[adhoc]

do NOT fiddle about with vbr qualities and user-defineable options to to 'make' high-quality vbrs.

use the presets.

an -alt preset insane is NOT equal to a cbr 320kbps with quality max and a 20500hz cutoff. nor is a alt preset exteme equal to a 128-320vbr with quality 1 and cutoff 19500hz.

there are seperate and unique algorithms for each of the alt presets that give you the best bang for your buck.

to my knowledge there are no ways to duplicate this via user deifinable options.

 

[Nymphomaniac]

VBR: Variable bit rate where the quality of the output is selected from 0 to 9 where 0 is the highest quality and 9 is the lowest quality. The actual bit rate of the output is unpredictable, it depends of the type of the music encoded-- http://www.poikosoft.com/help/

 

[Happy Camper]

6+ year old thread......
 
Welcome to the machine.

 

[ford2]

 
 
The Head Fi search needs fixing,how hard can it be to make the default newest posts first.

 

[shaddix]

Default newest seems to give me completely unrelated results to my query, is there no warning on head-fi when you post on a 6+ month old thread?

 

[ford2]

 
Quote:

Default newest seems to give me completely unrelated results to my query, is there no warning on head-fi when you post on a 6+ month old thread?

That is the reason it needs fixing.

 

[krmathis]

Nice thread resurrection!

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Nice thread resurrection!

I agree.
 
As a substitute for lossless on a portable rig, Lame V0 vbr~new rules the roost.
 
Lossless at home + V0 on the road = excellent quality/storage management. Having both is really easy if you do batch conversions of lossless to V0 using Foobar. Post here if you want the batch conversion codes and instructions and I will happily provide them.

 

[kbone]

I'd have to agree that most people can't tell the difference. Most equipment and especially most headphones under $100 couldn't produce the difference. HOWEVER, if you've got a good ear and you've got a quality sound system (like in the $3000 and up range) you'll notice right away how the middle becomes empty in say 192 bitrate MP3. However if you get a bitrate over 300, it will be more difficult to tell the difference. What you're hoping with VBR is that when you get to the full music spectrum with activity between 20 and 20,000 you'll capture everything. Tests using a scope comparing mp3 above 300 with aac and wma lossless codecs demonstrate that you can't tell one from the other. Just be glad you're living in a world where $30 will buy you a cd player or mp3 player that can produce a 90db signal to noise ratio. I had to spend about $1000 in my teens to get a turntable and cartridge that could match that

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

I'd have to agree that most people can't tell the difference. Most equipment and especially most headphones under $100 couldn't produce the difference. HOWEVER, if you've got a good ear and you've got a quality sound system (like in the $3000 and up range) you'll notice right away how the middle becomes empty in say 192 bitrate MP3. However if you get a bitrate over 300, it will be more difficult to tell the difference. What you're hoping with VBR is that when you get to the full music spectrum with activity between 20 and 20,000 you'll capture everything. Tests using a scope comparing mp3 above 300 with aac and wma lossless codecs demonstrate that you can't tell one from the other. Just be glad you're living in a world where $30 will buy you a cd player or mp3 player that can produce a 90db signal to noise ratio. I had to spend about $1000 in my teens to get a turntable and cartridge that could match that

Generally I think that you are on the right track except that 'bitrate over 300' refers to the kbps of CBR MP3s. Lame V0 is generally accepted as the highest quality VBR MP3 format and equal to (i.e. indestinguishable from) CBR 320 kbps. Because it is Variable Bit Rate, you cannot attribute a precise kbps to it, but it is based on an average of about 245 kbps, reaching 320 kbps for complex passages and much less for simple or silent parts of a file. This makes it much more efficient in terms of storage.

 

[ILikesCheese]

VBR totally stands for Very Bad Rednecks.  Things have changed a lot since 2004.
 

 

[pookeyhead]

I've done extensive blind testing with LAME/CDex, and I've arrived at this.
 

 
That's my default ripping setting now if I need MP3.    Ordinarily...  I'd use a lossless format.