is it worth? wav files on mp3

[rob1031]

im getting a zen touch 20gb. i dont have that many songs, but i like quality. i can etll diff up to 320kps, but havent tested vs WAV files yet.

im planning to upload most mp3s as 320kps, but maybe a few of my favourite and the guys that have LOADZ of gadgets and stuff that need detail to listen to to WAV?

would it make a different with the KSC75s? or would i not be able to tell the difference?

hmmm. cause my music collection is...maybe up to a thousand, but 20 GB... i think can store up to 2000 songs of 320 kps anyways. heh

 

[daphox]

320kbps, huge overkill...so is WAV.

 

[rob1031]

whatcha mean overkill. takes up too much space? or what.

 

[daphox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob1031 whatcha mean overkill. takes up too much space? or what.

Both audio & space. Search for Lame.

 

[rob1031]

dont get it. doesnt lame just encode MP3s? (i wouldnt know really..)

 

[jpr703]

LAME is just a MP3 encoder but many people feel that when used with EAC (for ripping) it produces the best quality MP3s.

 

[scorpian007]

No point having it in WAV format, it'll eat up your battery in 2 hours, even on the mighty Zen Touch.

 

[infiskik]

does the zen tough support flac or ogg? that way you can have a lossless thats a bit smaller. But wav is kinda big.

the overkill thing gets me, its personal preference. he says he can hear the diff in bitrates below 320, let him use 320 if he wants....i use -api and ogg 500, i cant say i can hear ever detail they offer over lower bitrates, but at under 1/3 of wavs file size im willing to have it.

He also said he doesnt have that many songs, whats you cd count or mp3 count on your hdd?

also see my sig to see my little guide on compression and codecs.

 

[rob1031]

hey thanks guys. i guess wav is a bit too much then

the zen touch only has MP3 WMA and WAV i think..

MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3), Windows Media™ Audio (WMA) and WAV

yeh... so i guess the best way is MP3?

can you tell me how i should rip/encode (first Mp3 player i have..so thanks for any help here!) and how i should rip on PC (if any special way) and then put onto the mp3?

thanks SOOOO much

edit: so u can use FLAC but not WAV.... flac doesnt eat as much battery eh? heh.. that syucks..shouldve got myself a karma or something so i could get those files

 

[infiskik]

no idea if you can use flac, sicne flac can be put into the .ogg container my iriver can use it.

i would suggest EAC (exact audio copy) or CDex(no idea), but google turns them both up in their short forms....most people like EAC, but for ease of use CDex is a bit more basic and contains all the codecs in it.

if you want quality and size isnt too much of an issue LAME -api (alt preset insane) is CBR @ 320 and sound very good, not wav or flac but good enough for those headphones and such, and while people will continue to say 320 is overkill, test it for your self, rip 1 song in 192,256,320, if you like 320 use it , its your player. if the lower one sound ok use -ape (alt preset exreme) or -aps (alt preset standard) they are both VBR and lowest is 192. they both sound good, and unless your super anal i dont think youll be to upset givin your rig.

dont know much about the ksc75s, but ety people seem to be ok with -aps so...

 

[crypt@]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob1031 ... would it make a different with the KSC75s? or would i not be able to tell the difference?

Audio is largely according to individual's hearing sensitivity and taste. You really have to try it and see. Some guys in the forum are muscially trained, as well as blessed with amazing hearing. But you won't know it until you try.

On some tracks I can clearly hear the difference between 192Kbps and 224Kbps whereas on others I can't. So I suggest you have a listen between the original and the ripped and pick your preferences.

The better the cans the more it will reveal the defects in your tracks. So unless you plan to stay with a set of cans and never upgrade (, then why in heck are you here in the first place!

) then you should really afford some comprise to space against quality (Kbps).

Quote:

Originally Posted by infiskik no idea if you can use flac, sicne flac can be put into the .ogg container my iriver can use it....

Have you tried though? I have, and the iRiver can't decode the stream. Which is to be expected, just because FLAC can be placed in an Ogg container doesn't necessary mean the FLAC stream is re-structured into Vorbis format.

iRiver can't decode FLAC, and the mere fact that FLAC stream can be placed in a Ogg container only means at boot time iRiver will be able to "see/list" it. But comes decoding, it will fail and skips it.

 

[merc82]

I also prefer to rip with EAC and use Lame to encode to MP3. My preferred Lame preset is - alt preset extreme. It's a variable bitrate setting that gives excellent sound quality with a decent file size. You should consider the source when choosing your bitrate. I choose a lower bitrate if I'm encoding old music (60's and earlier recordings etc).

EAC can rip copy protected discs and gives you the best chance of a good rip of a scratched CD.

Check out Hydrogen Audio's forums for the definitive MP3 info. That's where the developers hang out. There are FAQs for the new user too.

 

[rob1031]

cool i think i'll use the EAC then encode as mp3s at 320 (and test each size ofcourse)

is EAC meaning i'll rip BIG (wav?) files onto the PC? and THEN encode to mp3 with LAME?

and about my rig, i am getting a CMOY for my new soundcard and therefore possibly use the amp for portable use if i like the sound much more with it. so yeah maybe i'll use a better rig like that. heh

 

[merc82]

I still rip a disc to wav files and then encode the files to MP3. I suppose I do this from habit since the best rippers weren't necessarily good at encoding "back in the day".

Lame can be integrated into EAC so ripping and encoding is one step. I believe you may need to download EAC and Lame from separate sites though.

Before you convert many CDs to MP3 try a few bit rates. I think you'll find 320 kbps is too much. The files will be large without giving noticably better quality. The Lame presets are the way to go.

 

[pauls]

The other real issue with using wavs is navigating through all your files. wav files don't have tags, and therefore, you can't use your player's search fundtions (ie by artist, album, etc. The only way to find a track is via the filename.

I also use EAC and Lame and encode at -alt preset extreme. It is actually two steps - it rips the wav file first, and then Lame encodes the mp3 file. So it only appears as one step. You can actually tick a box that will keep the original wav file as well as encoding a the mp3 file. Do this for a few songs, or an album, and see if you can hear a difference.

See bestmp3guide.com - It's the page I learnt from hear when I discovered this site 18 months ago.

Cheers

pauls