For a deeper technical comparison of the M4A format used in these recordings vs. standard MP3, see the following breakdown:

: M4A files, often encoded with the AAC codec , provide better sound quality than MP3 at the same bit rate. This is especially noticeable at bit rates of 128 kbps or higher, where M4A exhibits less "artifacting".

: In some fan communities, titles like "New Recording 12" (similarly named to your query) have become topics of discussion as raw demos from artists like Post Malone. Community Insights

: M4A files can sometimes be smaller than MP3s due to more efficient compression, though they can also be larger if high-quality lossless encoding (ALAC) is used.

“M4A has a higher bitrate & better sound quality for the same filesize... but it is still not as universally used as MP3.” Fiddle Hangout · 4 years ago

The M4A (MPEG-4 Audio) format is widely considered a superior successor to MP3.