Best music format and bitrate on axim to beat mp3 players

rajjan_m · 03-11-06, 05:18 AM

hi All

It's for all songs' savvy people. Please share how u store ur music in axim. i have thousand of songs and i want all of them to be on my axim x51v, for this i bought 8GB MD and 4GB SD card, now m compressing all my songs to 112kbps in mp3 format. what are ur suggestions regarding this. is this format ok? is this bit rate ok or too low? is wma better than mp3 for given bitrate? Please share ur experiences. :approve:
thnx in advance.

c00lk1d · 03-11-06, 08:14 AM

I got my 3.4gb mp33 files (varies between 128kbps to 256kbps) converted to 48-192kbps variable bit rate and they all fitte on my 1gb SD Card.

bnlsn · 03-11-06, 04:05 PM

Using CBR (constant bit rate) will not give you the same quality as a good VBR (variable bit rate) file the same size. alt-preset standard (semi-high bitrate VBR) on LAME (the best mp3 encoder around) is pretty much CD quality.

rajjan_m · 03-11-06, 07:52 PM

Originally Posted by bnlsn

Using CBR (constant bit rate) will not give you the same quality as a good VBR (variable bit rate) file the same size. alt-preset standard (semi-high bitrate VBR) on LAME (the best mp3 encoder around) is pretty much CD quality.

Can you please suggest me any free software and how-to-do to convert my current mp3s (bitrate from 128 to 320 kbps) to mp3 with vbr so that i can reduce the size of mp3 files. i don't rip from audio cds as i have already thousands of mp3s and i want to bring all of them on my lovely axim. my main aim is to compress those mp3s with minimal impact on audio quality. any help is highly appreciated. thnx in advance.

rajjan_m · 03-11-06, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by bnlsn

Using CBR (constant bit rate) will not give you the same quality as a good VBR (variable bit rate) file the same size. alt-preset standard (semi-high bitrate VBR) on LAME (the best mp3 encoder around) is pretty much CD quality.

Also, can somebody please tell me what is impact of stereo or joint stereo? what is difference between these two? and is 112 kbps with VBR give good enough quality? thnx

kramerica · 03-11-06, 08:16 PM

I would go with Ogg Vorbis format at -Q3(112kbps vbr) if you want small files that sound great. I myself use -Q2(96kbps VBR) and the sound is good enough.

03-12-06, 12:40 AM

Originally Posted by rajjan_m

Can you please suggest me any free software and how-to-do to convert my current mp3s (bitrate from 128 to 320 kbps) to mp3 with vbr so that i can reduce the size of mp3 files. i don't rip from audio cds as i have already thousands of mp3s and i want to bring all of them on my lovely axim. my main aim is to compress those mp3s with minimal impact on audio quality. any help is highly appreciated. thnx in advance.

Not a good idea. Files that have already been compressed will be of lower quality if you try to convert to another compressed ratio or format. The only way to do this is to start with the orignal (looseless) file or CD and start from there. I realize you may not have the music in looseless format but there is no good way to recompress without loss of quality once the music has been compressed.

The standard for music compression is EAC which amazingly is still free:

http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

Hope this helps.

axzilla · 03-13-06, 09:24 AM

128 is good for cbr and high fidelity

**Frenchy** · 03-13-06, 10:00 AM

I used OGG too and the file ripped fre CD are as good as MP3. A music band leader told me that OGG is better than MP3. I tried it and it is very good and the file are smaller too.

tj42 · 03-13-06, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by kramerica

I would go with Ogg Vorbis format at -Q3(112kbps vbr) if you want small files that sound great. I myself use -Q2(96kbps VBR) and the sound is good enough.

Just don't convert from MP3 to Ogg Vorbis. Both are lossy formats. MP3's have already had loss. Converting to Ogg will add more loss.

See the Ogg Vorbis FAQ at http://www.vorbis.com/faq/#transcode

Pocketbrain · 03-13-06, 11:03 AM

Convert .mp3 files into .ogg Vorbis files if you want. Just keep in mind that transcoding from one lossy format will result in a loss in quality when compared to encoding directly from a lossless format or source file into the destination format. Test it out, experiment, and determine whether transcoding your .mp3-only files will result in both an acceptable audio quality and compression. It may not be audiophile-quality, but it will be more portable.
(X)

Arpan · 03-13-06, 11:42 AM

I use dbPowerAmp. It's a free download (www.download.com) and converts CD Audio to MP3 in any bitrate. Also converts MP3 from higher bitrate to lower. Quick and easy: just rightclick within your explorer on the mp3 and select 'convert to'.

rajjan_m: Stereo as you know is audio frequency broken up depending on high pitch/low pitch OR as devised by the recording professional, so you have some frequencies from your left speaker and some from your right. Joint-stereo is the addition of the left channel and right channel such that both speakers simultaneously emit same frequencies. This is akin to Mono, however mono originally had a limitation of a fixed band of frequency, while stereo goes full range from 20Hz to 20kHz so it is clearer.

03-13-06, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by axzilla

128 is good for cbr and high fidelity

no.

assuming you want good audio quality, lame -V4 --vbr-new should be quite decent for your mobile purposes. it's what i use. 128 cbr is definately abx-able, with noticable artifacts etc. of course, this is all dependant on your earphones, and what type of environment you are in and how much ambient noise there is.

take a look at http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/...howtopic=28124 for lame settings.
you should only transcode (mp3->mp3 reencoding) if coming from a high quality source (i'd personally do 320cbr to v4, but i'd keep it at APS if i had them already ripped)
personally, i prefer lame over ogg just because i can share with friends over wifi if the need be arise, but ogg might suit you better if you don't share too much.

i also recommend you to take a look at http://www.head-fi.org to pick up a good set of portable cans

aximbigfan · 03-13-06, 01:14 PM

i use .WMA for sound files and .WMV for video files. and for bitrate i use the defalut.

chris

rajjan_m · 03-13-06, 10:39 PM

Thanku all for your views. it seems i have to retain my 128kbps songs as they are. i can not get original ACDs for those 3000 songs now for which i have collected mp3s in last 2-3 years. but i will reduce my 320kbps to 128kbps VBR format now. i think that should work for me. I should be able to get all my songs on my axim by reducing to 128kbps. if not then i ll see. thnx a lot guys