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

ok if you have wavs to start with but is it worth re-encoding mp3's you already have? or has the quality already gone? sorry if this sounds a bit pisswd but so am i lol

 

If you are encoding MP3->MP3 you will ALWAYS LOSE QUALITY. This is known as transcoding and it usually gives very nasty results. This also applies to WMA->MP3, RA->MP3, or any other comrpession in between lossy formats.

 

what about if you decompress the mp3 back to a wav and then re-encode to a higher bitrate or ogg?

 

Decompression is always made, the result will always be worse than the original. These are LOSSY compression schemes. It means that you will LOSE information (read: quality) at every compression cycle.

 

so in other words mp3's are crap

 

I wouldn't say MP3s are crap just because they are lossy compressed. Using quality encoder like LAME with good settings like --alt-preset standard will give you excellent quality that you won't be able to hear differing from the original. Other lossy formats include: OGG Vorbis, AAC MP4, MusePack, Dolby AC3 (used in DVDs)...

If you want lossless 100% quality then have a look at Monkeys Audio at the software section.

 

I surfed for ages to find my dream lame setting and think i seen it in this thread so registered just to comment.

I do like the idea of vbr because in theory it should be more efficient, but Im ripping my cds for fileshare too and compatibility is important to me -It would be nice not to dump all the mp3 players that have problems with vbr.
It seems a perfect compromise then to use the max bitrate -B256 recommended here, combined with the --alt-preset standard or extreme vbrs ,generously & highly tuned by people with better ears and amps than I.
As well as help fudged mp3 players, this setting will presumably lower the average bitrate of the file a little too.
I have wondered what the purpose of the 320 frames in vbr is since I remmember reading that transparent cd/mp3 listening had been achieved at 256 cbs or is that just a r3mix myth?
If not it would seem to follow to use 256 as the bitrate ceiling for everything except stuff for studio or ultra hifi applications -that pretty much need wav anyway.
Ill have to wait and see if the -B256 setting produces pesky artifacts with altpreset not designed to accomodate it.
It would be great to see a preset tuned for the 256 ceiling, specialy for challenged but otherwise functional players, as it is, I think there is a fair chance of it being the spot im looking to hit,

l8r,
&y

 

Limiting the highest bitrate in VBR usage is NOT recommended. When encoding in CBR, the encoder has some headroom known as "bit reservoir" which allows it to dedicate more bits to complex segments of the song. When using VBR, there is no bit reservoir, but the encoder chooses a bigger frame bitrate instead. Therefore limiting the maximum bitrate for any variable VBR setting may harm the damage.

If you are concerned about the compatibility issues, then you should go CBR.

About the r3mix.net...it's content is out of date and often criticized for false statements and analysis. I think is safe to say that 256CBR with LAME is very good and should satisfy 99,99% of people, but you will always find a trained batear somewhere that tells you it's not good enough.

 

I shouldnt have implied a 256 limit is a general recommendation, Tangent had suggested it can be useful for compatibility.
That is intresting about the bit reservior, I can see how that means cbr 256 will have a slightly higher quality potential than vbr with 256 limit.
The major difference between 256 cbr for compatibility and 256 limited vbr is filesizes at fixed 256 or ~around 180 adaptive /20% more tracks in a playlist.
I'll listen out for artifacts in my new rips though.
Thanks for comment,
&y

edit: youve gone and put the doubt in me now though, about 10% of the frames in my muse-muscle mad rips were 320 .Blastit!

 

^bump^, sorry....
Shoey

 

Edit...

 

Someone downloaded it..
I think am gonna stick with CBR320 INSANE, am not fussed on conserving disc space.

 

When I wish to listen music I must go with mp3 tag editor so I must try
http://www.id3butler.com

 

You need only http://www.id3butler.com to know all about mp3 tag editor.

 

There's a right way and a wrong way to advertise on the internet. PAYING the forum per click to place a banenr ad in their banner space on each page is the RIGHT way. Posting bogus messages to junk software while adding NOTHING to the discussion is the WRONG way.

 

I am o glad I got nero to finally work right! I was having issues burning my newest addition of Arden Kaywin songs. I was having mad issues with nero now burning but turns out the disc I was putting in had a tiny bit of data already burned on it. Stupidest thing ever! rawr!!!!!!!

 

The beauty of VBR is you set the quality not the bits. Isn't that what you should be concerned about? VBR is the ONLY format that provides a constant quality sound. Dreaming up settings to circumvent that process is foolish to me.

Compressed files are only crap if you change your mind and want to change the format. Many maintain a lossless archive just for that purpose. This is the best reason to keep lossless since with the proper settings, mp3s SOUND the same as lossless.

There are no perfect settings, if so, there wouldn't be any settings. The reality is we lose the ability to hear high frequencies as we age. Listening to loud music hastens the aging process. By 20 most males cannot hear 18 kHz. By 60 you can't hear 10 kHz. Women's hearing tends to age a bit slower then men.

One more point is as we approach our high-end hearing limit the tones sound less logarithmically. So even if you can hear 15 kHz in a hearing test you will not be able to hear most 10 kHz notes in music.

A women's high voice is only about 2 kHz.

As we age we loose the ability to hear high notes but also tend to use more brainpower to listen to music. A composer may use 100 times the oxygen at the listening center of the brain than a teenager. Children prefer simple music but as they age many prefer more complex music. Listening to music exercises the listening center of the brain. As we listen to music our ability to hear high notes diminishes but audiophiles are more aware of what they hear. What many audiophiles tend to ignore is by the time they are audiophiles they can't hear even 15 kHz. They obsess to preserve 40 kHz information while the may not be able to pick out 10 kHz in music. This makes sense for an archive but not for listening. It is a free world but who are they trying to fool?

This is the wiki on Lame and it’s setting. Note the table named "Technical details of the recommended settings".

Lame Wiki

After all that lecturing, a moment of truth. I use V-0 even though I know V-9 is plenty good for me. It is a free world.

The extreme VBRs are higher fidelity than 320 CBR because the pitch cutoff is higher for extreme VBR than 320 CBR. The Guess or Helix has an even higher pitch cutoff than LAME -0. Their extreme is about 250 vs Lame at 190 BR.

 

Hii Thanks you...