What bitrate?

[Rimwalker]

Hi,

I want to start ripping audio files to my Samsung YP-Z5 from WMP at a higher bitrate than 128 kbps. It's only 4 GB so I don't know if lossless or 320 kbps is such a wise choise. I can only use WMP because I want to synch album art with the songs and that is the only way.

MP3 codec, BTW.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fallingwater]

The bitrate is something you have to choose based on your quality requirements. Different people have different needs, so we can't just tell you to go with one bitrate.

 

[3X0]

Personally, I'd go for ~192kbps VBR, which should offer the best quality for the fewest compromises. It's a well-received sweet spot in small storage mediums.

 

[Dzjudz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Personally, I'd go for ~192kbps VBR, which should offer the best quality for the fewest compromises. It's a well-received sweet spot in small storage mediums.

seconded.

 

[ILikeMusic]

I'd agree that 192 kb VBR (LAME -V2, etc.) is probably the best quality/size compromise and will be transparent to the original for most people (including the countless here who claim that they're not most people

), but if you are short on space I would advise playing with PCABX or Foobar and doing some blind testing to determine what works best for you. Even LAME 128 kb VBR files can sound pretty darn good out of a portable...

 

[bazmonkey]

x4 for 192k VBR. Only on very, very few recordings can I hear a cymbal sound different from the CD. Even that is quite likely because I know which is which. I don't know if I could tell in an ABX.

160k isn't all that bad, though. I would think about 1) how much music you have, 2) how much trouble it is for you to switch out songs, 3) how much music you're going to actually need in between syncs, and finally 4) how much you could fit on the player. Rip a few test tracks of different genres, see how it sounds to you, and decide from there.