[Fush]

Hello!
I am about to rip some CD's for my new Sony NW-HD5. Which of these options will give the best sound quality:

1. CD to ATRAC3PLUS 256 kbps using SonicStage.
2. CD to MP3 192 or 256 kbps using SonicStage.
3. CD to MP3 192 or 256 using jRiver (LAME encoding).

Do any of you know which MP3 encoder SonicStage uses, and how good it is? Any qualified comments are appreciated. Thank you!

 

[necropimp]

i'd say LAME or ATRAC3

 

[notnormal]

Atrac will also give you gapless playback. Although I'm a fan of the codec, it's not worth the time using the Sonicstage atrac encoder, especially since the HD5 supports mp3. Really your best bet is to use LAME -aps. Of the three choices you listed, number 3 (256 kbs) would give the best overall sound quality, unless you need gapless playback.

 

[jant71]

Why not 320Kbps LAME MP3?

 

[gshan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jant71 Why not 320Kbps LAME MP3?

It all comes down to listening tests. There are many that say it's hard to tell the difference between 192 and 320k under normal conditions, for example.

 

[Fush]

Thanks for your answers. I think I'll go with the LAME 192 for a while and see how it works out. But for my last question, which MP3 encoder does SonicStage use? Is it a Sony proprietary one, or an open encoder? Been searching the web for hours without finding any information on it.

 

[PouncePony]

If you go with lame and MP3 format, aren't you limiting youself to bass and treble (2 band) controls versus a 5 band equalizer with ATRAC?

Pony

 

[Fush]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PouncePony If you go with lame and MP3 format, aren't you limiting youself to bass and treble (2 band) controls versus a 5 band equalizer with ATRAC? Pony

Maybe. I'll have to check that out. The LAME 192 encoding has two advantages over ATRAC3PLUS 256 though: The songs take less space on the disc, and I can play them on other devices. If I go with ATRAC only, I am limiting myself to Sony (and a few other brands?).

 

[D-EJ915]

I rip with WAV (using SonicStage because it stores info for WAVs) and then just let SS convert them when I transfer.