Hello all.
I've just been digging in some posts about Lame encoding presets and stuff. I never knew there were presets except for r3mix. I don't know alot about mp3 encoding and I use Lame 3.92 directly from EAC with the following command line parameters: -V0 -b192 -mj -h -q0
So far I'm pretty satisfied, but I've never heard anything else except for crappy Xing and stuff like that mp3's.
That's why I wanted to try the --alt-preset. But, how does it work? Are they supported by the regular Lame executables? I thought I read some older versions don't, but not sure which ones.
I saw a few users here made their own compilations of lame, and dll's as well.
So do I need one of them in order to use the --alt-preset?
And why is it that Dibrom uses Lame 3.90 instead of 3.92? I'd suppose newer versions only add improvements, right?

Just curious.
Btw, what kind of hardware would one need in order to hear the difference between the --alt-preset's and the command line paramters I use?

To use the --alt-preset standard you just need to type "--alt-preset standard
" in the command line. It is supported by the regular executables. So just download the latest stable Lame version 3.92.

Thanks!
Though I'm still curious about the other compilations of Dibrom and other users.
Lame 3.90? Why not 3.92, Dibrom? Or anyone else who can explain?
There's gotta be a reason to use an older version. And what are the advantages of those compilations instead of the regular ones you can find all over the web?

Please tell me somebody. This forum has made me curious.
If I can improve the quality of my mp3's I'd be glad to rip my CD's again.

IIRC, the last Dibrom hybrid compile, and the one he refers to, was 3.90.2, which became 3.91, which very quickly became 3.92. In other words, all three are almost identical.

What do you need to hear the differences? A good soundcard, a good pair of cans, but mainly a well tuned set of ears!!

Thanks!
About the equiptment. Not sure what's considered 'good' but I have a Soundblaster Audigy with Sennheiser HD580 headphones hooked on. (what a waste of those... oh well)
The soundcard isn't what you'd call 'professional' but it works fine for me. I can't afford those semi-professional cards which cost hundreds of dollars.
I did want those headphones, although they cost alot. But I can hook 'm up to just about any device that produces sound.