Converting a library Options

[Menace]

So I ripped my entire music library using itunes a couple years ago (stupid me right?). Well, it's now time to start DJ'ing and you can tell some of my music is at a lower bitrate. My question is can I convert my entire library without re-ripping every CD? I'm thinking EAC with LAME. But I am a noob at the technical stuff and could be way off base.

Plus what would be the best settings to use for something played over a PA system? Should I got all the way up to 320 kpbs or could I get away with somewhere around 250? I've been exploring this website for days and I gotta tell you it's all just so confusing.

Anyways sorry if this has been asked (I couldn't find it) and thanks for all your help, great site.

[Kitsuned]

Unless the files you have are lossless (ALAC) you shouldn't re-compress files that have already been compressed. You'll likely notice a degrade in quality of the new file if you go lossy (AAC -> MP3). I think you're going to have to rerip to get the quality you need for DJ'ing.

For most people, Lame at a -V2 setting (approx 192kbps) is transparent with respectable file sizes. 320kbps is overkill. If EAC is confusing, you could also try dbpoweramp, which uses LAME as well.

This post has been edited by Kitsuned: May 15 2009, 00:23

[Menace]

So essentially I'll be re-ripping my entire library? That'll be fun...

I really don't Understand VBR versus CBR. If I wanted to rip my mp3's at 256 kbps should I go CBR or VBR?

[kornchild2002]

VBR is a method of encoding in which certain segments of songs can be encoded at different bitrates. For example, the first frame of the song can use a bitrate of 128kbps and the next frame can be bumped up to 320kbps. It is a more efficient method of getting better quality out of an encoder. Think of it this way: different parts of a song are represented by varying people of different heights. The complex parts are represented by tall people and the not so complex parts are short people. These people must all get inside of a building using one door (the encoder). When using VBR, the door will adjust its height in order to adequately fit the short people and the tall people. CBR uses a constant bitrate when encoding the song. The door's height is never adjusted. The short people walk it with plenty of room above their heads (ie the bitrate is too high) while the tall people walk in and get their heads chopped off (the bitrate is too low) because the door did not increase in height.

You should not focus on the bitrate of songs but rather the quality level. Lame uses different -V values for quality levels. -V 2 is often the most recommended setting simply because years of usage has shown that it is transparent (ie "CD quality") for a good majority of people with a majority of samples. The resulting overall average bitrate of songs encoded using the -V 2 setting is somewhere around 190kbps VBR. Songs in the rap genre will produce lower bitrates while songs in the hard rock and metal genre will produce higher bitrates.

Additionally, you should conduct proper ABX testing to determine what is the right setting for you to use. 256kbps is often overkill for many people and many samples. In other words, the bitrate is too high and people could go with a lower one. foobar2000 is a free application that allows you to conduct blind ABX tests. An ABX tests pairs up a lossless version of a song (same exact quality of the source CD) and a lossy version of that same song (mp3, WMA, AAC, etc.). It then asks you to pick out which is which. Failing the test means that the bitrate setting is either too high for your needs or is just right. That is why people should start off with a low bitrate setting such as 128kbps VBR (-V 5 with Lame). Passing the test means that the bitrate setting is right for them, failing it means that they need to increase the setting (-V 4, -V 3, -V 2, -V 1, -V 0, etc.).

Edit: added links

This post has been edited by kornchild2002: May 15 2009, 02:02

[marcusm]

I went though this same thing not so long ago. Then I found out about Exact Audio Copy and foobar.(ie: Secure ripping, Lossless CD Audio Backup and High Quality MP3 Audio)
Like you I found that my music library was just poor quality mp3s ripped using iTunes. So, here you go short and to the point. kornchild2002 has given a real cool break down of VBR and CBR. With that covered, there is just a few questions left. 1. Do you have the hard drive space for lossless backups. 2. Are you willing to rip those cd a few more times or do you want to rip them one last time and be done with them. If yes, then you'll want to rip to FLAC not LAME. And from your lossless file anytime you want, you can make all the mp3 that you'll need. Being that you are starting out on the DJ thing I thought you may want to be clear on this.

As far as the best mp3 setting: -V2 (Is the way to go) [I use: -V2 -q0 --lowpass 19.7 - %d in foobar]
I can make a bigger mp3 with -b 256 or -b 320 but I have yet to make a better sounding mp3.

Rip with EAC to FLAC
Use foobar to encode from Flac to lame

Now go and be free.

This post has been edited by marcusm: May 15 2009, 06:01

[Menace]

so I'm trying to download LAME and the LANE website sends me to sourceforge.net where the only LAME file I can find to download is "lame-398-2.tar.gz" I can not find LAME.exe anywhere. Someone please help me out

[Nick.C]

Try rarewares.org - they should have the latest Windows binaries.

[felix26591]

You don't need to donwload LAME encoder, just download one of the two programs mentioned above, and then just download the LAME plugin from the programs site. you don't need to download the LAME binary library

[Menace]

How is Foobar for ripping? Anybody have any thoughts on using foobar to rip cd's?

[carpman]

Try searching next time.
Here you go: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....st&p=628637
From the same thread: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....st&p=629341

C.