List of recommended LAME MP3 encoder settings - the highest quality MP3 encoder.

In case someone didn't know, LAME MP3 encoder is the highest quality MP3 compressor available. Best results are achieved using it's VBR features.

Current consensus is that settings "--alt-preset standard" are recommended for most cases. This results in a very high quality VBR MP3s, giving you bitrates around 200kbps, depending heavily on the music. Mellow rap can go much lower and loud heavy metal can result higher bitrates. The quality will always remain very high.

This list is originally made by nickname "User" at the audiofora.com , which was the old forum of CD-RW.ORG and r3mix.net (defunct).

The "--alt-presets" and other LAME developement has also been made by nickname "Dibrom" and the members of his http://www.hydrogenaudio.org community.

I wish to thank all the members of the Audiofora and Hydrogen Audio, who have contributed for this list and the developement of LAME MP3 encoder.

Updated Octobre 05, 2003

These settings require Lame 3.90 or later.

Note: At a given bitrate range, the quality scale usually works to where VBR is higher quality than ABR which is higher quality than CBR (CBR < ABR < VBR in terms of quality). The exception to this is when you choose the highest possible CBR bitrate, which is 320 kbps (--alt-preset insane).


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Recommended encoder settings:
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--alt-preset standard (~190 kbit/s, typical 180 ... 220)

--alt-preset fast standard (~190 kbit/s, faster but potentially lower quality)

--alt-preset extreme (~250 kbit/s, typical 220 ... 270)

--alt-preset fast extreme (~250 kbit/s, faster but potentially lower quality)

--alt-preset insane (320 kbit/s CBR, highest possible quality)

For high quality on portable MP3 players, you may use --alt-preset standard -Y (around 160 kbit/s). -Y usually limits to 16 KHz, something you likely won't notice in noisier environments.


Update: -Z added. Read this thread for more.
Update: -Z removed again; included within --alt-preset standard/extreme with the new 3.90.3 compile.




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Recommended ABR (average bitrate) settings:
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ABR Setting tuned from 320 kbps down to 8 kbps

--alt-preset <bitrate>

Example:
--alt-preset 200


128 kbit ABR

--alt-preset 128

or ff123's and Hans' suggestion (http://www.ff123.net/cbr128.html):

--abr 128 -h --nspsytune --athtype 2 --lowpass 16 --ns-bass -8 --scale 0.93


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Recommended CBR (constant bitrate) settings:
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320 kbit/s CBR

--alt-preset cbr 320

note: --alt-preset cbr 320 is the exact same thing as --alt-preset insane


256 kbit/s CBR

--alt-preset cbr 256


192 kbit/s CBR

--alt-preset cbr 192


160 kbit/s CBR

--alt-preset cbr 160


128 kbit/s CBR

--alt-preset cbr 128

or ff123's and Hans' suggestion (http://www.ff123.net/cbr128.html):

-h --nspsytune --athtype 2 --lowpass 16 --ns-bass -8 --scale 0.93


96 kbit/s CBR

--alt-preset cbr 96


All other CBR bitrates from 80kbps to 320kbps

--alt-preset cbr <bitrate>_X_X_X_X_X_[small]http://CD-RW.ORG
Serving The Burners
Burning The Servers[/small]

 

Same here. I have two carry-around mp3 players. The first one is a little over a year old. It could not stand VBRs, so I made sure my rips were pure CBRs. As a result, my whole CD collection has been converted to
LAME/CBR/192k/True Stereo
That is what my old and new players like.
No VBR here, thank you.

Johnny Law

 

Unfortunately, in some rare cases that is true.

It is not a fault of the VBR since IT IS a part of the MPEG standard. So if a player does not support VBR files, then you can say that it is not MPEG1-Layer 3 compliant.

On such occasions I would go for "--alt-preset cbr 256"

As for Joint-Stereo, one definitely should use it. JS provides more bits for your encoding and significantly increases the quality. Best 192CBR quality can be achieved with "--alt-preset cbr 192", but 192 is not quite sufficient bitrate for perfect quality.

 

Those players not supporting VBR are to be considered bad, since VBR is part of the standard it's the developers/engineers who are to be blamed for this.
THe reasons of lacking features could be many tho, anything from economical issues to ignorance.

btw, try to avoid stereo for you mp3s if you care about the quality at all, this is not a lossless format you know, you must use the bits as eficiently as possible.

Cheers,
David

 

The problem with many players seem to be their incapability of playing 320kbps frames. You can test this by encoding with "--alt-preset insane" and playing it back. If this is the case, then "--alt-preset standard -B256" would probably work best for you.

If you really must use CBR, please use "--alt-preset cbr 192" to get the best quality cbr-192 encode settings. Yes, it uses JS, and this if for the better, as explained here: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=759

 

A Klingon,

I have opened a new thread for your questions. We should concentrate on LAME settings in this one, since they are a real FAQ.

 

Pushing this up and making it stick there.

 

Recently there has been discussion about ways of decreasing the bitrate of "--alt-preset"-settings.

Dibrom, a LAME developer, has suggested that "--alt-preset standard -Y" is a good solution of you need lower bitrates. The resulted file will generally be very good quality BUT the -Y results that frequencies above 16khz will be cut out very aggressively (disables sfb21 noise shaping)

Using the -Y parameter might be useful for example with portable players that have limited storage capacity.

 

How about recommended settings for encoding mono recordings, like older classical works, Beatles or Beach Boys?

 

With poor quality mono recordings we can start with the: --alt-preset standard -Y

You may experiment adding -mm and -b 64 (or -b 80)

In mono signal the channels are identical so they are included only once. This means that there are 2x bits to use when compared to stereo signal having totally different content in L and R channel. This means that bitrate 64kbps as mono should return equal quality to 128kbps pure stereo signal. The -b parameter allows LAME to use lower bitrates, since normally --alt-preset standard limits to 128kbps minimum.

So my suggestion is: --alt-preset standard -Y -mm -b 64

 

Command line settings. All this makes me confused, probably the over 40 factor.

Last year the big command line setting was that R3Nix thing (dead now). This year it's alt-preset-something. Next year's name?

I'm not one to dress fashionably and I feel the same about my LAME settings. I am here to impress me, no one else. I like my CBR. I know CBR works with all mp3 hardware. I know it sounds great and have never heard anyone I share my music with say otherwise.

The last thing I want to do is rerip my cd collection every year because someone thinks they found a better way to make The Doors first album sound any better than it has the first 35 years. I spend way too much time on my music as it is. And you know what? My settings are still set from late 2000 with a command line of " -b 192 -m s -h " .

So, if you want new rippers to use LAME instead of other encoders, get rid of all these extra silly settings. I don't tell people to use LAME and tell them to figure it out. I have to walk them through it and here them ask what a command line setting is and dash here, dash there.

Just my point of view. From someone who loves music.

 

johnnylaw,

Well, you could eadily replace your "-b 192 -m s -h" with "--alt-preset cbr 192" will give you more tuned & tweaked CBR 192.

To a noob LAME settings are confusing, and that's a known problem. That's what the --alt-preset were created for. They include code level tweaks that can't be enabled from the commandline.

 

What are the exact options for the Lame 3.90 setting:
--alt-preset cbr 256 ?

Are they the same as for --alt-preset cbr 128 = "-h --nspsytune --athtype 2 --lowpass 17.5 --ns-bass -6 --scale 0.93"

Thanks!

 

Rizban,

No --ap can be fully produced with a commandline alternative since they include code level tweaks.

 

I have kinda an unusual request. I need the variable string or whatever to make LAME (via EAC of course) crunch a file as much as it can without sounding like total crap. And I like VBR- never had a problem with VBR files playing on my old-azz fisher cd-player. Also, it's been a while since I installed lame and eac; I take it there are updates now? Can you point me to the download sites too? Thanks!

 

Download site? Howabout the site where you are at this very moment?

Here is the simplief EAC installation guide: http://www.cd-rw.org/articles/archive/eac_and_lame_setup_guide.cfm

When the sound quality is crap is pretty much a personal preference. With the setup mentioned in the guide, the "low quality" setting in EAC will give you 128 ABR which is the lowest I would ever go.