A carefully controlled independent double-blind test with 27 listeners compared the Dolby Digital AC-3 standard compression codec with newer bandwidth extended codecs, Advanced Audio Coding Plus HE-AAC and Dolby Digital Plus E-AC-3. Subjective tests of this kind require a listening space that is physically and acoustically appropriate for detecting auditory nuances, mostly conforming to the standards of ITU-R BS.1116-1. Out of a large library of samples, a subset was selected based on their ability to challenge compression codecs. On average, AC-3 sounded better than the other two codecs.
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