Okay. So, I know that VBR is better. Pound for pound, the best compromise of size and quality. But, I seem to have heard lots of anecdotal evidence (here and on other sites) of this or that software/hardware having problems with this or that implimentation of VBR. Which leads me to the conclusion that the best way to ensure maximum compatability is to go for a high-bitrate CBR. What do you guys think? Are the horror stories of VBR causing compatability problems overblown? I mean, say your DAP dies and you get some cheapo MP3 player or MP3 CD-player to tide you over and it only likes CBR?

VBR support has been ubiquitous for most of the last decade. Times have changed since 1998.

"ubiquitous" is a bit of an overstatement. The people with the infamous early-cutoff in iPods with LAME VBR would find that a bit odd of a thing to say.

Old gens didn't suffer from that. And that's just one player. There's a lot more players than just the iPod.
Do the 5/5.5G suffer from it though?

Anyway, I have used various MP3 players of different ages and all of them could play VBR just fine. Even my cheapo $30 CD/MP3 player can do it just fine.

Now that's a good question. I haven't tried any LAME VBR since the new firmware came out. Anybody know?

I have none of the "cutoff" problems with Itunes/IPOD 5G and lots of lame vbr files. Running latest version of itunes and firmware for ipod.

That problem was only in some of the older generation iPods. As Mike says, times have changed since then and AFAIK current iPods do not have the problem. Most other DAPs have been supporting it for a long time as well. I have seen quite a few el cheapo generic Chinese/ Taiwanese DAP thingies playing VBR mp3 files with no problems whatsoever.

Cheers
audiomars

Given that the majority of the mp3 players (in sheer numbers, not number of brands) out there can handle VBR perfectly, it will take a masterstroke of unluck or stupidity (aka uninformed purchase) for one to buy an el cheapo that can only handle CBR.

If the iPod can't play VBR perfectly, dump it.
If you're concerned about VBR you'll be getting something renowned for its sound quality anyway (Creative, iRiver, iAudio, etc).

or, you could be an informed consumer and get what you want for what you want to do with it...

*looking at my rockbox'ed h320*


later

Agreed, works great with old and new firmware. First I've ever heard of this problem. The 5/5.5G iPods actually support VBR LAME beautifully right down to the gapless playback.