[ramdrive]

Hi,

I have a new iPod and have noticed the following problems:-

1. Sibilance / Graining in vocals
2. Crackling / Popping distortion on long notes.

Number 1. Occurs quite frequently using iTunes Encoder and Lame 3.90.2 in any configuration.

Number 2. Occurs now and again on long notes example a long sustaining electric guitar note on Garry Moore's Ballads & Blues song "Parisienne Walkways" as the note is played after about 5 secs it will start to break up into distortion, but if it is played on my iBook (iTunes) or PC (Winamp) there is no distortion on the MP3 file!

I have tried iTunes 3.01 encoder (All options) & Lame 3.90.2 all Presets inc ABR/CBR/VBR and still have this distortion, I have also tried MP3Gain and normalizing the WAV file.

Then, I tried Bladeenc -256 and guess what no distortion the file played perfectly!!!!

Could anyone shed any light? What is Bladeenc doing differently and why is the iPod decoder struggling with Lame/iTunes files?

Colin

 

[grinch]

3.90.2 is a fairly old version of lame.

i'm getting decent results using the new lame 3.93.1 and the --alt-preset standard settings. i'd give those a try. the other codec you mentioned has been known to suck.

 

[ramdrive]

Thanks for the reply,

I have tried 3.93.1 and the latest Lame 3.94alpha6 with the same results.

Colin

 

[leon]

I've been trying BladeEnc again in the past couple hours... unscientific listening, but it seems to have some of the qualities/elements that I've been missing (from the days of using MD that I'm not getting with MP3s). I don't know if this is a quality difference, like ramdrive brought up, or a tonal difference (emphasis of certain frequencies), but I think I like BladeEnc more.

Of course this means digging up OS 9/classic from the grave... but encoding is really fast compared to the &#^$ speed of the LAME 3.92 installed in Audion.

(unless one of you's going to fly out here and help me do blind A/B testing, I hope you won't have the audacity to bring that up. That'll just be silly.)

 

[Taphil]

LAME is considered to be the best encoder. There's no doubt about that.

But people have noticed that there are some faults in the iPod's decoder that causes distortion, particularly noticable with classical music. If you encode the same files as *.wav or *.aiff and put them on the iPod, the distortions are gone.

The problem appears with only certain bitrates, though it's the good ones. I think both --alt-preset standard and extreme cause problems, whereas CBR or doesn't, I can't really remember. There are some posts at Apple's board describing the problem.

 

[ramdrive]

Leon,

I have come from a Sony MZ-N1 to the iPod, and I am also finding that Bladeenc is giving me a more even / fuller tone, less wearing on the ears then both Lame & FHG encoders.

I will connect my iPod up to my SpectraLAB software tomorrow and do some output tests and post the results.

Colin

 

[ramdrive]

Taphil,

I agree Lame is the best encoder, and will search over at Apple and see what I can find.

I have tried all CBR rates and have had the same problem.

Blade is perfect on the iPod, but way below par compared to Lame 3.94Alpha6 on my PC with Winamp!

Very Strange!

Colin

 

[PianoBlack]

I was horribly surprised when I found out that the 15 CDs I just spent hours ripping onto my hard drive sound like extremely sub-par AM quality... Horribly horribly surprised.

But after a month of putzing around feeling too lazy to suck up a weekend experimenting with bitrates, and listening to old downloaded MP3s and audiobooks, I find this thread!

Thanks ramdrive and Taphil!

 

[PodMan]

Hi, I've noticed that you posted this question on Hydrogenaudio as well. I have an original 5GB iPod myself and have not noticed any of those symptoms. I use LAME 3.90.2 and alt-presets exclusively. As suggested by others, maybe its your iPod that is at fault. Apple has a very fast turnaround for iPod exchanges.

 

[Taphil]

Here's the thread: http://discussions.info.apple.com/We...F1.8@.3bbaa8df

It seems that the iPod can't decode LAME properly, though I have all of my music, no classical, encoded with LAME --alt-preset extreme and have never noticed any problems.

 

[leon]

Just last week I read this newspaper review of the iPod and the reviewer complained of the same issue with his 20GB... interesting

Whatever the source of the problem is, its sort of like the things that were plaguing earlier ATRAC versions. As in, it's not always dead obvious, and the "you can hear it but I can't hear it, what's wrong with you" debate goes on forever because not everyone notices them. I don't notice it everyday myself but switching from the iPod back to MD is always such a relief to me.

I encoded a lot of things in bladeenc and while it's inferior to LAME in some ways, the sound seemed relatively "clean" to me.

Would love to see other formats added to the iPod in future updates *sigh*

 

[ramdrive]

Podman, Leon & Taphil,

What software version are you running with your iPod's?

I am using 1.2.1.

I will post the 10sec problem clip in Blade & iTune formats it would be great if you could give them a try on your Pods and let me know what you hear.

Cheers

Colin

 

[aos]

I have noticed neither sibilance nor distortion in vocals / classical music. I use Lame 3.93 with --r3_mix setting. A problematic 10 seconds clip is a good idea, but it would also be good to put up the original .wav file too so that everybody can experiment with different encoders and settings.

 

[PodMan]

I am using version 1.1 just because it seems to provide better battery life than the 1.2x series. However, I did use 1.2 and 1.21 for 3 months or so and have not noticed any problems either. I use either the KSC-50 or the HD497 with it. Perhaps they are not revealing enough. What kind of headphones do you use with your iPod?

 

[leon]

ramdrive,

I just went from 1.2.1 to 1.1 . I'll be happy to hear your mp3s to see if I hear the same thing.