from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
transparent audio coding
<audio, compression> A {lossy audio compression} {algorithm}
is transparent if the original and decoded signal are
indistinguishable to the human ear. The bit rate depends on
the {codec} and the audio material. Some codecs (e.g. {AAC},
{MP3}) are optimized for transparent coding at a low data
rate, others (e.g. {VQF}, {MP3Pro}, {AAC}+{SBR}, {WMA}) for
distinguisable but pleasant reproduction at lower bit rates.
Typical data rates in {kbps} for different codecs are:
MP1 288-320
MP2 224-256
MP3 160-224
MPEG-2 AAC 128-160
MPEG-4 AAC 112-144
MPEGplus 160-200
(2001-12-23)