One page: what SoundStream, Lyra v2, EnCodec, and Mimi each do, the 2026 bitrate-vs-quality and processor-cost numbers, residual vector quantization in one diagram, and when Opus still wins.
Download free PDF
The book · Volume 5 of 7
Audio for Video: A Complete Guide to Sound in Video Products: From Jitter Buffers and Lip Sync to Atmos, Quality Metrics, and Neural Codecs
This neural audio codec cheat sheet compares SoundStream, Lyra v2, EnCodec and Mimi on bitrate, quality and processor cost, and shows when Opus still wins. Volume 5 covers this topic in depth: neural codecs, quality metrics such as PESQ, POLQA and ViSQOL, loss concealment, FEC and bitrate decisions for voice over unreliable networks. Written by Nikolay Sapunov, CEO at Fora Soft.
Evaluating a neural audio codec for low-bandwidth calls?
Tell us your bandwidth targets and devices, and we will benchmark neural codecs against Opus on quality and CPU cost for your use case. 250+ video products shipped since 2005.
You get a realistic estimate, technical recommendations and next steps. Free, no obligations.
