[sanvara]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pic9809 what about AAC?

AAC is fine if you want to play the files on nothing but an ipod. If you have multiple players not made by apple and want to share files between them AAC is not the way to go.

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanvara I go for the battery life and compatibility and stick with mp3. I tried OGG, but it drains battery life at a very high rate vs mp3 = BIG CON. At that price it's just not worth it vs a lame encoded vbr MP3. I also have 1500 CD's and I want to fit as many as I can on my player at a reasonable bitrate. FLAC just takes up too much space.

that's about how i see it too. i use LAME -APS but recently i just go with -APX setting to put my mind at ease

 

[Stephonovich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by austonia that's about how i see it too. i use LAME -APS but recently i just go with -APX setting to put my mind at ease

Y'know, it hit me that there really isn't a definitive article here on different MP3 (or other lossy codecs) settings, and their effect on quality. If you do searching, sure, you can find out anything you want, but no one's compiled everything into one big 'un. Last time I did any ABX tests was with an unamped SB Live! Now that I've got an AV-710 and CMoy, I ought to try again. IIRC, the only differences I could tell between --aps and originals were a slight loss of detail on high frequency noises, such as cymbals or applause. As for extra tags, last time I tested, -m s -k gave me better SQ (turns on true stereo and takes away the 16KHz lowpass filter) than standard. This is, of course, IMO. If I get around to testing again, I'll try 'em out and see if I hear any difference.

(-:Stephonovich

 

[Faelix]

Now I have only a Palm Tungsten T3 to listen to digital music, besides a discman. I intend to get a MP3 Player some time, who knows... I have ripped CD's to two formats: my hi-fi is Lame --aps MP3, and my lo-fi is, I really mean it, Ogg Vorbis Aotuv -q2 (great for getting a SD card full of music).

 

[terrymx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by =w= Thanks Edvard, that was exactly what I was looking for...the damned Rio support actually reccomended me to use 64 kpbs mp3... I guess I'll reincode my .WMA files to .flac!

once the quality is lost, it is gone forever, you cant convert it to a higher bitrate to get it back. you have to convert from CD to flac.

 

[Stephonovich]

Faelix, have you tried using Gorf's GT3Bx tuned Ogg encoders? (GT3B2 is the newest) You'd be suprised how good -q0 sounds for the filesize. I'm not kidding. Although -q1 or -q2 will definitely help if you have the space. In any case, IMO, it's the best sounding Ogg encoder out there at any bitrate.

(-:Stephonovich

 

[Faelix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephonovich Faelix, have you tried using Gorf's GT3Bx tuned Ogg encoders? (GT3B2 is the newest) You'd be suprised how good -q0 sounds for the filesize.

Wow... it sounds surprising to me, because I've always heard that GT3b2 was intended for qualities above 5, wasn't it? And aotuv, since its inception, was recommended for low qualities, even if it was not only tweaked for them, perhaps because of the previous Garf's tunnings. Besides, I've heard some ABX-tests that rank aotuv better than GT3b2 on high qualities.

I started encoding so before the last Roberto Amorim's public test, and the result has only convinced me about my right choice.

 

[Faelix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by =w= I guess I'll reincode my .WMA files to .flac!

People must be kidding about transcoding lossy to lossless.

 

[Stephonovich]

Argh, my bad... yes, GT3Bx is for >= -q5. I coulda sworn Gorf made an encoder specifically designed for low quality, though... I remember using it once, and being very suprised.

(-:Stephonovich

 

[ezra2323]

Quote:

AAC Cons. iPods are the only player that plays AAC natively.DRM, though it has been bypassed for iTune AAC files recently.

Not exactly true. AAC is not natively DRM. In fact, iTunes encoded AAC files or Nero encoded AAC files are NOT DRM. Only purchased music from iTunes or Real's music stores is DRM.

What remains to be seen is if AAC will gain more hardware support. given that Apple has just formed an iPod division, let's hope this means AAC compatible car stereos, home components, etc.

Right now, use MP3, with a back-up in a lossless format (WMA, FLAC, APE, or Apple Lossless) for future encoding to the best format that emerges. It's your safest bet. Use LAME and the alt preset (medium, standard, or extreme) preset of your choice and you will be very happy.

OGG Vorbis gets a lot of good reviews but it is tough on the battery of portables. Plus as mentioned, very little support. Definitely a con.

WMA is fine if you use a higher bit rate (like 2 Pass VBR 192) and don't own an iPod. It has great hardware support. But it provides no advantage over MP3 despite M$'s claims. Why use it?

 

[=w=]

I'm sorry for saying that incorrectly. I meant, I was going to reincode all of my CD's in .flac. And to be honest, I don't listen for more than 3 hours at a time, and when I'm not listening I put it on the dock to charge. So taking a small hit in battery life won't really affect me. And since I don't have a large collection of music (at most 35-40 cds) I highly doubt I'll run into a problem with space.