Why does music sound better after ripping/encoding to MP3?

[MichaelD]

I listen to a lot music. Mostly rock-oriented type stuff. I have noticed that even songs I am very familiar with (recording-quality-wise) sound BETTER when I am listen to an MP3 that was ripped to .wav then encoded to MP3, vs. listening to the CD straight-ahead.

I rip at 16-bit stereo, 44KHz and encode at 256kbps, stereo, if that matters.

It's not in my head! I can hear a difference. Stereo separation is better...MUCH better. Also, the individual instruments seems to stand out much better in the mix. What is up with this?

 

[iamme]

total guess: maybe the encoding algorithm emphasizes certain frequencies, to make up for taking out the others. like the highs and lows...making it sound "clearer".

 

[boyRacer]

You must have really crappy speakers...

Actually I don't know... i'm deaf... i can hardly tell... other than the occassional skip or static...

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: boyRacer
You must have really crappy speakers...

Actually I don't know... i'm deaf... i can hardly tell... other than the occassional skip or static...

Are you really hearing impaired?

 

[thirtythree]

Do you listen to CDs and MP3s using the same program? Winamp's equalizer tends to make music sound better.

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: boyRacer
You must have really crappy speakers...

Actually I don't know... i'm deaf... i can hardly tell... other than the occassional skip or static...

Are you really hearing impaired?

No but... people keep saying they can hear the difference between DTS and DD... they can hear the difference between comparable soundcards... and honestly if you played a CD full of MP3s right next to a real CD... i won't be able to tell the difference unless it was encoded below 128... my ears arent as sensitive as others i guess... must be all those dj years with those damn speakers blasting next to my face...

 

[erikiksaz]

That's odd, normal cds still sound better than most mp3s i download. Haven't done straight up AB tests, but the details and separation are gone when it comes from mp3s. Tested using my dvdplayer/meta41/grado325 setup

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: boyRacer

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: boyRacer
You must have really crappy speakers...

Actually I don't know... i'm deaf... i can hardly tell... other than the occassional skip or static...

Are you really hearing impaired?

No but... people keep saying they can hear the difference between DTS and DD... they can hear the difference between comparable soundcards... and honestly if you played a CD full of MP3s right next to a real CD... i won't be able to tell the difference unless it was encoded below 128... my ears arent as sensitive as others i guess... must be all those dj years with those damn speakers blasting next to my face...

Interesting; I can hear the difference B/T DD and DTS...it's like night and day for me. DD by itself doesn't sound compressed at all, but listening to the same program thru DTS, you hear the increased dynamic range. Anyway, I refuse to listen to any MP3 recorded below 160kbps; it's just not worth my time.

 

[BD2003]

If the CD is played directly from the CDROM over the CD cable, it probably wont sound as good as it can.

 

[Soybomb]

Originally posted by: BD2003
If the CD is played directly from the CDROM over the CD cable, it probably wont sound as good as it can.

I was wondering too if you were listening over the analog cable, maybe try a player that plays over ide instead or rip to wav and try that.

I think you're insane though

 

[Zugzwang152]

probably the equalizer at work...try turning it off and then listening again.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: iamme
total guess: maybe the encoding algorithm emphasizes certain frequencies, to make up for taking out the others. like the highs and lows...making it sound "clearer".

something along those lines is what i would have to think too....

 

[StageLeft]

Michael I'm worried about you

 

[DaveSimmons]

To see what's really going on you should try ripping a CD to uncompressed WAV format and play that, so you eliminate any analog-cable / analog-in problems and it's going through the same player software.

In my home office I listen to music from my PC and CD player through the same infinity bookshelf speakers and I've never heard an MP3 sound better than CD audio, using CBR and VBR at rates from 160 - 320 kbps and several different encoders. The best I've ever heard an MP3 sound is as good.

So I'm guessing it's something wrong with your CD playback not something right with your MP3s

 

[BurnItDwn]

I cant tell the difference on my PC between 192kbit+ mp3s and CD .. however on my reciever in the living room ... cds sound a bit better than mp3s....

 

[faZZter]

No way does it get better.....lol

 

[brxndxn]

Guys... It does sound better - but not in the way you think. Just like roasted dog meat (cute puppy dog meat) tastes better if you're starving.. Mp3s sound better after you rip them because there is an added sense of accomplishment that overcompensates for any audible loss of quality.

If you go a year without hearing music, Britney Spears will sound like an angel.

 

[MustangSVT]

it could be all "IN YOUR HEAD".

try to do a simple testing by having your friend play some cds and some mp3 files using the same player (ie. winamp) and you try to tell him which is which.. of course you will have to do lot of comparisons and of course u cant look at the screen and make sure u also can't hear the cd spin up to "cheat".

for me, I can definatly hear the difference between mp3 and cd audio, and cd is much better.
and its easier to tell when you are using better audio system.

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: boyRacer

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: boyRacer
You must have really crappy speakers...

Actually I don't know... i'm deaf... i can hardly tell... other than the occassional skip or static...

Are you really hearing impaired?

No but... people keep saying they can hear the difference between DTS and DD... they can hear the difference between comparable soundcards... and honestly if you played a CD full of MP3s right next to a real CD... i won't be able to tell the difference unless it was encoded below 128... my ears arent as sensitive as others i guess... must be all those dj years with those damn speakers blasting next to my face...

hehe... it is the same for me. I have a horrible musical ear. I played the violin for 4 years and still couldn't tune my instrument

 

[0roo0roo]

crappy equip. cd sounds better to me unless its ultra high bitrate, then i can't tell with my equip.

 

[wnied]

Well from what I remember about ripping .Wav files to MP3s takes the song and eliminates all frequencies that humans cannot hear and "flattens or smoothes" the sound out, then compacts or folds it into a digital MP3 that can be played(unfolded) on a digital MP3 player.

~wnied~

 

[ajayjuneja]

Ok, you need to get some better speakers/ amplifier or new ears!! That's absolutely riduculous.

Play a cd not through your little cd-rom drive, but through a REAL cd player with a REAL DAC, and get a real Amplifier... and you'll easily be able to tell!

My personal setup is:

2 Rotel 960BX -- running in bridged mono -- 180w each
Acoustic Research model 302 speakers
Sony GX-808ES receiver used as preamp
Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player
Technics RS-M253X cassette Deck with 3 heads and dbx
Rega Planer 3 turntable

and my computer's also hooked up to it, too.

I can assure you that mp3's sound worse than

FM radio
tape
record player
CD
SACD


so get a better system and you'll hear it. I can't stand mp3's anymore! They can't do transients for their life!

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: ajayjuneja
Ok, you need to get some better speakers/ amplifier or new ears!! That's absolutely riduculous.

Play a cd not through your little cd-rom drive, but through a REAL cd player with a REAL DAC, and get a real Amplifier... and you'll easily be able to tell!

My personal setup is:

2 Rotel 960BX -- running in bridged mono -- 180w each
Acoustic Research model 302 speakers
Sony GX-808ES receiver used as preamp
Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player
Technics RS-M253X cassette Deck with 3 heads and dbx
Rega Planer 3 turntable

and my computer's also hooked up to it, too.

I can assure you that mp3's sound worse than

FM radio
tape
record player
CD
SACD


so get a better system and you'll hear it. I can't stand mp3's anymore! They can't do transients for their life!

I think 256Kbps mp3 might sound better than a tape, since tapes usually have quite a lot of hissing, especially at louder volumes, records don't sound better either, similar reasons, unless you have some seriously good hardware.
Radio, if you get exceptional reception, would probably be better, but even then you can quite often get hissing. If the mp3 quality is high enough, I don't think tape/radio/record would sound better.

 

[ajayjuneja]

Originally posted by: Lonyo

Originally posted by: ajayjuneja
Ok, you need to get some better speakers/ amplifier or new ears!! That's absolutely riduculous.

Play a cd not through your little cd-rom drive, but through a REAL cd player with a REAL DAC, and get a real Amplifier... and you'll easily be able to tell!

My personal setup is:

2 Rotel 960BX -- running in bridged mono -- 180w each
Acoustic Research model 302 speakers
Sony GX-808ES receiver used as preamp
Sony SCD-CE775 SACD player
Technics RS-M253X cassette Deck with 3 heads and dbx
Rega Planer 3 turntable

and my computer's also hooked up to it, too.

I can assure you that mp3's sound worse than

FM radio
tape
record player
CD
SACD


so get a better system and you'll hear it. I can't stand mp3's anymore! They can't do transients for their life!

I think 256Kbps mp3 might sound better than a tape, since tapes usually have quite a lot of hissing, especially at louder volumes, records don't sound better either, similar reasons, unless you have some seriously good hardware.
Radio, if you get exceptional reception, would probably be better, but even then you can quite often get hissing. If the mp3 quality is high enough, I don't think tape/radio/record would sound better.

Umm.. so the Rega Planar 3 is the best record player under $1000... the tonearm on it goes for $725 alone. You'd be surprised how good a record can sound

the cassette deck specifications are (with a metal tape):

20-22,000 Hz, S/N: 92dB (with dbx)

yes, 92dB -- > your little SB live is ~ 90dB. And this is all analog. Hiss? Nope, you pretty much can't hear any. And that is 1984 technology.

Your average mp3 decoder will cut off all frequencies above 16 kHz.
I have encoded a lot of mp3's at 256 kb/s to 320 kb/s and they sound worse than my tape deck (can) sound. Sure if I use a crappy tape and dolby b, there will be more hiss, and then the mp3 might sound better.

An analog wave is continuous, a digital wave is discreet. the D/A converter has to interpolate between datapoints. listen to a lot of music with high frequencies and you'll hear the difference. This is why bitstream converters (used on all cd players pretty much after 1989) and SACD/DSD were made -- they instead track the rise and fall of the wave and provide "a smoother waveform."

 

[glen]

Convert the CD file to wav and then the mp3 file to wav.
You will be surprised how close they sound.