Best MP3 Encoder?

The_B_Man

Me Mates are in a band (just got a good review in Hot Press actually) and they gave me their CD to convery to MP3 to send into a few places like various radio stations and what-not.

I ripped the CD they gave me with LAME encoder in CDex but its a bit quiet compared to the original. I figure some normalization could fix this but I can;t seem to find it in CDex.

So now, I'm jsut gonna look for a better encoder. There was one I used to have that was named after some fella but can't remember the name of it.

I'm sure there's people on here that rip CDs to MP3 who have a fair idea what encoders are decent and what ones are not.

Basically, if I give them the MP3s I have at the moment, it might not give the best impression to the listener, due to the fact that you have to hire the volume up, and I don't wanna be responsible for that.

So, can someone tell me the best MP3 encoder they know of. I figure 192kbps would be good enough?

Thanks.

Giblet

Try the --aps or v0 presets for ripping. I use EAC and Lame to rip and encode.

Mutant_Fruit

Be very careful before you go normalising the MP3's. You do run the risk of damaging the natural highs/lows of the song which would be a LOT worse than sending a quiet MP3.

To be perfectly honest, why not just copy the CD and send that to the radio stations and whatnot? That's probably your best option. I'm sure the radiostations can then rip it in whatever way they prefer and adjust volume as they need.

EDIT: Lame is by far the best MP3 encoder available.

Ruu_Old

I use Lame here also.

PogMoThoin

Mutant_Fruit wrote:

Be very careful before you go normalising the MP3's. You do run the risk of damaging the natural highs/lows of the song which would be a LOT worse than sending a quiet MP3.

To be perfectly honest, why not just copy the CD and send that to the radio stations and whatnot? That's probably your best option. I'm sure the radiostations can then rip it in whatever way they prefer and adjust volume as they need.

EDIT: Lame is by far the best MP3 encoder available.

:rolleyes: Peeps in radiostations don't listen to cd's, they dump them.
Mp3 is the only way to get music out. They dl them & listen as their reading their emails.
Get the band to open an artists account here: http://www.artistserver.com/music.cfm
Upload the mp3's there. Other artists & producers will listen to them & give them ratings & reviews.

Lame is prob the best encoder, but no matter what encoder you use, your gonna loose quality when you compress a song to mp3.

BTW: check out my mates tunes: http://www.artistserver.com/artist/index.cfm/a/17372/Ronario

cormie

Follow this guide for getting the best rips using EAC and lame:)

looks like a long read, but it will only take you about 10 mins until you're getting the best possible rips:)

quaidox

Audiograbber with LAME allows you to encode at 320Kbps

Makaveli

320KBps CBR is a waste of space imo.
V0 (APX) is my choice, or else I'd use V2 (APS).

DemonOfTheFall

Yeah if you use LAME with -V0 nobody is going to tell the difference between that and a pressed CD. Unless they have really really expensive audio gear and too much spare time on their hands to compare the MP3 with the original.

blorg

DemonOfTheFall wrote:

Yeah if you use LAME with -V0 nobody is going to tell the difference between that and a pressed CD. Unless they have really really expensive audio gear and too much spare time on their hands to compare the MP3 with the original.

It's unlikely anyone could tell the difference even if they did have really expensive audio gear. I tend to use LAME APS (-V 2) which is transparent to my (and most people's) ears. This is around 192k. If you are experiencing a volume difference something is wrong, there should not be one. It could be as simple as that the volume setting on your CD drive is higher? Try ripping to WAV and LAME APS and compare the two, they should sound the same.