[PingPongPay]

So yeah, most of my collection is made up of mp3's at 128 kbps. Now I know if I were to get really good headphones I would have a big problem here, but what about with PX 100's? Will I notice the bad quality of my music? If so is there any way at all I can fix this (without re-creating my entire collection)?

 

[J-Pak]

It really depends on your ears, some people notice compression artifacts more than others. I don't really enjoy listening to 128 kbps mp3s even out of cheap $30 Logitech computer speakers; but I've never heard the PX100.

They're certainly not enjoyable on my SR-60 where the minimum I'd prefer to be listening is 192 kbps or --aps

If you actually bought the cds

I'd just reencode everything at a better bitrate.

 

[PingPongPay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Pak It really depends on your ears, some people notice compression artifacts more than others. I don't really enjoy listening to 128 kbps mp3s even out of cheap $30 Logitech computer speakers; but I've never heard the PX100. They're certainly not enjoyable on my SR-60 where the minimum I'd prefer to be listening is 192 kbps or --aps If you actually bought the cds I'd just reencode everything at a better bitrate.

I'm hoping that I won't notice a difference, but I'm going to go to Circuit City to hopefully try them. If it's all grainy and crappy, then I'll either re-rip my collection or I'll stick with craptacular headphones.

 

[Veniogenesis]

I can notice definite differences between bitrates when listening to my PX100. I wouldn't say however that it substantially deducts from the value of an upgrade from a poor headphone. Music is still easily more enjoyable. It looks like you have it worked out. It is always a good idea to test out headphones before purchasing them.

Regards,
Venio

 

[blessingx]

Rerip anyway.

Anyhow even with much more expensive phones some streaming internet radio and albums sound decent at 128. When I sometimes get ahhhh music from friends, there's definitely been moments where I was surprised that the bitrate was only 128 (found out after listening to several songs). However it's certainly not ideal so I'd recommend bumping it up from here on out.

 

[PingPongPay]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I just created a playlist with varying songs from 96 kbps to 320 kbps. It should be interesting to see what happens when I test them out.

Just listened to Nights in White Satin @ 96 kbps with my crappy Maxell NB-303 I can notice how it's unclear and choppy.

Walking in Memphis @ 112 kbps with NB-303 sounds ok, nothing spectacular but it's actually not that bad. It's a little choppy at some parts; especially at the end it's quite choppy. Not as unclear as 96 kbps though.

Money for Nothing @ 128 kbps (with a better bit rate and great headphones w/amp, I think I would have an orgasm with the beginning of this song) with NB-303 it sounds pretty good. A little fuzzy in some parts but for the most part it's clear and not choppy.

That's all I listened to for now, and already I can notice a difference between 96, 112, and 128 kbps, however, I have very little 96 and 112 bit rate songs. I think I'll be able to tell the difference between 128's and 160's, 196's, and 320's with the PX 100 but I don't think it will take too much away from my listening experience.

 

[blessingx]

Also make sure to run over to Hydrogen Audio to get good info in their forums. Above all though trust your ears (until you get better and better equipment

).

 

[J-Pak]

If you're using a portable the latest HydrogenAudio standard for MP3s is the LAME beta + settings V-2 VBR new for mp3s that are near transparent.

 

[shesmylovernow]

Why not just rerip the albums that you listen to most and leave the rest of your music as is?

 

[taymat]

Unlike many here I don't think 128kb/s is un-listenable, it's ok when there's nothing better available. There's a loss of detail when it's compared to lossless on audiophile equipment though, so I'd say re-rip to at least alt preset standard/192kb/s using LAME, when you have the time.

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PingPongPay So yeah, most of my collection is made up of mp3's at 128 kbps. Now I know if I were to get really good headphones I would have a big problem here, but what about with PX 100's? Will I notice the bad quality of my music? If so is there any way at all I can fix this (without re-creating my entire collection)?

The PX-100's will sound fine (maybe the koss lineup will sound better

). As time goes on and you decide to experiment with better rips/encodes, the improvement is there if you go looking for it.

 

[3lusiv3]

I listen to 128k MP3's with my HD 595 quite often. Anything below 128 isn't good but 128 isn't too bad. I can still enjoy the music even if it's 128, although 192 and up is ideal.

 

[jagorev]

You will probably only notice a difference when you listen to the same songs at CD quality, and then go back to the 128 kbps. When I've never heard a better version of the song, 128 is fine. When I have, the difference is quite significant to my ears.

 

[Homeless]

Storage space isn't an issue for me so I just rip everything at 320...maybe it's a mental thing, but it sounds better than anything else to me. I don't like 128, and 192 sounds good, but I still do 320...

 

[deaconblues]

back in 1999, I used to make fun of my roommate for being so anal about wanting his MP3s in a high bitrate. It was only in May or June 2005 that I learned the error of my ways: when I got my SR-60.

if you want to find an ideal encoding bitrate, try doing some abx testing on foobar. You'll be surprised. I was ripping stuff at alt-preset-extreme until I abx'd it against alt-preset-standard and found that I could hardly tell the difference. An ultra high bitrate can be a bad thing on portable players, where battery life and storage space are extremely important... especially if you can't really hear the difference.