to identify compressed audio: https://www.maketecheasier.com/check-true-bitrate-audio-files/