MP3 Encoder

[jack963]

Hey, I've got a question about CDex and Lame. I've always done my encoding on Ogg, but I want to try MP3 for a bit. Anyways, the version of CDex I downloaded comes with the Lame MP3 encoder already, but it is engine 3.92. They are now up to 3.98, although I don't think it is stable...?. I downloaded the .zip file for 3.97, and I want to use the .dll file in CDex. I put the .dll file in CDex's folder called "plugins," but when I opended CDex, engine 3.97 does not appear as an option for encoders. I looked through the settings and options for a place to choose plugins, but I couldn't find anything. Could somebody help me out with implementing 3.97 in CDex?

Also, like I said, I've never used Lame before. So I think I need some clarification...

So there are bitrates, but then there are also quality levels. In Ogg, the quality level determined the bitrate, but with Lame the two are independent it seems. So with Lame, could a 128kbps MP3 at --alt preset insane sound better then a 224 kbps MP3 at q=5? I just need some clarification on the whole bitrate vs quality level.

Thanks for the help.

EDIT: So I got CDex to take the .dll file and show Lame 3.97, but could somebody still shed some light on the bitrate vs. quality issue? Thanks again.

[jack963]

Bump.

I know a lot of people here use Lame, could somebody please help me out?

[blessingx]

Vorbis is independant actually too. You can specify a bitrate or quality rate.

I'm not on Windows nor use CDex, so can't help you there, but the "--alt-presets" override the bitrate, etc. settings unless you include additional command line commands with the alt preset (which is not recommended). With the newer versions of LAME you can use V settings which would be equivalent to the Ogg Q settings. This is all theory as I don't really use either anymore, sticking mostly to AAC.

You can see good LAME info here.

[jack963]

Thanks, blessingx. That helped out, but I'm still unclear on some things...

So in CDex, when I choose "VBR-new" for the "VBR method" field, I still have numerous options:

Quality - 0, 2, 5, and 9
VBR Quality - 0 through 9
Bitrate Min - 32-320
Bitrate Max - 32-320
Output Samplerate - Auto, 48000, 41000, and 32000

1) How do "quality" and "VBR quality" differ?

2) Bitrate min/max are still adding to the confusion, in that I still don't know if a high quality, low bitrate MP3 will sound similar/comparable to a low quality, high bitrate MP3...

3) How does changing the output samplerate affect the MP3? What is a commond samplerate?

4) In the past, I have encoded all my music to 160 kbps Ogg Vorbis files. How should I set the Lame settings to get comparable, or maybe even slightly better (192 kbps), MP3's?


Thanks a lot for any help.

[sgrossklass]

Quality: 2 is standard for VBR, should be OK. Corresponds to -q parameter.
VBR quality: Corresponds to -V. Determines bitrate range of encoded file. --preset standard uses -V 2, IIRC, so that's not the worst choice.
Bitrate min/max: 32/320 (default).
Output sample rate: Auto. Resampling to a lower rate is only used in -V 7 through 9 then.

If you want yet better quality, use -V 0 with -q 1 (or 0), or encode at CBR 320 kbps with -q 1 or -q 0.

[jack963]

Alright, thanks a lot for the help.