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What is the least compressed signal?

Hello everyone.I was wondering what everyone's thoughts might be about what is the least compressed front end signal? A friend of mine recently told me that radio signal is compressed. So I thought maybe a direct connection to a CD player? Or, since CDs are pretty compressed, maybe a record player? Thoughts?
the reason I ask is, my friend recently gave me a fantastic pair of speakers. And I've been listening to the radio through them. He had a disgusted look on his face and told me I was not using these speakers how they were meant to be used, because the radio signal is kind of crappy and compressed. I would love to use the speakers as they were intended. Meadowlark kestrel hot rods hooked up to an Integra receiver w/ kimbers
ddjr
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noble100's avatar
noble100
2,419 posts
 

    ddjr,

    MP3 is considered a Lossy audio codec.  This is a compression technique that does not decompress audio files to their original data amount. Lossy methods provide high degrees of digital compression, which results in smaller files but also results in some sound waves being  removed. This negatively affects the quality of sound in an audio file. 
     For high quality audio the preferred codecs are:   

1. Lossless audio: This is a compression technique that decompresses audio files back to their original data amount. Lossless methods can provide high degrees of digital compression, but there is no loss in size or sound quality.  Lossless compression music formats include FLAC, ALAC and WMA Lossless.

2. Uncompressed audio: This is an audio file that has no compression applied to it. The sound in uncompressed audio files remains the same as when it was recorded but are larger files than FLAC, ALAC and WMA Lossless.. Examples include PCM, AIFF and WAV formats.


Tim
ddjr OP
31 posts
 
Thank you, Tim! 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
noble100
Lossless methods can provide high degrees of digital compression, but there is no loss in size or sound quality.  

>>>>No loss in sound quality except for the compression, I.e., loss of dynamic range. And just to clarify a common misconception, aggressive compression does not (rpt not) provide benefits to resolution or any other audio characteristic, with the exception of loudness, which you could have obtained by turning up the loudness knob. 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
An observation: when you analyze the CD offerings on eBay especially, the highly collectible and or desirable ones, what you will find is that the highly compressed versions sell for considerably less than the uncompressed versions which usually but not always are the original versions. The trend is not your friend. The same thing is true for vinyl. Everybody wants their music dynamic, not wimpy.
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