These settings require Musepack MPC 1.1 or later.
mppenc 1.16 is the recommended encoder version,
mppdec 1.95e is the recommended decoder version.

Download them at Musepack.net.



-------------------------------------------------
Recommended encoder settings
-------------------------------------------------

--quality 5
(Previously "--standard", ~170 kbit/s, typical 142 ... 184)

--quality 6
(Previously "--xtreme", ~200 kbit/s, typical 168 ... 212)

--quality 7
(Previously "--insane", ~220 kbit/s)


Note that --quality 5 is transparent for most test samples.
Higher settings can provide a quality headroom, however, you should start off with 5.


Custom settings:
--quality x.xx
Example: --quality 5.55 . The range goes from 0.00 (worst) to 10.00 (best).



The switch --xlevel doesn't need to be specified anymore,
it's a default setting since mppenc 1.15s.
Don't use any further switches to "tweak" the quality.
Some of them no longer work or have undesired effects on quality.
Meanings of older tweaking switches may have completely changed.
Just use the --quality switch for fine-tuning, that's the best way.


-------------------------------------------------
Recommended EAC / MPC Batch Encoder settings
-------------------------------------------------

EAC: Exact Audio Copy
Compression Options -> External Compression -> Use external program for compression
Parameter passing scheme: "User Defined Encoder"
Use file extension: .mpc
Program, including path: C:\MPC\mppenc.exe
Additional command line options (example):

--quality 6 --artist "%a" --title "%t" --album "%g" --year "%y" --track "%n" --genre "%m" %s

Copy the whole line into that option field in EAC.
For comments, add this switch before %s: --comment "blabla"
Example: (...) --genre "%m" --comment "EAC secure" %s

The MPCs will automatically get APEv2 tags, so "Add ID3 tag" must be turned off.
ID3v1 tags could be used, but they are length-limited.
ID3v2 tags are not compatible with MPC!

It's also recommended to use "Secure mode" in "Extraction method",
because if you have a rip with a lot of clicks in it, what good is the MPC quality?

(Only for mppenc 1.14 and older encoder versions: Add "--xlevel" after "--quality 6".)


Simple guide with screenshots




Encoding switch for the MPC Batch Encoder frontend:
(an easier way would be to use foobar2000 instead)

--quality x.xx
Example: --quality 6


The frontend can also take care of proper tagging.
In case this was done by EAC, you can then apply ReplayGain:

Replaygain commandline with the MPC Batch Encoder + Replaygain.exe: --auto

(What is ReplayGain good for? / ReplayGain FAQ)



Decoding switches / MPC to WAV (i.e. with the MPC Batch Encoder frontend + mppdec.exe):

For albums: --gain 1 --prev
(or --gain 3 --prev)
For compilations: --gain 0 --prev
(or --gain 2 --prev)

Or use foobar2000.


It's a good idea to apply ReplayGain first (see above and further below). Explanations of the switches:

--prev: Activate clipping prevention.
(Clipping occurs when the amplitude of a sound is above the maximum allowed level,
i.e. when it is too loud to be recorded/reproduced. Clipping causes sound to distort.)

--gain 0:
No usage of replaygain. Together with --prev: Title-based clipping prevention.
The loudness of each song is reduced individually to the point where no song is clipping.

--gain 1:
No usage of replaygain. Together with --prev: Album-based clipping prevention.
Each song of an album is attenuated by the same amount and no song has clipping.

--gain 2:
Title-based replaygain, rest like 0.

--gain 3:
Album-based replaygain, rest like 1.




-------------------------------------------------
Recommended Winamp 2.x plug-in settings
-------------------------------------------------

You should use foobar2000 for maximum flexibility, also concerning Replaygain.
However, here's how to make it work in Winamp:

in_mpc 0.99g is the recommended Winamp plug-in: Download here


Settings:
(In Winamp, press "CTRL-P" (Preferences), go to "Plug-ins" -> "Input",
select the MPC plug-in and press "Configure"):


Equalizing by [x] Musepack

Winamp's own equalizer attenuates high frequencies.


Dynamic range: 6 dB

Range of the equalizer: -6 to +6 dB


Headroom "K-14"

Headroom is needed to avoid clipping and oversaturated sound. K-14 is the best choice for home listening
(see Level Practices Part I and Level Practices Part II, K-System explained).
ReplayGain'ed MPCs at K-14 will have the same perceived loudness as other formats with applied ReplayGain
- such as Ogg Vorbis or MP3 - with the recommended reference volume of 89 dB.


[x] Dither output

What is dither?


[ReplayGain title based | ClipProtect Off] or [ReplayGain album based | ClipProtect Off]

Use title-based ReplayGain for a "radio-like" listening environment (all songs will have a comparable loudness). Use album-based ReplayGain for an "album-by-album" listening environment (different albums will have a comparable loudness, but volume differences between single songs of an album are preserved).


Replaygain

You have to apply ReplayGain to your MPC files for this to work. The Winamp plug-in will read out the ReplayGain information and use it for title-based or album-based playback. Applying ReplayGain is easy:

First you have to download the MPC decoder and the Replaygain tool from Musepack.net.
Then, the MPC Batch Encoder. It's easier with foobar2000, by the way.

Extract everything to one folder, start the frontend and go to the "ReplayGain" tab.
In the "Switches" field, enter --auto . Then add the folder with the MPC files.
Important: For correct album gain calculation, only apply ReplayGain to
one album at a time (put each album into a seperate folder).


Getting a "can't decode file" error with Replaygain? Make sure mppdec.exe is in the same directory as replaygain.exe.



How To...

1) ...recursively go through a directory structure and apply ReplayGain to all MPC files,
considering each directory as an individual album ?

Use foobar2000, or:

Download Sweep and the Replaygain tool. Extract them to your path (e.g. C:\Windows).
In a command-line window (so-called DOS-box), type: sweep replaygain --smart --auto *.mpc

Already replaygained albums will be skipped, due to the --smart option. Sweep starts to scan in the current directory of the DOS-box, going through all subdirectories. To process only a specific path, use the well-known DOS commands to go to that directory (for instance cd "c:\mpc\my downloads\") and then use the command sweep replaygain --smart --auto *.mpc to process all subdirectories from there.



2) ...create replaygain.txt files for a lot albums in one step,
considering each directory as an individual album ?

Create a file called "replaygain.bat" with the following contents:

replaygain --listallreport *.mpc > "replaygain --auto album.txt"

Copy this file into your Windows directory.

This *.bat file needs to be created only once in your life...
So don't worry...

Now the procedure:
- Open a DOS-Box, go to the main folder/directory where the albums are located.
- type: sweep replaygain.bat and press Return
A file ' replaygain --auto album.txt ' will be created in each album-folder. That's it!




-------------------------------------------------
Useful links
-------------------------------------------------

[ Latest MPC compiles ]
Musepack.net: Official page, downloads & source code


[ Exact Audio Copy ]
The best CD grabbing software, period.
Official site

[ Ripping guides for EAC & MPC ]
Simple EAC guide for MPC
General Tutorials for EAC
users' Tutorials for EAC, MPC & Lossless
The Essential Audio & EAC guide
EAC forum
EAC Offsetbase
AccurateRip Drive Offsets



[ MPC Frontends ]
foobar2000 - Player, frontend, it's the best.
MuseDrop, drag&drop encoding/decoding
Speek's Frontend, batch encoding, decoding & ReplayGain
Monkey's Audio is a good frontend for MPC, too.


[ Renaming / Tagging / Music Database]
Tag, a very powerful tagger
Tag Frontend
CDIndexer : for CD-Audio & data-CDs
MAC: MPEG Audio Collection 2.92
MAC 2.93



How To...

..convert ID3v2 tags to APEv2 tags:

Use Tag & Tag Frontend with the switches --force ape2 --removeid3v2 in "other options"
(remove all other checkmarks).
Directly from a command-line window: Tag *.mpc --force ape2 --removeid3v2
Or use foobar2000.


..transcode MPC to MP3 while keeping tags?

Not recommended for quality reasons, quality will degrade! It can be done with foobar2000 though.



[ ReplayGain, lossless normalizing ]
ReplayGain information page


[ Useful tools ]
MPC filter for CoolEdit / Adobe Audition
Mr QuestionMan
EncSpot
Tool for ABXing, Blind listening tests
ABC/HR, blind listening tests
Training of musically listening good-ear.com
QuickSFV - SFV and MD5 checksums for files




-------------------------------------------------
Credits
-------------------------------------------------

A big thanks to all MPC developers for making one kickass MPC codec, the best lossy codec in the world.

Idea, original post and list of original settings collected by user, Layout & additional work by CiTay, SNYder and Dibrom.

Added a small tutorial on how to apply ReplayGain.

I experiment a similar thing with my castanet ABX listenin test. On comparing two files A and B, I can't ear ANY difference. But after a small pause (15 seconds, one minute), when I just listen to X, I IMMEDIATLY ear an artifact (of course, when X=A, the cmpressed one). Obvious - and ABX test were nearly perfect (from 25 to 30/30) with this method.

Where comparing two files doesn't work, the feeling of a degradation was always concluant. I can't really explain this paradoxal situation. But it works on many, many session. mpc --extreme (Klemm or Buschmann) was not transparent ; vorbis -q9 not more (up to -q9.5 with another sample).

Flushing memories gives me the best results

I have the same experience. For extremely subtle differences, I usually wait 5 to 10 seconds before playing A, B, or X again. It seems to contradict the advice of most of the ABX adherents, who advise quick switching. Perhaps it's not a matter of "flushing your memory" but of recovering from a fatigue effect.

For me, ABX has proven to be an extremely sensitive comparison device, allowing me to hear differences down to 15 bit resolution. Others have discerned differences at 16-bit resolution, so I really don't have any worries that ABX is not sensitive enough. Indeed, there are some who feel that it is too sensitive to be a realistic type of listening test.

ff123

I have added links to Easy MD5 Creator, MPCxchange (MPC2MP3), RareWares

MPCscan - Check a directory for corrupted mpc/mp+ files
added to list

Case, can u explain how to use mpcscan ?

quick answer by user:

<user> Copy mpcscan.exe in the folder that you wanna scan
<user> start DOS BOX, u know what I mean ?
<user> there you have to go to the folder you want to scan
<user> commands:
<user> cd..
<user> this command goes one directory upstairs
<user> cd "d:\my music\downloads\temp\michael jackson"
<user> this comamnd goes to the directory/folder you want to scan and where mpcscan.exe must be included
<user> then type:
<user> mpcscan
<user> and it starts and you will see the result at the end written in dos box
<user> gotcha ?

There is no need to copy mpcscan to a specific directory.

*

* url updated.
Thanks to smok3, who told me about it and gave the new url.


MOD:* No links to or names of ripping groups please.

edited by JanS at 18th April 2004


how should one know, which is a group guide ??
and why is this edited 1-2 years afterwards, and nobody complained so far ??
which groups ?

Musepack in English and German / Deutsch
added

So how do you get a 5.1 wav to 5.1 mpc?

whats the recommended bit rate?

at the moment I don't think that mpc is capable of 5.1 multichannel.
Perhaps it is planned for SV8, next bigger release...

What you can do:
Headac3he or Besweet: DS2 or normal Surround Downmix, 5.1 ac3 to stereo wave/mp3/ogg and mpc of course !
Bitrate --quality 5 (standard) or higher...

are there any advantages to using the --quality x.xx switches as opposed to using the --braindead (using braindead as an example)?

The advantage of --quality x.yz is, that you can use finer differences of bitrates.
with words there are only standard, extereme, insane, braindead (quality 5, 6, 7, 8).
with quality switch you can use intermidiates like --quality 7.4 or 7.0 or 7.5, 5.5 and so on, not only 5, 6, 7, 8 !







Added How to Convert ID3v2 tags to Ape tags and why ID3v2 tags should be avoided !

- Renaming / ID3 Tagging -
"Tag", a powerful tagger
Tag Frontend
How To :
Convert ID3v2 tags to Ape tags:
Put --force ape2 --removeid3v2 to other options in Tag Frontend, and remove all other checkmarks.
ID3v2 tags cause not working of replaygaining eg.

High Quality +
Previously "--xtreme". Provides some extra headroom over --quality 5.

--quality 6
(Bitrate ~200 kbit/s, typical 168 ... 212)

Please read: quality 6.00 was called extreme previously.

The quality switch contains all knowhow. Just add --xlevel, like in list of settings.

added
How To :
Recursively traverse a directory structure doing ReplayGaining on all the MPCs, considering each directory to be an album?

Sorry user, the method was not really correct, because replaygain's "--smart" switch is not functioning properly. I updated the post with a correct and working method (using the Sweep tool).

I'd like to note that there's also radio, thumb and telephone (--quality 4, 3, 2). Standard is not the lowest, it's right in the middle
--
Ge Someone

yea, better, I found that first way here in an actual post, and there was written, that --smart would have been fixed already ?

I did not want to confuse people with sweep and path...
But your description is excellent.

edit: Hi Gesomeone, and then to be perfect and to count peanuts: you have forgotten :-; --quality 9 and 10, btw. these are secret tips for people who are more than braindead, let's call them chainsaw-massacre :-;

added an explanation for navigating command-line-windows....
aim: to simplify things for today's newbies. mpc forever from now on. spread the word.


How To...
Recursively traverse a directory structure and ReplayGaining all MPC files, considering each directory as one album?

Download Sweep and Replaygain. Extract them to your path (e.g. C:\Windows).

In a command-line window (so-called DOS-box), type: sweep replaygain --auto *.mpc
Already replaygained albums will be skipped.
FAQ: Does Sweep just go through the whole computer?
<user's answer:> Sweep starts in that directory, where you are in your commandline dos-box. And then all subdirectories of that particular directory will be scanned by that command written after sweep.
So the whole PC is not scanned, if you don't want...
You have to select a directory by command in command-line_window:
cd "my music\mpc\my downloads\" for example.
Useful commands:
cd.. => you go one directory higher.
c: or d: => select/change your used drive or partition.

Overhauled the text a little.

Improved layout a bit and made the "decoding switches" part easier to understand.

New recommended encoder version: MPC 1.12

Also more layout stuff / updated links to MPCscan.

added link to ***
**


edit: no links to ripping group guides please.
JanS edited this post at 18th April 2004 !

my reply:
lol, which ripping group guide was linked, what are you talking about ?

why has nobody complaioned or noticed this issue for 1-2 years now ??

Because MPC plays perfectly gapless, I use separated tracks.
Will --xlevel destroy the music level by Live or Mix albums with separated tracks?
Is --xlevel needed when you later use ReplayGain or convert to SV8?

MPC 1.12 is the recommended version now, but it still says beta version:
"MPC Encoder 1.12 -Beta- © 1999-2002 Buschmann/Klemm/Piecha"
Is this really the recommended version?

Thanks for the help.

No, --xlevel won't cause noticable volume changes.


Yes. ReplayGain only solves clipping during decoding. However, SV7's "internal clipping" is encoder clipping: The signal cannot be stored without truncation. When MPC was designed by Andree Buschmann, he simply didn't predict that today's music albums have such a horrible mastering, which makes the encoder struggle regularly. --xlevel was introduced some time ago to solve this issue until SV8 comes out, which will have more than enough headroom by default.


Sure it is.

To remind you of the version numbering scheme for MPC:

Alpha versions: 1.05a, 1.05b... 1.07a, 1.07b... 1.09a, 1.09b...

Beta versions: 1.04, 1.06, 1.08, 1.12, 1.14...

Stable versions: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3...

Alpha versions won't be recommended; beta versions only after thorough testing. This specific beta version 1.12 has been found safe to use.

Hello Citay,

Thanks for the clear answers.
Now I know what to do with the next encoding .

I think that's gonna be difficult, someone needs to host the file, the link no longer works, see why: http://www.saunalahti.fi/~cse/

http://www.saunalahti.fi/~cse/files/Sweep.zip

Files are still available, link just points into wrong location. Most small tools are available at http://www.saunalahti.fi/cse/files/ and http://www.saunalahti.fi/cse/mpc/files/.
I only removed Speex binaries, official xiph project deserves better than those crappy files I made.

Andavari, did you have an old version of the list? The link was fixed a while ago, and the post hasn't been changed since October 24...

New recommended encoder version: mppenc 1.14

Tested and found safe. Encoding speed on a PIII-1.13 GHz, "--quality 6 --xlevel --verbose", one test song:
1.1: 8x
1.12: 8.39x
1.14: 8.54x

Well done, Frank Klemm.

Also new to the list: Improved layout a bit and added version numbers to the recommended decoder & plug-in versions.

New:

- How to add comments to tags

- Quick & simple guide for MPC in EAC (thx Case): http://www.saunalahti.fi/~cse/EAC/

- Added a warning about "advanced" switches that no longer work, like "--ltq fil"!

I didn't realize the download link had changed. Now I have the correct URL. Thanks!

would someone be able to point me to some papers which show the technical differences between each of mpc's presets? i was particularly looking for some technical comparisons between xtreme, insane, and braindead. (edit: guide really isn't the right word, good call liekloo)

heh. That's a cute guide

How about some links for the latest Linux builds? I had to do some digging last night to find mppenc 1.14 for linux... I do all my ripping in Linux because of cdparanoia and easy scriptability.

Case's MPC site of course...

These links don't work. :-(

Ah yes, 2bdecided took his pages offline... but several people downloaded all of it, so we'll probably have a mirror soon (see this thread).

I temporarily removed the two links from the list.

I could mirror the pages here on the HA server if someone wants to send me the files.

PM me or something.

I just wanted to link to this little guide (by Case), but I see Case's post has been removed. What happened?

I don't know... but the guide is still linked in the first post.

uh oh, I keep getting an error "Can't patch C:\eac\*.mpc" whenever I run replaygain on any of my mpc files, do you know what could be causing this and any solutions to prevent this from occuring again?
thanks

This happened to me when I accidently put id3v2 tags on a file. I think I had to use the remove tag option in the winamp plugin to fix it. Is EAC set to add id3 tags or something?

The links to the ReplayGain homepage are back... better late than never


edit: Two more Linkfixes (digido.com restructured their site).

id3v2 tags make MPC files impossible to replaygain. However, I've never tried using id3v2 for MPCs, so it is not 100% sure this is the reason. But for Mr. Superbad id3v2 seems to be the cause.

New Winamp 2.x plugin 0.98b at Case's page: Download

Tagger-the Tagger that uses Tag
05.01.2003 Beta 1.6 released.

http://home.arcor.de/maxbureck/tagger/

Which is recommended? with -xlevel or without? I plan on using -quality 5 (standard) to encode a bunch of CDs I have. What exactly does xlevel do?

I just acquired a 20 gig drive and planning on starting a fresh new collection. I've been using Lame 3.90.2 alt preset standard and I've been happy with it.

I'm new to MPC.