I have 2 mp3 files, How do I know which one is better

[Calculator83]

by ear I can't tell because alot of the sounds are synth,

one is 166vbr

and the other is 320 cbr. "I think someone just upconverted it from something else lower" I don't think the source was any better than the previous file.

is there a way to tell definitively which one is better

 

[Shawn]

If you can't tell what difference does it make?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Yarrr matey, you could buy the CD and rip it yourself.

 

[Tiamat]

Much of the difference, if any, would be in the definition of the high frequencies. See where the FR brickwalls. 320cbr usually extends right to about 20khz while 160 vbr brickwalls at around 16khz. Of course, if the music you are listening to is engineered to brickwall the highs, then you won't be able to tell by this method. I'm listening to video game music right now which has synth sounds and even so, it goes to 20khz on the 320kbps encodes but not on the 160 vbr...

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Shawn
If you can't tell what difference does it make?

bingo

 

[thomsbrain]

Synth sounds should actually be pretty tough on the codec, because they often have a lot of high frequency information, which is where mp3s generally suck. If you can't hear garbled painful inaccuracies in the high end with either file, then it shouldn't matter too much.