Ok. Here it is:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/972088 (Jamiroquai, Getinfunky)
I converted it to wav using foobar.
Password: Dfagen
Well, you learn something new every day... My (way far from expert) conclusion on this is that I have no conclusion or explanation yet.
- A first analysis of the file says the codec is Vorbis and the conversion was lossy. But the bitrate is 500kbps, which I didn't think was possible (I'm not familiar with ogg anyway).
- The file size is puzzling to me: 20Mb is at the same time too much for a lossy (MP3) 5min file and too little for a lossless 5min file.
- Even for my untrained eyes, the wave spectrum is very unlike an MP3's. It seems to go normally up to the 22khz mark with no point of abrupt decrease between 16 and 20.
- auCDtect, which is not considered reliable by any source I've seen, says this is 100% CDDA even in the most precise detection. And that can't be true, can it?
- The only thing I can think of: since it's a pretty high bitrate, the expected cut would have been above the 22khz mark. So, the whole thing is well-preserved as it would have been in a lossless compression. It's lossy in theory because of the codec used, but in practical terms it would be a lossless file. Is this even possible? Sounds unlikely.
So, the question remains: can an apparently lossy file pass as lossless and half the progs are wrong? Or is this in fact lossless and the other half of the progs are wrong?
PS1: we're not looking for sound quality. I don't have platinum ears or a high-end system, so the ogg, the wav from it and the flac and 320kbps mp3 I created from them sound the same to me. That's not the point.
PS2: if anyone reading this is indeed an expert, please understand we're learning here. Baby steps, amateuristic approach.
PS3: from what I read so far on the comparison of very-high-bitrate ogg vorbis vs. lossless, there's always a difference. Looks like, if it's lossy, something is always cut. I just don't know what it is and how to detect it, if there's an actual difference.
PS4: maybe this is not the place to continue on the subject, but thanks Dfagen for bringing it up. I like that I know more about this now, even if I don't have any practical use for it.