Hi! first i want to say that i did already read (for some hours) everything i can about using lame to encode files... i know you recommend All2Lame but i don't like it

I tried what the guide said to use All2Lame with --preset insane But i don't know why the files get ripped in 319 ABR
It just makes me feel that with RazorLame i can get better quality
With RazorLame i can select 320KBPS CBR, there's even a option that says Optimization: Quality

So my main questions are:

1- What's this -h Quality Optimization option?
2- For electronic music should i change anything in the EXPERT tab? for example "disable all filtering"?
3- Can i get better than -b 320 -m j -h ?

I really want 320KBPS, i know people say it's overkill but i play music at clubs and i'm soon going to have a good DAC + barefoot professional monitors at home

Thanks all for reading

It still overkill.

Have you tried foobar2000 instead of Razorlame/All2lame?

1- Not sure to be honest, but leave it on default.
2- No.
3- Yes. -b 320.

LAME has been highly optimised to provide the best possible performance without adding command-line switches. Any attempts by yourself to tweak it for the better will almost undoubtedly produce worse results except in extremely rare cases.

Unless you happen to have stumbled across some bizarre material that doesn't encode well in VBR, I can almost guarantee that you will not hear the difference between CBR320 and VBR -V2. The files would end up at typically 60-70% of the size too. I class myself as a very fussy listener and VBR -V3 suits me just fine with filesizes approximately half the size of CBR320.

Why attempt to reinvent the wheel when that's what the LAME developers are there for?

Cheers, Slipstreem.

Thanks for the reply!

I believe -m j is needed for joint stereo, i read everywhere that files should be joint stereo...

I have foobar installed but don't like it... only use it to convert files to .wav

thanks

Maybe you'd be happier with an application called CDex if all you want is to rip direct from CD to LAME MP3 quickly and easily.

Click Here

Try the following settings for perceptually transparent VBR encodings and then come back and tell me if you can hear the difference. I seriously doubt it...

Encoder - Lame MP3 Encoder
Version - MPEG I
VBR Method - VBR-new
Bitrate Min - 32Kbps
Bitrate Max - 320Kbps
Mode - J-stereo
Quality - High (q=2)
VBR Quality - VBR 2 (or even VBR 3)
Output Samplerate - Auto

Cheers, Slipstreem.

Using lame version 3.97 the following switches give identical results:

--preset insane
-b 320
-b 320 -m j
-b 320 -m j -h

If you add -k (disable all filtering) you will decrease quality.

There are those who claim that high bitrate abr gives better quality than high bitrate vbr, but 320 kbps cbr should be better than either of them.

Thanks all for the reply

Sorry the thread title is wrong, i'm using lame 3.98

Is everything still the same?

thanks!

Yes, everything should still be the same. I don't see anything in the Lame 3.98 change logs mentioning the developers changing any of the settings that you are using.