what your favorite mp3 encoder?

Ameesh

Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
23,686
0
0
hey guys im about to start a big project, i have about 400 unique cds that i want to burn down into mp3's i need the wav files and the mp3's any suggestion on which encoder software i use? i have used audio cataylst 2.0 and its ok, but i get some wierd poping noise on the output.
 

Alias

Member
Mar 23, 2001
38
0
0
Audio Catalyst. Popping noises usually indicate a need for a better CD reader. I have NEVER had any popping from .mp3's I've made with AC and my Toshiba (IDE) 40x reader, though I am told that SCSI readers perform the best in these situations.
 

NTB

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2001
5,179
0
0


<< EAC and LAME >>



Damn, way beat me to it.

I agree with him. These programs are easy to use, and they produce excellent sounding MP3s, IMO. Depending on how you want to do this little project though, you may want to use a third program called lame batch. It all depends on how much space and time you've got.

If you're low on HD space, and want to rip and encode one CD at a time, just set EAC up to use LAME as an external encoder. The program will then rip a track, open LAME &amp; encode to MP3, then erase the WAV before moving on to the next track.

If you've got a lot of space on the other hand, try LAMEbatch. This time, just set EAC up to rip the CDs, and leave the external encoder off. Rip a few CDs onto your hard drive, then open LAMEbatch, select all the ripped tracks, and let the program crank on encoding the MP3s overnight or while you're at work/school. When it's done, just go back and erase the WAVs yourself.

Either way, LAME needs a frontend like EAC or LAMEbatch to get the most out of it. The program itself will only encode at 128kbps and joint stereo when you drag a WAV over it; the frontends allow you to tweak this for higher/lower or variable bit rates, mono or forced-stereo sound and some other things.

Hope this helps.

Nate
 

Ameesh

Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
23,686
0
0
i have a plextor 16x/10x/40x so i dont thinkl the cdrom is the problem, and the wav doesnot have the pops in it, the mp3 does
is lame and eac and lame batch freeware4 or shareware? if so any restrictions? link to the software? thanks a bunch guys, oh i have plenty of space, 45 gigs free on my computer and about 80 on my file server
 

ZeroBurn

Platinum Member
Jul 29, 2000
2,892
0
0
read up on it at r3mix.net before you make any decisions.

EAC / RazorLame seems to be the way to go if you're ripping lots of cds w/ a lot of HDD space

i'm doing VBR 192-320 on mine using that combo
 

Ronstang

Lifer
Jul 8, 2000
12,493
18
81
There is no comparison to the LAME encoder. I never really liked the quality of most mp3s until I used the LAME encoder. I agree that EAC is hands down the best program for getting the CD tracks onto the HD. I has served me well and actually resurrected several CDs that were too scratched to play in a regular CD player.

I also use RazorLAME for encoding if I want to make a copy of the original CD and also make the tracks into mp3s.
 

PliotronX

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 1999
8,883
107
106


<< audiocatalyst is freewarez too :D >>



Man that Xing codec isn't even worth the storage space.
 

UNCjigga

Lifer
Dec 12, 2000
24,800
9,002
136
I use EAC + Lame too, and right now I'm using the ABR settings recommended by 'Digital Ear' instead of the typical '--r3mix' VBR setting. It encodes faster and the files are only slightly larger, and I can't tell a difference (but Digital Ear says its better than VBR!) Hold on, I'm gonna cut'n'paste my settings from EAC so y'all can try it out (works with Lame 3.88b)...

EDIT: Recommended LAME 388 settings are: --abr 192 -mj -h -b128 --lowpass 19.5
 

chiwawa626

Lifer
Aug 15, 2000
12,013
0
0
LAME RULES!! use cdex and lame or the lame.exe....

currently im workin on a C++ dll for lame and a gui frontend in vb....funny a Dll to use a Dll