[maporter]

I've been using EAC & Lame to encode all of my MP3's using the command line options of -V 0 --vbr-new within EAC / Lame. To date I've been very happy with the results - I believe this setting gives me the best quality MP3 file, correct or have I missed something from the command line?

I take it EAC & Lame is still the best software for encoding MP3 files or is there something better?

P.S. I just like to say a big thank you to everyone who've taken the time to answer my usual dumb questions.

 

[krmathis]

Besides dropping the "--vbr-new" part I do not see much to improve, as LAME may be the highest regarded MP3 encoder out there. EAC does a great job ripping those bits of the audio CD as well.

Edit:
I say dropping "--vbr-new" because starting with LAME 3.98 that is now the default VBR mode. It made a difference to version 3.97 and earlier, but not anymore.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maporter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been using EAC & Lame to encode all of my MP3's using the command line options of -V 0 --vbr-new within EAC / Lame. To date I've been very happy with the results - I believe this setting gives me the best quality MP3 file, correct or have I missed something from the command line? I take it EAC & Lame is still the best software for encoding MP3 files or is there something better? P.S. I just like to say a big thank you to everyone who've taken the time to answer my usual dumb questions.

I use lame 3.97. The settings I use are -V0 --vbr-new -q0 -ms - lowpass20.5. For me, it sounds better than just -V0 --vbr-new.

 

[xnor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maporter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I take it EAC & Lame is still the best software for encoding MP3 files or is there something better?

Yup it is. Your settings are fine!

 

[Punnisher]

I use EAC and FLAC for archive purposes. Then I use Foobar2000 to batch convert to whatever lossy codec I want. Right now I use Foobar with Lame to make V0 mp3s. Works pretty well for me.

Either way you can't go wrong with EAC. Great program.

 

[Steve999]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maporter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I take it EAC & Lame is still the best software for encoding MP3 files or is there something better? P.S. I just like to say a big thank you to everyone who've taken the time to answer my usual dumb questions.

It's a great question.

I am no expert, but there is evidence that the gap has narrowed very substantially, perhaps to the point of a statistical tie among most of the major players:

Public MP3 Listening Test @ 128 kbps - FINISHED - Hydrogenaudio Forums

Some of the other encoders will work much faster than LAME.

 

[insyte]

EAC + LAME is also the best combo for me. I run it under WINE in linux

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve999 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's a great question. I am no expert, but there is evidence that the gap has narrowed very substantially, perhaps to the point of a statistical tie among most of the major players: Public MP3 Listening Test @ 128 kbps - FINISHED - Hydrogenaudio Forums Some of the other encoders will work much faster than LAME.

Even if other encoders catch up or even surpass LAME in audio quality or speed, LAME still has the best support for gapless playback. LAME has implemented a special tag for the size of the gap that needs to be corrected for. Players that support that tag and make the proper correction are able to do proper gapless playback.

So LAME is still best.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rip N' Burn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I use lame 3.97. The settings I use are -V0 --vbr-new -q0 -ms - lowpass20.5. For me, it sounds better than just -V0 --vbr-new.

I'm not saying your settings are bad. I just want to take the opportunity to point out to others that you need to be careful and know what you are doing if you go beyond just the standard settings. The options that LAME allows can be complex and have interactions. It is quite possible to make things sound worse when you'd think the options would sound better. So just be careful if you venture beyond the standard "-V" or "-b" settings.

 

[maporter]

Hmm, -ms - lowpass20.5. can someone please offer an explanation of the additional commands?

I'm assuming -ms is stereo mode, and the rest is something to do with frequency filtering - Why?

Any real benefits to be gained here?

 

[xnor]

@maporter: you shouldn't use those options, your's are just fine.

Using -ms you'll force stereo mode, which will disable some of lame's smart optimizations (e.g. jstereo) to improve bandwidth ... but I guess that doesn't matter with higher bitrates anyway.

Setting the lowpass filter to 20.5 kHz is pointless too, because you cannot hear stuff above ~18 kHz. With V0 the default is set to ~19 kHz, no need to change that.

 

[maporter]

Okay this is weird, I've lost it!

I remove the --vbr-new bit from my command statement of -V 0 --vbr-new and re-rip another track just using the command -v0 as suggested krmathis and not only do I end up with differing file sizes, but I've now managed convinced myself the tracks actually sound different to my ears (although I very much doubt they are).

File size of 8.12mb using -v0
File Size of 8.16mb using -v0 --vbr-new

Track in Question was Death Defied by Will from Desireless by Eagle-Eye Cherry

Like I said, I'm losing it - certifiable even - LOL

 

[krmathis]

^ Which LAME version?
Its understandable if you use 3.97 or earlier, but a bit strange if you use 3.98 or later.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xnor /img/forum/go_quote.gif Using -ms you'll force stereo mode, which will disable some of lame's smart optimizations (e.g. jstereo) to improve bandwidth ... but I guess that doesn't matter with higher bitrates anyway.

"Mode (default value Stereo):

With the LAME encoder, you can specify how the file is encoded.
The default stereo option is recommended,
but at lower bit-rates, the Joint-stereo or Forced stereo can yield better sound quality .


Stereo :
In this mode, the encoder makes no use of potential similarity between the two input channels. It can, however, negotiate the bit demand between both channels, i.e. give one channel more bits if the other contains silence.

Joint Stereo :
In this mode, the encoder will make use of a correlation between both channels. The signal will be matrixed into a sum ("mid") and difference ("side") signal. For quasi-mono signals, this will give a significant gain in encoding quality. This mode does not destroy phase information like IS stereo that may be used by other encoders. This setting can be used to encode DOLBY ProLogic surround signals.

Forced Stereo :
This mode will force MS joint stereo on all frames. It's faster and it uses some special mid and side masking threshold."

It is recommended to use -ms for high bit rate files and -js for low bit rate files.


Quote:

Originally Posted by xnor /img/forum/go_quote.gif Setting the lowpass filter to 20.5 kHz is pointless too, because you cannot hear stuff above ~18 kHz. With V0 the default is set to ~19 kHz, no need to change that.

It's not pointless if you can hear a 20kHz tone which some people can. If you can't hear above 19kHz then I agree, it is pointless. If the OP can hear a 20kHz tone, then use --lowpass 20.5.

 

[maporter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ Which LAME version? Its understandable if you use 3.97 or earlier, but a bit strange if you use 3.98 or later.

Sorry Lame 3.98 (as per attached photo) - I say I'm certifiable because I've become obsessed with trying to get the best sounding mp3 possible. As all my DAP's are only 8gb or less; lossless files aren't an option unless I start limiting the amount of albums I take out with me.

I stick with MP3 because it's the only format that plays on all of my various DAP's.