Sony S706F User Manual

NW-S603/S605/S703F/S705F/S706F.GB 2-887-743-13(1)

 

 

The format of a song refers to the method used by SonicStage to store the 

song’s audio information when songs are imported to SonicStage from the 

Internet or audio CDs.

Common formats include MP3, WMA and ATRAC, etc.
MP3: MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer3) is a common audio compression 

technology developed by the MPEG working group of the ISO (International 

Organization for Standardization).

MP3 can compress audio files to about 1/10 the size of standard CD audio files.
WMA: WMA (Windows Media Audio) is a common audio compression 

technology developed by Microsoft Corporation. The WMA format produces 

the same sound quality as that of the MP3 format with smaller file size.
ATRAC: ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) is a general term used 

to refer to ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus and ATRAC Advanced Lossless formats. 

ATRAC3 is an audio compression technology that satisfies the demand for 

both high sound quality and high compression rates. ATRAC3 can compress 

audio files to about 1/10 the size of standard CD audio files. ATRAC3plus, a 

more advanced version of ATRAC3, can compress audio files to about 1/20 the 

size of standard CD audio files.

“ATRAC Advanced Lossless” is an audio compression technology for recording 

without deterioration. To maintain playback compatibility with conventional 

devices, this technology records data by compressing CD music data to 

approximately 30-80%* of its original size in combination with audio 

compression technology “ATRAC3” or “ATRAC3plus.”

* Compression rate depends on song.

AAC: AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is a common audio compression 

technology developed by the MPEG working group of the ISO (International 

Organization for Standardization). The AAC format produces the same sound 

quality as that of the MP3 format, with a smaller file size.

Linear-PCM: Linear-PCM is an audio recording format without digital 

compression. You can listen to the sound with the same quality as CD music by 

recording with this format.

Bit rate refers to the amount of data used to store each second of audio. 

Generally, higher bit rates provide better sound quality, but require more storage 

space for the same length of audio.

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