I just started compressing files with Monkey's Audio, and noticed that the percent of original files at the end is very erratic. On very high with some files i was getting around 70% which is horrible. Then i tried some other files, ripped with PlexTools insead of EAC, and the compression at very high was 45% !!! I didn't even know this was possible. I thought anything below 50% was impossible.
However, i noticed that the extra high compression uses some extra cpu cycles. What do you think i should go with if i'm gonna be compressing a lot of stuff. I have 240gb of hd space, so it's not that big of an issue, but i wanna know what you guys think are the advantages and disadvantages and what is better choice. Thanks.
Full Version: What compression level to use with Monkey's Audio?
I use FLAC instead of Monkey's Audio, but I imagine the process and results are comparable. The wide variation you're seeing in compression rates is a result of the nature of the music being encoded, and probably has little to do with compression parameters with Monkey's Audio. The tool you used to rip the CD almost certainly has nothing to do with the final compression.
Some music is just more compressible than others. You'll be able to tweak Monkey's Audio to produce some smaller files, but I would be surprised if you get improvements of more than a few percent. I usually just run FLAC with the default settings, and I think it gives me a nice balance between file size and encoding time. I could probably make my files a few percent smaller with different settings, but the final size difference would be negligible.
Some music is just more compressible than others. You'll be able to tweak Monkey's Audio to produce some smaller files, but I would be surprised if you get improvements of more than a few percent. I usually just run FLAC with the default settings, and I think it gives me a nice balance between file size and encoding time. I could probably make my files a few percent smaller with different settings, but the final size difference would be negligible.
ok, i'm getting really werid percentages. On a high compression for the lifehouse cd hanging by a moment, i got a total compression for all 12 tracks of 68% Some tracks only compressed 73% Is this normal? I think i can see how the type of music would affect it, the music that compressed 45% was very light classical music, so i'm guessing it compressed more because there was less raw data to compress, but 68% for a "high" compression level seems a bit high.
Also, i noticed on FLACs page that it says it is streamable, but monkey's audio is not, what does that mean?
Also, i noticed on FLACs page that it says it is streamable, but monkey's audio is not, what does that mean?
Monkey's audio is considered to be the most efficient compressor. Drawback: windows-only. FLAC is open-source, and seems to be popular on this forum, so methinks its success will be a fact 
This is the core. I'd like to add that Monkey's 'highest' setting is far more CPU-intensive than the 'high' setting (not only for compressing, but also for playback later on), whereas the compression is hardly better. So 'high' is probably what you want (unless you want to transfer files over the internet, but that's not very likely...).
Optimfrog is another lossless compressor that compresses very well too.
There are nice tests (comparisons between all compressors), although I don't have any links ready atm (I am one of the lossy guys. 'Lossy' as referring to the kind of codecs, rather than someone who loses everything
). I am sure someone else here will have the links 
What is streaming? Streaming is what internet-radio does: instead of first transferring a file (mp3) over the internet and only when finished starting to play it, streaming means you listen to the music while the rest of the song is still being transferred to your computer: by the time a few bytes (= a certain part of the song) arrive on your pc, it is time to to play those bytes (= that part), and whilst they are being played, the next few bytes are on their way... So you listen to what comes in.
(I guess the no-stream issue is not important for the time being as internet transfer speeds are limited, and will remain so for quite some time)
This is the core. I'd like to add that Monkey's 'highest' setting is far more CPU-intensive than the 'high' setting (not only for compressing, but also for playback later on), whereas the compression is hardly better. So 'high' is probably what you want (unless you want to transfer files over the internet, but that's not very likely...).
Optimfrog is another lossless compressor that compresses very well too.
There are nice tests (comparisons between all compressors), although I don't have any links ready atm (I am one of the lossy guys. 'Lossy' as referring to the kind of codecs, rather than someone who loses everything
). I am sure someone else here will have the links What is streaming? Streaming is what internet-radio does: instead of first transferring a file (mp3) over the internet and only when finished starting to play it, streaming means you listen to the music while the rest of the song is still being transferred to your computer: by the time a few bytes (= a certain part of the song) arrive on your pc, it is time to to play those bytes (= that part), and whilst they are being played, the next few bytes are on their way... So you listen to what comes in.
(I guess the no-stream issue is not important for the time being as internet transfer speeds are limited, and will remain so for quite some time)
Here are a couple links to the most up-to-date comparisons of lossless compressors:
http://home.wanadoo.nl/~w.speek/comparison.htm
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/hvdh/lossless/main.htm
Also, the compression ratio will vary as widely as you're seeing with lossless compression. I have seen some very loud music compress to as much as 80% of the original size!
The difference with respect to streaming is that FLAC files are divided into blocks that can be recognized and decoded independently (you don't need the beginning of the file to decode the middle). This is also true of MP3 and most lossy encoders, but is not common on lossless encoders.
http://home.wanadoo.nl/~w.speek/comparison.htm
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/hvdh/lossless/main.htm
Also, the compression ratio will vary as widely as you're seeing with lossless compression. I have seen some very loud music compress to as much as 80% of the original size!
The difference with respect to streaming is that FLAC files are divided into blocks that can be recognized and decoded independently (you don't need the beginning of the file to decode the middle). This is also true of MP3 and most lossy encoders, but is not common on lossless encoders.
ok guys, thanks for the very helpful info, high setting on Monkey Audio it is. The last question i have is about tagging. I know monkey audio has an auto tag feature, but i think it wants you to input the exact info you want to be tagged, and then this tag info is only stored in the filename. Is there any metadata attatched to a .ape file because when double clicking the info for a .ape file playing on winamp, it gives me a bunch of blank fields, which has me thinking that .ape files can in fact store metadata. Is this incorrect? And if they can, is there any way to use freedb with Monkey Audio to automatically fill in all the album info? Thanks again.
NM, got it.
QUOTE(Kal525 @ Jan 5 2003 - 11:37 AM)
ok guys, thanks for the very helpful info, high setting on Monkey Audio it is. The last question i have is about tagging. I know monkey audio has an auto tag feature, but i think it wants you to input the exact info you want to be tagged, and then this tag info is only stored in the filename. Is there any metadata attatched to a .ape file because when double clicking the info for a .ape file playing on winamp, it gives me a bunch of blank fields, which has me thinking that .ape files can in fact store metadata. Is this incorrect? And if they can, is there any way to use freedb with Monkey Audio to automatically fill in all the album info? Thanks again.
I have the same problem about TAG with monkey, How you resolved that problem?
TnX
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