I'm hearing that Lame 3.93 is not fully tested for alt present extreme and similar VBR settings. I've ripped a bunch of CDs with this and am concerned, though the files "seem" okay. Any comments or guidance would be appreciated. Thanks.

do a search for lame 3.93 and you should find some specifics, but afaik:
3.93 had broken alt-preset standard and extreme presets. it was fixed in 3.93.1, though I never confirmed that myself.

What form does "broken" take? Is the resulting file corrupted, poorly encoded?

It had broken FAST presets. I would update to 3.93.1 , but I wouldn't reencode until you hear problems. If it ain't broke don't fix it.




Broken means that the encoded files were not encoded as expected.

Thank you for the advice. I am in fact running 3.93.1. Sorry to be persistent on this issue, but does "broken" manifest itself as messed up audio or merely a lower "quality" encoded file. The former can be easily detected and thereby prompt a re-ripping session. The latter, however is highly subjective and one never truly knows... right?! Or is all this moot running 3.93.1? Any further clarification would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

IIRC the fast presets created files with higher bitrates than needed. The point is indeed moot for 3.93.1

I'm not even sure it would affect quality just bitrate size. If I'm spreading rumours someone stop me!