Bitrate Recommended

[Guest]

What bitrate does anyone reccommend using when im encoding or downloading music? I tend to feel that 128kbps doesnt sound too good. File size isn't an issue.

[Czar]

You will hear people argue that 192 is better, that you have to have 320 for the best sound. It's all bullshit. Which sounds better is entirely subjective. Whatever you prefer the sound of. Some people are able to discern sounds of a higher frequency better than others, and some a lower frequency etc. Personally I would choose the minimum that sounds good enough for you.

[Vladd44]

i personally prefer to consider 192 the lowest my ears have trouble finding inadequacies at.

I usually use LAME (via EAC or CDEX) to encode VBR 192.

[dap OLD werewolf]

I second and third that... 192 k lame is what I do for most, but sometimes 256 and even 320.

[Beeza]

i agree czar on what you can actually hear.

i'm with vladd and dap ... 192

if i can, i avoid getting any files lower than 192 and if i had my druthers everything would be in ogg format

[Canada Joe]

I generally use EZ CD DA Extractor @ CDQ VBR but I only do this for my dog - my human ears can't tell the difference between 320 & 160

[Czar]

i avoid getting any files lower than 192 and if i had my druthers everything would be in ogg format

I only choose lower than 192mp3 if 192 isn't available. Then, I only choose mp3 if I absolutely have to. The greatest majority of my files are ogg, and as soon as I can replace an mp3 with an ogg, I do.

[NRen2k5]

I first try to get PCM WAV's or lossless files.

Failing that, my next preferred format would be VBR MP3, and MP3 @ 192kbps after that. If I can't find 192kbps, then I'll just download EVERYTHING else in the hopes that one of the 128kbp or 160kbps copies is good for its size.

[DWFish]

256 kbps is considered to be CD quality standard (I very much doubt that). Personally, 320kbps is the least I can accept.

Your perception of quality does not depend entirely on your physical ability to appreciate a certain range of frequencies. It is greatly influenced by many other abstract factors (environmental, psychoacoustical, etc.) as well as by the quality of the equipment you reproduce audio with. Do not expect your PC audio to equal that of a decent home stereo (you'd be kidding yourself) no matter how much you've spent.

The mp3 format (compression) takes away "superfluous" information (spatial, dynamic, etc.) To give you an analogy, a car with leather interiors is not the same as one with vinyl interiors, they may look the same and one is cheaper than the other and that's exactly what you get.

VBR is like using diluted paint in one area of the car and somewhat less diluted where the paint is in sight all the time.

Ok, ok, I'm stepping down.........

[Canada Joe]

I first try to get PCM WAV's or lossless files.

Me too, and I immediately convert the PCM (from satellite digital) and the lossless (.flac & .shn) to something viable (CDQ VBR usually) from a quality v.s. size point of view. Can you imagine the space needed to save those without compressing?