[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

I have a bunch of cd's that were mastered too hot and so they clip like mad. Whats the best mp3 encoding to make these recordings more listenable?

Thanks,

Biggie.

 

[mrarroyo]

I do not know what software you are using to manage your mp3's. In iTunes you can change the volume of the songs to be imported, both up or down.

 

[Xakepa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NotoriousBIG_PJ I have a bunch of cd's that were mastered too hot and so they clip like mad. Whats the best mp3 encoding to make these recordings more listenable? Thanks, Biggie.

It's more complicated than that. MP3 codecs are developed to preserve original PCM stream, not to modify it. You could try smoothing here and there, but if it's really bad (usually is) you're on your own.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Its my understanding some settings for mp3s severely roll of the high end. That would be what I'm looking for.

Biggie.

 

[Sisyphos]

I usually rip with EAC and then use replaygain in foobar for tracks that clip too much. That's quite effective.

 

[pedxing]

Your best bet is to use replaygain - it doesn't do anything destructive to your existing mp3s.

LAME has some settings. At the command/dos prompt (assuming windows), type lame --longhelp. A big long list of command arguments will appear. The features you may want might be under the "Filter options" or "PSY related" section.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Thanks, I will replay gain the files to lossless, and then fool around with the lame lowpass filter settings to see what works best.

Biggie.

 

[Rempert]

If we are talking about artifacts on the CD from clipped waveforms, I don't see how replaygain will help at all. It's not like lowering the gain during playback is suddenly going to restore those clipped waveforms. The artifacts will still be present, although the whole song will be a bit softer.

Lowpass filter may help, but it might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

 

[JWolf]

The only thing replaygain will do is attempt to adjust the volume to a maximum setting without adding in any extra clipping without the need to normalize. So properly replaygaining will keep the overall dynamics of a given CD and over a bunch of CDs you will get a more balanced volume.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Replay gain didn't help the clipping and the low pass filter added artifacts to the music, so that sounded worse to me. I tried out 8 different settings on my rig and I think I'm going to settle for --alt preset standard, replay gained so all my mp3's have the same volume.

Biggie.

 

[Herandu]

The old program Easy Edit Pro did the job for me. They were bought out by Adobe, who have now changed the name to Adobe Audition.
I am not aware of any other program that can do a better job at editting and restoring tracks, and I have tried quite a lot of them. Even Soundforge is not as good as Audition. You can manually correct clipped waveforms, or get the program to do it for you automatically. And you get a graphic view of how the waveform "looks" like. It's the bee's knees if you first read the instructions on how to use the progarm.

 

[jiiteepee]

Actually, there is not much to do to get this type of clipping fixed ... but, have you tried to 'ease' clipping w/ EQing those clipping frequencies.
Freeware EQ "Electri-Q" gives plenty of choices for filter type (Peak, HighShelf, LowShelf, Highpass, Lowpass, Bandpass, Notch) and really accurate frequency/gain settings.

Software (2 alternatives, all freeware):

Winamp
VST Host plugin (see my sig)

Foobar
VST Host plugin (see my sig)
Winamp DSP Bridge for Foobar (see my sig)

In both cases
Electri-Q VST EQ - http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=195124
RND Inspector - http://www.rogernicholsdigital.com/inspector.htm

Inspector gives you information on clipping and w/ Electri-Q, you can try to adjust it away 'smoothly'. There is also Electri-Q for Winamp you can then later (w/ saved preset) use w/o VST Host w/ both mentioned players (Foobar still needs the bridge plugin).

You can also use the Voxengo SPAN to get more accurate information on frequencies that are clipping - http://www.voxengo.com/product/SPAN/


jiitee

 

[Herandu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiiteepee Actually, there is not much to do to get this type of clipping fixed ... jiitee

Easy Edit Pro will do it. You are wrong in your assertion that it can't be fixed.

 

[MisterX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herandu The old program Easy Edit Pro did the job for me. They were bought out by Adobe, who have now changed the name to Adobe Audition.

Cool Edit Pro.

 

[MisterX]

Assuming you are using EAC try this:

You are gonna have to play with the settings a little bit but it should help reduce the clipping you are hearing.

Audiophiles will tell you that end up reducing the dynamic range of the tracks by doing this but when it's clipping there is no dynamic range there anyhow so:
Pft.