So I usually rip my mp3's at 128 kbs and I have never been able to tell the difference between anything higher. Well the other day I downloaded some Strokes and someone had Juicebox twice in their folder, one at 128 kbs and the other at 192, and the 192 sounded so much clearer, crisper and had deeper bass.

I was thinking of using the VBR settings from now on when I rip. What are all these settings on CD-Ex?

VBR-ABR
VBR-MTRH
VBR New
VBR Old
VBR Default

then there are more settings for VBR quality from 0-9???

What MPEG encoder should I use. I, II, II.5???

Max bitrate? If I go with 320, isn't that just like using a huge wav file?

Oy. Note: avoid on DC++.

Thanks for the help.

I rip at 192, because I can't stand how tinny the cymbals sound at 128. There IS a difference.

128kbs is so 1999.........

pains me when i STILL see shit at 128

i use vbr default (not knowing which'd be the best). vbr 0 is the highest quality. mpeg I is the highest quality. i go with a vbr range of 32 to 320. the vbr algorithm will decide which rate is best for that point in a song.

i don't accept anything less that 192. i can definitely hear the difference and it bugs the bleep outta me.

Cool, now all I have to do is re-rip my 1100 cd's....

Edit: is VBR as acceptable to people as straight 192 kbs?

That's what I've been wondering, too. I rip at 192, but not 192 (edit: should be "VBR.") Like you, I've got a LOT of CDs, and I'm assuming 192 non-VBR is just fine because I don't hear any problems. I really don't relish the thought of re-ripping the 24,000 songs I have . . .

I started out ripping stuff @ 192, but switched to 320 after actually doing a listening comparison of a Leo Kottke album at 192 and 320. Even my old, oft-abused ears knew the difference.

Why would you rip anything other than VBR?

Just didn't think about it when I setup Itunes a year ago, and I remember people were originally outraged at VBR a few years back, so it just didn't cross my mind as an option to consider.

You lost me with that one.



This is going to sound absurd, but it bugs the bah-jesus out of me to see the bitrate flickering back and forth in Winamp. Plus I like the files to be a little bit smaller so more music can be fit on mp3 players. Getting an 80 gb mp3 player is not an option until they are under $100.

I lost myself there. Replace the second 192 with VBR. Now it actually makes sense.


I've told my wife that the minute Apple makes an 80gb Ipod available, I'm buying one. I'm pretty certain, based on my interests over the past year, that I'll be able to carry nearly everything that I care about with me on the Ipod to hear anytime I want to. Because, believe it or not, there have been many times when my 40 has failed to have something I needed to hear.

AAC files at 128 aren't awful since it's a better compression (IMO)... but as a rule, you should rip all MP3s at a minimum of 192.

I can't listen to 128 without feeling slightly homicidal. Meth whore bitrate.

Check out hydrogenaudio.org for "recommended settings" and other nerdy stuff that I dig.

320 VBR

straight 192

but it seems like most of what I've downloaded is VBR, so I just thought that most people did it

No, that makes sense, actually. It'd bug me too, perhaps. But that begs for a VU meter type plug-in, so that it didn't jump around so much...or, perhaps, a peak meter.

Seconded. LAME encoder w/ alt-preset-standard is the best ~192 VBR I've heard.