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Audio Files - MP3 (Poorly Compressible)
Compression Rate
Data
Compressors |
Original Size (bytes) |
Compressed Size (bytes) |
Space Saved (bytes) |
SBC Archiver |
200,007,492 |
193,967,873 |
6,039,619 |
WinAce |
200,007,492 |
195,737,442 |
4,270,050 |
Squeez |
200,007,492 |
195,793,019 |
4,214,473 |
WinZip |
200,007,492 |
196,032,367 |
3,975,125 |
gzip |
200,007,492 |
196,057,291 |
3,950,201 |
WinRAR |
200,007,492 |
196,101,655 |
3,905,837 |
bzip2 |
200,007,492 |
196,132,050 |
3,875,442 |
7-Zip |
200,007,492 |
196,596,666 |
3,410,826 |
ARJ32 |
200,007,492 |
199,752,824 |
254,668 |
WinRK |
200,007,492 |
200,009,094 |
-1,602 |
StuffIt |
200,007,492 |
200,019,850 |
-12,358 |
In this test of MP3 files, we can see just how hard it is to compress media files that are already compressed.
This time, SBC Archiver was the best compressor. It managed to compress the fileset to just under 194MB. Although a space saving of 6MB (3%) doesn't seem much, it's pretty good performance when it comes to MP3 files, especially this was done with SBC Archiver set to fastest compression. Even the closest contender, WinAce, could only reduce the size of the archive by 4.3MB (2.1%).
The other data compressors showed only mediocre performance and reduced the fileset size by 3-4MB. The worst were StuffIt and WinRK. They actually created archives that were bigger than the fileset. It's the OTHER way, Forrest! Instead of compressing these files, they merely stored them uncompressed.
Compression Speed
| Data Compressors |
Original Size (bytes) |
Time (s) |
Speed (KB/s) |
StuffIt |
200,007,492
|
4.58 |
43669.8 |
ARJ32 |
200,007,492
|
5.64 |
35462.3 |
WinRK |
200,007,492
|
12.67 |
15785.9 |
WinRAR |
200,007,492
|
13.46 |
14859.4 |
gzip |
200,007,492
|
13.69 |
14609.8 |
WinZip |
200,007,492
|
13.86 |
14430.6 |
bzip2 |
200,007,492
|
49.96 |
4003.4 |
Squeez |
200,007,492
|
91.36 |
2189.2 |
SBC Archiver |
200,007,492
|
92.61 |
2159.7 |
7-Zip |
200,007,492
|
120.11 |
1665.2 |
WinAce |
200,007,492
|
192.28 |
1040.2 |
Because StuffIt did not bother to compress the files, it recorded the fastest compression time of just over 4.5 seconds. ARJ32 was a close second at 5.6 seconds. Surprisingly, the other compressor that did not bother to compress the files at all, WinRK, took a relatively long time to complete copying the files into a single RK archive. It was barely faster than WinRAR that actually compressed the MP3 files by 2%.
The slowest compressor was WinAce. Although it did slightly better than most of the other compressors at reducing the size of the fileset, it took over 3 minutes to complete the task. 7-Zip was not much better at 2 minutes.
Compression Efficiency
The compression efficiency rating is a simple way to evaluate the efficiency of each data compressor. This way, we can see which compressor can save the most space in the least time.
Please note that a higher efficiency rating does not mean the compressor is better. It just means the compressor has a better compression-to-speed ratio. A more efficient compressor is, of course, always more desirable than a less efficient one.
The most efficient data compressors when it comes to fast MP3 files compression were the trio of WinRAR, gzip and WinZip. Their fast compression speeds made up for the moderate compression ratios, and allowed them to become the undisputed efficiency champions in this category. They were about 3.7X more efficient than their nearest competitor, bzip2.
The MP3 compression king, SBC Archiver, ended up in the middle of the pack. Its excellent compression ratio just couldn't make it up for its slow compression time. Still, it was much better than WinRK and StuffIt. Both were abysmally-inefficient because they did not actually compress the files, merely packed them into the archive.
