It's no secret that MP3 files use compression to turn a large amount of audio information into something that takes up much less digital storage space. What you may not realize is how: Essentially, it clips various high and low ends of raw audio to create a more computer-digestible version.

So, what sounds get left behind? As a demonstration, here's "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega:

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And here's everything that was left behind when the song was compressed into a smaller file:

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The latter is a haunting series of murmurs courtesy of Ghost in the MP3, a new project from PhD candidate Ryan Maguire. Maguire first took an uncompressed WAV file of "Tom's Diner," then filtered it to 320 kbps – a bitrate that's nothing to sneeze at on your iPhone. Still, these fragments are what's left behind. The lower the bitrate, the more that's left behind.

So, here's a snippet Maguire uploaded of it at 128 kbps, a relatively low bitrate, where there's a more noticable "ghost" song.

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While so called "lossless" formats have been used by audiophiles, none has taken root to match the ubiquity of the widespread MP3 compression format.

More: Read the Reviews of the Best Selling MP3 Player Brands of the Year

In case you're wondering, it can get worse. This is what an 8 kbps bitrate sounds like, which would be like burning an MP3 to CD, ripping it to MP3, and repeating the process over and over into virtual, unlistenable oblivion:

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Source: The Verge

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