I hope this topic has not been beaten to death, but I was wondering if any problems may arise if I use old switches with presets. For example, I would like to force mp3 files to be higher than 192 Kbps, so for really high end encoding:

--alt-preset extreme -b 192 -F

I know it "works," but does it end up messing with algorithms introduced by the presets and possibly compromising encoding quality? Also, I know you folks hate this type of question, but how would the above argument comapare to say:

-V 0 -b 192 -F -q 0 -m j (assuming Lame 3.90.3)

From threads I have read in this forum, presets are optimized for best sound quality, but if your specifying -V 0 and -q 0, aren't the best sound algorithms/models being used anyhow? Sorry, I hate putting my trust in a black box, so to speak. Great work folks!

This topic has been beaten to death, resurrected, and beaten to death, resurrected, and...

I suggest searching for threads like yours, as there are many who have asked the exact question as you.

In the meantime, others will add their facts and opinions to this thread. Stay tuned.

omg! --alt-presets are there for a reason! These other switches DO NOT work better than it, trust me on this.

I dunno, what -F means ?
Regarding to your question, -b switch can possibly be needed on some type of music, where lame's vbr fails. But I as understand it, it is safer to use ABR mode then.
Anyway, only Gabriel or other developers now can answer the question if it is safe to use -b with vbr mode presets...
As for other switches - simply do not use them if you are going vbr.

Allright already...I've read through all threads which I thought were pertinent, and I realize that presets are optimized for best encoding through coding tweaks and therefore are better than command line arguments. Fine, but this doesn't answer my question.
IF for some stupid reason, I do not want my bitrate to drop below 192, is it ok to use:

--alt-preset extreme -b 192 -F
(Yes or No)

As I said, I've read through most threads which I could find using the search engine, and seen newbie after newbie get reamed for asking what the best switches, encoding, etc. is. All I want to know is if adding -b 192 -F compromises the quality of the encoding at all, regardless of the fact that it introduces wasted bits. Thats it...

Hey SirGrey,
-F just means strict enforcement of minimum bitrate implied by -b.

>>All I want to know is if adding -b 192 -F compromises the quality of the encoding at all
Wait for Gabriel to answer
Anyway then, -b 192 makes no sence in almost every situation, even cbr with such a bitrate will be transparent for most listeners on most samples.
More logical can be -b 112 but only if you are not satisfied with -aps producing ~90Kbit. But it is extremely rare cases...

yes

AFAIK --aps never goes below 128 kbps except digital silence...