[Notus]

You have not noticed any of the crackle sound with any other songs? May i ask how loud do you listen to music?
That particular Metallica album is so badly recorded and mastered that it makes you weep... The Snare drum sounds horrible.
Also i think i hear some form of popping and crackling in the beginning, its very faint. ( but in truth i have to crank the volume way too high for my comfort ).
But Currently can't do any serious or critical listening since its way too hot, computer fans sound more like a chainsaw... So i can't confirm it really.
 
I think variable bit rate can sometimes cause issues so better go with the highest 320kbps.
 
You can choose the bit rate when you rip the songs from a CD. 

 

[KGUN]

Notus,
 
Thanks for the info and advice.
 
I listen to music at a fairly high level I Guess it depends on how I feel and what song it is.
 
my choice of song may of been poor, it's one of the songs I remembered starts off low.
I tried a different song through winamp: Lindsey Stirling - Shadows / according to winamp the kbps remains at 160 kbps - the song properties/details is 160kbps, I Don't hear any of that crackling in this one, Which is why I was thinking it might be something to do with Variable Bit Rate. I Got the the single song St. Anger through itunes, as the other places I've looked only sell the album. Can you recommend another place to get this song maybe at a higher kbps(if that's even possible) / if I found the CD I guess I could try that.
 
I said before the song sounds fine on my PS3. same file and everything..
 
I Tried looking through the settings in winamp for something to set a constant bitrate, but I'm unsure if it's possible because I Think it would be changing the song or file data as it plays. 
 
the crackle sounds I hear aren't 'sort of' noticeable at the beginning of st. anger, they are annoyingly noticeable. not even playing somewhat loud to loud volume.
 
anyways.. Thanks again. I'll have to search for that cd, and try different songs.

 

[Notus]

To answer your question, no winamp can't change the bit rate. Unless you re-encode the file, but that's something you should not do to already compressed files. I don't actually know any places where you can buy songs online. I usually buy used CD's for cheap anyway's so.
I find it odd that only 1 song so far is doing it. Its always possible the variable bit rate is the issue but then again, you say'd you hear it in the youtube song also.