[electic]

Hey guys, I didn't realize how much of a difference their is between a 128 mp3 and a higher bitrate mp3 until I just A/B ed some songs today. Now I was wondering if there is anyway to reencode/convert? my current 4500+ mp3s to a higher bitrate than 128?

 

[meat01]

You have to re-rip and rencode your CDs. If you do not have the CDs and you got them elsewhere, there is no way to change the bit rate, because you are missing information from the song and you can not just fill it in.

I recommend you check this out on ripping your mp3s.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Unless you have the original CD's, the answer is no, there is no way to get back the data tossed out by the encoding process.

If you have the original CD's, download exact audio copy, and a lame encoder, and you will be set to make some great MP3's.

 

[electic]

Well thanks for your help guys, but unfortunately I think that I am screwed cuz I downloaded all the songs that I have....I guess I'll just have to deal

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Well, it's called downloading higher bitrate songs. Back when I first got the HD590, nearly my whole collection wa 128K, but now it's down to less than ten percent, and I have almost triple as many MP3's as you do. So it can be done. Soulseek is your friend.

 

[CyberGhost]

isn't soulseek commercial?

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

I too have heard soulseek is a program worth considering...but, unfortunately, due to the "official" stance of my college being that downloading music is illegal, they've put a band-width clamp on p2p sharing programs.

*sigh* 500some odd kbps, and nothing to download...

 

[electic]

What is this soulseek program that you speak of? I also have thother problem of my iPod... if have all my mp3s at 192 or higher I wont be able to store all of them on my iPod..plus I don't think that I have enough HD space to carry doubles of mp3s.

 

[electic]

O and one more question....is Soulseek under fire or being supervised as Kazaa is?

 

[lindrone]

If your music selection is larger than the iPod's capacity, then you would have to either manually manage it, or set iTune's option to "update only checked songs" or "only selected playlist".

I found "update only checked songs" to work very well. Just remember to change your Smart List to match "only checked songs".

That little blue check mark next to the songs actually does something.

Now, if you're not using iTunes, then I'm assuming you're manually managing it anyway, right? You just gotta pick'n choose what you want to carry with you and what you don't.

 

[Patrickhat2001]

Besides Soulseek also look into WinMX--many high bitrate MP3s can be found there. Not that we condone the use of such programs around here.

 

[electic]

Ok ive just done some more comparisons between 128 mp3s and 320 mp3s....but I can not hear any difference at all....am I deaf or something? Can you guys give me a song where the quality from the bitrate difference is obvious?

 

[Rempert]

Tracks with lots of accoustic instruments and especially lots of percussion happening at once are probably the ones that suffer the most at 128 kbps. In general, if you've never heard the actual CD, 128 kbps is probably fine for casual listening. For portable use on your ipod, it's certainly fine. If you were ripping your own CDs, I'd suggest doing blind tests for transparency, and keeping the smallest file you are satisfied with. I'd also suggest learning about variable bitrates and the -alt presets, and other encoding formats besides .mp3.

But when these are downloaded files, I would say it this way: If you don't notice any quality problem with the .mp3 during normal listening, just keep it and be happy. If it sounds like there is something wrong to you, try to get another copy, compare, and keep the one that sounds best. Unless the person did a really shoddy job of ripping the CD (or the person who encoded the .mp3 works for the RIAA and wants to make your ears bleed for pirating their music), most of your files will probably sound close enough for anything other than devoted listening in a quiet room.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally posted by electic Ok ive just done some more comparisons between 128 mp3s and 320 mp3s....but I can not hear any difference at all....am I deaf or something? Can you guys give me a song where the quality from the bitrate difference is obvious?

Like everybody I started with 128kbps then I went to 160, 192, VBR (approx 210kbps avg) and then on to 320... Now I use lossless (upsampled to 24bit/96khz) or DVD-A. The differences that I've noticed most going up the chain was with each step the songs have more life and fullness. I also noticed the artifacts that are often mentioned in the lower bitrates of mp3 (up to 256kbps).

Your gear can make a huge difference here too. Above 256kbps I don't hear the artifacts that others can with more detailed hi-fi gear. When I was using crappy computer speakers and a Creative soundcard I couldn't hear the difference above 160kbps.

 

[electic]

Quote:

Like everybody I started with 128kbps then I went to 160, 192, VBR (approx 210kbps avg) and then on to 320... Now I use lossless (upsampled to 24bit/96khz) or DVD-A. The differences that I've noticed most going up the chain was with each step the songs have more life and fullness. I also noticed the artifacts that are often mentioned in the lower bitrates of mp3 (up to 256kbps).

What exactly are these atrifacts that you are talking about? Can you give me a song in one bitrate that shows the artifacts and the same song in a higher bitrate that does not show the artifacts?