How important is FILE COMPRESSION in mixing ?

[BentoSan]

I started using only 320's recently, if it isnt a 320 then i wont play it. If i really like the song, ill just go out and buy a 320 version of it.

[feralchimp]

I have to agree with Bento, with the additional constraint that if I expect to do any serious warping inside Ableton, I really only want to be starting with uncompressed audio. I have yet to buy anything from Beatport without paying the WAV tax, actually. Disk space is cheap y'all.

[Jester]

Didn't used to worry me about file quality until we started getting the odd gig. Now i try and use 320 as much as possible. 192 would be the absolute minimum and even then i can notice a diff. Play your tunes on a 10k system and you will know what we mean!

[f0tif0]

i got all 320 mp3 format but everyone know this is still compressed like mofo so i will let u know that in the club 320 sounds worse than from cd.
but once its really loud crowd will not know there difference
only other djs or sound engineers could tell

[Jester]

Yep a big sound system tends to even things out a bit, but i think using exclusively 320kbs tunes would make you more likely to actually buy tracks, as most tunes available on blogs etc tend to be @ 192 or less, which is a good thing. And running through a good sound card makes them sound nice and crisp and lush also.

[djhipnotikk]

a good tip to keep in mind is: the louder the sound, everything gets amplified. quality is more apparent, and the louder your mistakes will be ;P

i'd really just go with the highest you can get. like feralchimp said, disk space is cheap.

[Nephew]

Disk space is cheap, but WAV files are not cheap. On your average club system you really wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a wav file and a 320 mp3, unless you're playing on a Funktion one system or something similar quality.

And a another mistake new DJ's make is just around from different formats. I.e. starting out playing wavs, then jumping to 320 mp3's, down to 192, back to wavs, and maybe the odd record tossed in and so on. That is when people will take notice more than anything, the sonic quality is just all over the place it's hard not too.

Just pick on format and stick with it. I'm a 320 man myself.

[wrong chris]

I only use 320s for mixing at home and gigs now. Might drop the odd 192 track in a mix I record at home but not too often.
The bass has to sound good for dance music so you cant afford to play anything less than a 320 if your mixing in public.

[feralchimp]

Disk space is cheap, but WAV files are not cheap. On your average club system you really wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a wav file and a 320 mp3, unless you're playing on a Funktion one system or something similar quality.

Also totally reasonable advice. At the end of the night, the crowd's experience is not going to hinge on whether you chose WAVs or high-end MP3's.

If you look at WAVs and think "i could spend that extra money on more tracks!" then spin 320k's and don't worry about it. If you look at WAVs and think "this is so much better than import vinyl!" then spin WAVs and don't feel like you're wasting your money.

[jd62]

well i can really tell the difference between 192 and 320 and right now i am not getting anything less than 320.