MAD

MAD is a top-performing software decoder with a 24-bit output for MPEG audio. It utilizes an entirely new implementation of the ISO/IEC standards, making it an exceptional choice for systems without native floating-point support. At present, it supports MPEG-1 and the MPEG-2 extension to lower sampling frequencies, including the MPEG 2.5 format. Additionally, all three audio layers, i.e., Layer I, Layer II, and Layer III (MP3), are fully implemented, including 24-bit PCM output.

MAD doesn't yet support MPEG-2 multichannel audio, though it's backward compatible with those types of streams. Furthermore, it currently does not offer support for AAC. Applications that use MAD can produce high-quality audio due to its PCM output. Even if your device's output only supports 16-bit PCM, applications can use the extra resolution to increase the audible dynamic range using dithering or noise shaping.

MAD is uniquely suited to architectures without a floating-point unit as it utilizes integer computation rather than floating-point computation. All calculations in this software are performed with a 32-bit fixed-point integer representation. Because MAD is a new implementation of the ISO/IEC standards, it is unencumbered by the errors of other implementations. Additionally, MAD is not a derivation of the ISO reference source or any other code. The software team has put in considerable effort to ensure a correct implementation, even when the standards are ambiguous or misleading.

Some prominent features of MAD include 24-bit PCM output, 100% fixed-point (integer) computation, a completely new implementation based on the ISO/IEC standards, and available under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).