How do you encode your mp3's for best size and quality?

[ledvedder 10+ year member]

I've always used Razorlame set at 192kbps. I've recently been reading some things about using VBR for better quality. I have a ton of mp3's on my iPhone, so I'm always looking for best quality at the smallest size. Curious to find out what others do.

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[d77543020 10+ year member]

best quality and small size wont match you have to give up something when i rip i always use 320 kbps

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Yep 320 CBR for me. Most HUs these days take SD cards or thumb drives which are super cheap these days so it shouldn't be too big of a draw

 

[Devil Tiger 10+ year member]

CBR > VBR

 

[ledvedder 10+ year member]

I have a hard drive full of mp3's at 320 kbps. Will I gain or lose anything (size and quality) if I encode them to a different format or bitrate? I like to get the files a bit smaller to add to my iPhone.

 

[Devil Tiger 10+ year member]

Smaller files = lower quality. Name of the game. If you're using the iPhone with earbuds re-encoding to a lower bitrate (I wouldn't go lower than 128) wouldn't be that noticeable. On your cars sound system it will be greatly noticeable though so do some tests with multiple formats and different bitrates to see how tolerable they are. IMO i wouldn't dare put anything lower than 320K CBR through my speakers (I try and listen to FLAC when I can though).

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

I have a hard drive full of mp3's at 320 kbps. Will I gain or lose anything (size and quality) if I encode them to a different format or bitrate? I like to get the files a bit smaller to add to my iPhone.

You can encode to a lower quality, but cant go the other way. The human ear can not hear any differences in 192KBPS or greater. I only run 320kbps or greater as I have a 1.5TB Barracuda HD so its no big deal for me.

 

[Devil Tiger 10+ year member]

You can encode to a lower quality, but cant go the other way. The human ear can not hear any differences in 192KBPS or greater. I only run 320kbps or greater as I have a 1.5TB Barracuda HD so its no big deal for me.

I can audibly hear differences in 192 vs 320 not sure about anyone else......

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

I can audibly hear differences in 192 vs 320 not sure about anyone else......

Woops. That was supposed to say 224kbps.

Human anatomy says you can not. Its humanly impossible.

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Yeah, on a well-built system it'll be apparent. The problem with converting, OP, is your source files are already compressed. Compressing them further is pretty much like making a copy of a copy and you'll lose more source info. My recommendation is whittle down what you actually need on your iPhone and transfer that. I have over 400GB of music on my HDD and a 64GB phone. Trust me, I know about making sacrifices...

 

[clickclickw00t 10+ year member]

I have a hard drive full of mp3's at 320 kbps. Will I gain or lose anything (size and quality) if I encode them to a different format or bitrate? I like to get the files a bit smaller to add to my iPhone.

I don't think you exactly have a grasp on how codecs work.

There are two types of music files: lossy and lossless.

Lossless are files like : WAV, FLAC, ALAC (apple lossless codec).

Lossy files are files like : WMA, MP3

When you encode from lossless to lossy, you are ENCODING

When you encode from lossy to lossy, you are TRANSCODING *never do this*

When you encode from lossy to lossless, you're just wasting space

Encoding is great. When you rip from CDs, always rip via a lossless format. This means that EVERY single bit of the music will be saved as it was meant to be heard and as it was recorded. Use encoding to save space and transfer stuff to your ipod if you don't have space.

NEVER EVER EVER EVER transcode, that is to say, encode your 320kpbs mp3 files to another type of lossy mp3 file. Basically you will compress the file twice and it will lose a significant amount of detail, quality, and will result in a significant degradation in sound above 16,000hz and below 200hz. Most transcoded files almost completely delete all frequencies above 16k hz leaving you with something that sounds like a youtube rip. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[ledvedder 10+ year member]

Yeah, I only have an 8gb iPhone. I think, when I'm eligible for an upgrade, I might go with a 32gb one.

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Any MP3's I have are 320kbps, though I prefer lossless files, which I have a majority of my library in.

 

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

I can definally hear the difference in 320 and lossless.

flac is fairly widespread..

but 320 isn't bad, ESP for most rap..

 

[ledvedder 10+ year member]

FLAC files are just so big. I was hoping to find out about some other type of encoding or file type that is close to FLAC quality, but with a smaller file size.