48 kbps listening test, pretest discussion thread, Pretest thread / Encoder settings Options

[Shade[ST]]

Hello!

After assisting like many of you on the controversy of guruboolez' tests concerning the Nero AAC encoders and having seen many suggestions towards preparing a listening test around 48kbps - in particular with the different HE encoders, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I currently have 8 samples testing for tonality, transients and stereo separation. These are generally classical music, but also include electronic music, 80s pop, and I might add a jazz recording for ambience reproduction.
As for encoders, I'm stumped.

Should I also include an old version of nero (old being relative) as to see the progress in a general evaluation ? At this bitrate, many encoders is not really a problem, is it? For now, I was thinking :

-Nero AAC Tape / PNS Enabled / HE / High (Should I enable hint track?)
-Ogg Vorbis, latest AoTuV, q -2 to -4 (whatever's approximately the same bitrates ~42-53)
-Lame ABR 48 (any tunings suggested?)
-mp3pro, probably, at any close bitrate I can achieve (adobe audition's encoder)
-Itunes AAC (HE if available)
-CT encoder (winamp 5.12) 48kbps, HE.

If I should use an older nero as well, where can I find it?

Also, could anyone help me prepare the ABC/HR logs? (eg, Sebastian Mares)
Thanks in advance,
Tristan.

[Ivan Dimkovic]

If it is a collective test, may I ask for delaying it at least a week or so, because we could finalize new LC-AAC encoder being actually used with the SBR core, it would be also put in the next Nero Release along with the LC improvements currently being tested @128 kbps.

But in general I also think it is a bad idea to conduct few tests at the same time.

This post has been edited by Ivan Dimkovic: Dec 12 2005, 17:17

[Shade[ST]]

If it is a collective test, may I ask for delaying it at least a week or so, because we could finalize new LC-AAC encoder being actually used with the SBR core, it would be also put in the next Nero Release along with the LC improvements currently being tested @128 kbps.

But in general I also think it is a bad idea to conduct few tests at the same time.

I wasn't intending to start the test until the beginning of january, but, sure, I can wait.

I'll copy the contents of this thread into a notepad and set it aside.

As a digressional note, for those of you on linux.. emacs or vi?

[naylor83]

I wasn't intending to start the test until the beginning of january, but, sure, I can wait.

I'll copy the contents of this thread into a notepad and set it aside.

As a digressional note, for those of you on linux.. emacs or vi?

Well, I can't see the problem of starting the discussion now. It's not like the discussion has to be a huge amount of work for anyone, unless it gets out of hand like last time...