most files I get are lame VBR/192k mp3s normally
files I encode in high quality: mpc --standard -xlevel
low quality/samples etc: Ogg Vorbis

so all of these 3

I haven't really tried any other formats than MP3, since I think that gives me good enough abilities to create compressed files/music with good sound.

However, it would be interesting to try these other formats out someday.

Usually Ogg Vorbis (not ogg), and FLAC for archiving.

MP3, since that's all my boombox supports. For my computer, lossless, APE. For the computer, I might as well have lossless since that's what I'll be making CDs from and maybe transcoding from to another format in the future(I wouldn't want to re-rip so many damn albums), and for the player, --alt preset insane, with space to spare on a single CD. I would use Ogg Vorbis or MPC, but I do have a laptop as a computer, and I don't really care if they sound better, since on a laptop there's not going to be a difference with these speakers and nothing works with them

.mpc all the way, mp3 just can't compare

The thread that will never die!

Ruairi

yup...



the mp3`s on my system.. is mostly P2P..
or encoded for "special delivery".. (portable)

all my archived music.. is MPC
(some "demanding" music.. in AAC..)
where i feel AAC has more to offer
than MPC..

mp3 is most widely supported by hardware players such as:

My cell phone,
cd player,
dvd player,
car,
boom box,
portable cd player,
Sony Clie,

I think it will be quite a while before mpc can compare to mp3.

You are being too optimistc

Hi,

Currently using MP3, LAME encoder, I had been using -r3mix for my music but am now trying the --alt-preset standard switch after a recommendation on another thread, so far so good. This is still the most supported compression at the moment so what can you say !

Saying that I am now encoding music onto my laptop using Ogg Vorbis at -q4 and I like what I hear so far, just wish they would bring out support for it on my flash player. (iRiver)

I agree; --alt preset insane MP3 still sounds better coming outta my new boombox, then MPC insane coming outta my laptop computer speakers. Compatibility makes a codec...

MP3 --alt-preset standard %s %d in EAC

Hello!

Was shocked too see there are only 7 members (including me) who are using WMA.
Anyway I am using WMA9 VBR 98% 240kbps ~ 355kbps without copy protection.

McoreD

Don't be shocked.
The people on these forums know the good stuff when they hear it, and this poll reflects the good stuff really clearly.

Lol, mp3, vorbis and mpc form the triumvirate of the best 3 lossy audio formats!
aac is trying its best though

I use MP3 because of four reasons:

--1-- Hardware compatibility
--2-- Hardware compatibility
--3-- Hardware compatibility
--4-- Because Dibrom's a genius

Before I discovered the world of LAME --alt-presets, my only complaint about the MP3 encoding format was some artifacting and that horribly low default low-pass setting in the FhG codec I was using. With Dibrom's work, and that of the other people involved with LAME's development/configuration/testing, all the MP3's which I've recently encoded and tested are transparent to my ears. Even the tough stuff. "ABX don't lie!"

Anyway, I use --alt-preset insane (with LAME 3.90.3) ONLY because a good percentage of my taste in music encompasses techno, some of which is notoriously hard to encode. Plus, I enjoy the feeling of "insurance" I get knowing that all of my music is of the highest quality MP3 currently has to offer. I can accept that some bits are wasted, and I'll do with ~25% less music on my hard drive as long as the music I do have encoded is as close to perfect as possible (for MP3).

Right now I'm using LAME -h for my portable devices (which don't like ABR or VBR), but I'm still trying other formats for them. Maybe I'll end up using --alt-preset cbr 128, or --alt-preset cbr 128 --lowpass 16, or something like that.

Everything I have done so far has been ripped securely with EAC 0.95prebeta3 for a perfect baseline and gained with MP3Gain 1.4.1/1.2.0 for lossless volume leveling (album mode). My MP3 encoding front end is most often EAC, and occasionally RazorLame 1.1.5 or dBpowerAmp Music Converter r10beta7.

(Once dMC r10 is out of beta, I'm hoping to use it for even more of my MP3-related tasks. It's a great product.)

Overall, gotta say I'm thrilled with the results!

---------------------------

P.S...I notice that most people in the poll so far are using MPC. Not surprising..I've tried it for a few files for comparison...outstanding quality (to my ears, anyway) for medium bitrates. I'm curious to see what the future holds for hardware compatibility...

ogg for me. Always at 320kbps for album rips, and 128kbps for streaming stuff. Nothing sounds better, using garf's gt3b1 binaries too

This topic is really old : twelve monthes. One year ago, wma was limited to 192 kbps, and in CBR only. Quality wasn't acceptable, especially when compared to --alt-preset standard.
WMA9 is more interesting now : quality improving, VBR, ABR (2 pass), PRO mode, bitrate > 192 kbps.

Hey Pri3st, I like you avatar!

I'm to using MP3 still, but feel that I might switch format soon. And it will probably be to AAC.

I use Ogg Vorbis GT3b1 at -q5 to rip my albums.

That's so hard to say.....Why do I use MPC more than the others? B)

At first I ripped at alt preset standard, then I stepped up to extreme and then I went on to insane.

I did a recent rip into MPC Insane and compared it to my MP3 insane rip, the MPC files sound better to me, they seem to carry more precision and enable you to hear the individual instruments clearer (especially drums).

Oh and ofcourse the MPC Insane file size is quite a bit smaller than the MP3 Insane file size :].

I'm so glad to see that after 824 votes no one is using Real Media.

Dude, i'm getting sick of telling people to read the forum rules. Don't spew that stuff unless you are going to back it up with ABX results. If you can honestly tell the difference between MPC insane and MP3 insane, then we need to take your ears for auditory research.

I'm using MP3 at the moment, but I'm switching to MPC @ standard

I was ripping all my cd's to mpc xtreme until I got an mp3 player, now I've gone back to using mp3 (lame --alt-preset standard).

Transparency is transparency whichever format you're using, and I've never been able to hear any difference between mpc xtreme (or standard for that matter) and lame --alt-preset standard.

I decided to use mpc because the general consensus is that mpc is the best option for high bitrates, and we all want what we think is the best, even if our ears can't differentiate, but now that portability is a factor, mp3 has the edge again.

I have 60 gigs of personal cds archived as .ape files, compressed at the high compression setting. I then use the excellent dbpoweramp audio converter to encode the .ape files to any lossy format I may need at the moment, usually aps mp3 for making mp3 cds for my portable. This way for me, the whole quality issue is moot.

Wow. Placebo was never so tangible.
You gotta tell me how you make yourself believe what you can't hear.

LC-AAC/HE-AAC is my most preffered lossy compression.

I went ahead and threw in a vote for AAC.

I've actually been agonizing for the past few days over whether I want to stick with AAC or switch over to MPC. I finally ABX'd two samples and determined that AAC is transparent for me at lower bitrates than MPC, so I can get bigger bang for my buck with AAC.

I'm fairly new to all of this, so chances are I will continue to agonize for at least a week before settling on a final decision.

Remember that MPC was not designed to be good at low bitrates (<128kbs). It has something to do with it being a subband codec. Try doing a search to learn more. AFAIK this type of codec is theoretically (and practically) better at high bitrates... hence its popularity around here.

You could save yourself some agonizing and first make an archive with a lossless format. Then you can transcode to a lossy format fairly easily (compared to ripping) with no quality loss. If you feel you made the wrong choice (about the lossy format) no big deal, just transcode. Of course you’ll need lots of space… got a DVD burner?

trying out Wavpack hybrid mode for archiving currently. For my website I am leaning toward MPC -q5 or Ogg-Vorbis; not even going to touch MP3 anymore.

I recently switched from mpc to aac

reasons:
- hardware compatibility
- can't hear difference

At first when I got into sound and compression formats, I liked mp3Pro(OMG!). But now I am ogg all the way, I love how at low bit rates it sounds great and plus its open source.
And iRiver is supporting it(got my first mp3 player from them).

MP3 --alt-preset for now. But all the albums have been flac'd with cuesheets so if I change my mind later the source is there. Given I started this to get my cassette collection onto cds/computer I really dont need more quality atm.

Raederle

Back to lurking

Hey...
I've seen the clear champion was mpc here

How do you put those files on your portables?

This poll is nearly 2 years old. Several voters changed their choice in codecs since.And there's no way for forum members to update their votes. So, I would recommend you don't take it too seriously.

And no, MPC has no portable support, unless you consider some quasi-mythical chinese player that nobody ever saw working with MPC

But technically, if it works, it still has portable support

It'd be better to say that it has no practical portable support for the majority of people.

Well, problem is, nobody ever tested it. We only have the developer's word.

Also, it's worth wondering if it supports some of MPC's best features like gapless playback, APE tags, replaygain...

Right. But since we don't know, we can't say that it does and can't say that it doesn't, for sure

Just a little nitpick..

As for the second matter though, it's pretty much par for the course that portable players don't support the entire feature set of a given format. One of the downsides to portables compared to the type of software players that are available really...

hey, i just made a portable out of pudding that plays back musepack - but you can't see it.

does that count?

...seriously, tho - i think someone needs to verify this (does someone have access to the portable other than the developer?) --> otherwise it seems to me to qualify as vaporware


later

Myself are using MPC for compressing lossy, for me the desission is made
from the decoded resoult, and there the mpc format sounds and looks better
than mp3. (high bitrate) (i don`t own a portable.)
Not that am burn from lossy, but it shows how the encoder treats the input.
I think the only reason mp3 is leading this poll, is for portable usage,
but never the less, ogg should have more votes.
Beside, i think a valid additional question is: "For what purpose do you compress music."

I mainly use OptimFrog Dualstream, because I need to transcode to low quality mp3 for portable use but I can't afford lossless cause it's too big. Many of my old rips that I don't really have time to rerip that are mp3 APS or for the oldest ones wma 7/8 @ 128 kbps. About wma, I can't figure out how I could think that it was transparent. Placebo is really magic.

Flac/ape lossless, transcoded to ogg vorbis (aotuv b2 q4.25) or mp3 lame aps for portable use

I voted Lossless, even though I use AAC pretty much.
But Apple Lossless is my favorite at the moment, because it has software and hardware support that I need!

Perhaps it is time for a new poll then? "Lossy Codec Poll Reloaded"

Time for a new poll alright I think.

MP3 (LAME preset extreme) is definately my codec of choice now.

I remember an early version of the MPEG4 General Audio Input plugin for winamp that had a TON of tags, I wish I still had it. The latest ones only have the generic tags. It's not like I share my music with anyone, anyway.

I have settled on AAC with the Compaact! encoder for my audio webstuff and 'lossy' does not exist in my vocabulary for anything not web related that I personally encode.

doesn't look that way at present. i didnt' think MPC was that close a second

MPC --xtreme has been my format of choice lately, but I used to use (and sometimes still do use) Vorbis GT3b2 -q6. Recently started playing around with Ahead's AAC at the extreme preset. I listen to some fairly difficult music to encode and really they all sounded fine, but I just like perfect quality, well at least to my ears.