Hi there I have what is probably a dumb question but I wanted to ask before I started my project.

Is there any benefit to actually using lame to encode to mp3 as opposed to just using foobar to do so?

Also, what about using mp3gain instead of just using foobar for replay gain?

Thanks in advance. You guys are much smarter than I am about this stuff.

No. Foobar2000 uses lame to encode to MP3, and it's probably easier to use than the command line interface.


Mp3gain modifies the MP3 itself, so the gain will work on any player. Replay Gain will only work in compatible players.

Thank you for the quick reply. So lame is already part of foobar? I don't have to install it first?

And since I use foobar exclusively for music the second part is no issue.

Thanks again

No, LAME is not part of foobar2000.

foobar2000 will prompt you for the location of the lame.exe when it's required, as explained in the FAQ.

QUOTE

So lame is already part of foobar? I don't have to install it first?

You will need to grab it from rarewares, as it does not come with foobar. Just drop lame.exe into the foobar directory, and your ready to go.

EDIT: You guys are so fast.

Okay cool, then I'll install it. Thanks!!!!

One more quick question. What I want to do is, after archiving flac albums, then convert the albums on my pc to mp3. Already, through reading the knowledge base here I've learned that VBR is better than 320 (never would've though that).

My question is do I need to decode the flac song into wav before encoding to mp3?

There's no need to do that. Just select the flac files and convert them directly.

That is taken care of by Foobar, and it will ensure your tags are correct on your new MP3s.

You're saying that foobar will keep my tags? I just assumed I'd have to do them over again. That is awesome!

You shouldn't need to if you are using foobar to convert from flac to mp3. Foobar will do this on-the-fly, and it will preserve your tags, whereas if you convert to wav and then to mp3, you will lose your tags as wav does not officially support tagging.

Damn you guys are quick. You did 2 posts before I even finished writing mine.

We're that good 'round here.

Once again thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it.

VBR is not better than 320 in terms of quality, only in efficiency. Most of the time a high bitrate VBR will sound just as good as a 320 kbps file, but will be smaller.

Okay I guess better was the wrong word. But if it sounds just as good and is a smaller size than that is definitely something to take into account.

the same could be said for V2, or even V5 for some people.

you should do a few test encodes, and see at what quality level you can't tell the difference between CD and mp3. that way you can have mp3's that "sound just as good" but are even smaller in files size than V0.

Good idea. I have a 750 gig hd, but there is still no sense in wasting space I'd imagine. Thanks.

This is not entirely true. Foobar puts your custom Flac tags into TXXX frames. Notably, I have Flac files with custom Lyrics tags, they are not put into USLT tags into the Mp3s, but into TXXX tags.
I've already asked two or three times in this forum how I could put Flac lyrics tags into USLT tags, but so far no-one has been able to give a good advice

If you store the lyrics into a custom field called "UNSYNCED LYRICS", with a space, in the FLAC I believe foobar2000 will put lyrics into the USLT frame. Works on my iPhone at least, which supposedly will only see lyrics in USLT.

Is it possible to make 320kbps mp3s instead of just v0?

^ In foobar? You'll have to make a custom preset:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=42605

Post no. 8 by Synthetic Soul has a screenshot with all settings.