Frequently Asked Questions


General Audio Compression

MP3

EAC

CDR Media

Secure mode ripping

Offsets

Protected audio CDs

Various

SACD, DVD-A, Vinyl, and Cassette


Documentation


Compact Disc links

MP3 links

Other digital audio links

Audio compression


Hydrogenaudio.org's basic rules on listening tests
Subjective vs Objective opinions, post your favourite links / experiences
See also rule 8 of Hydrogenaudio.org's terms of service
What is an ABX blind test ?

Test samples
FF123's samples For Testing Audio Codecs
Flac decoder for encoded test samples

Programs for blind tests

Windows
PC ABX with explanations
WinABX
ABC/Hidden Reference Audio Comparison Tool
Foobar2000 (audio player with ABX option)

Linux
LinABX

All Platforms
ABX2go (ABX applet)
ABC/HR Java program

Test results
Roberto's public listening tests page

Does encoding preserve surround info ?
:-( MP3 destroys Surround Sound encoding

Why not using graphs to compare codecs ?
LAME, CBR, VBR,.... I'm confused!

What's the difference between MP3gain and Replaygain ?
Difference between Mp3gain and Replaygain

MP3


Recommended Lame settings
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=28124

Recommended Lame compiles
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=28123

Presets vs. -V? Post-3.95 Development of the --alt-presets.
3.90.3 versus 3.96.1
so when to work on new presets?
-V n (in 3.95.1)

Lame development
so what to expect for lame 4?
LAME Versions and Alphas
Dibrom&JohnV -how you see the future of LAME? ...with further links inside.

Discussion about compatibility of hardware mp3 players
Fully MP3 compliant Hardware MP3-CD players

Why LAME 3.90.3?
WHY a particular LAME version

Normalisation : Mp3 Gain tutorial
How To Use Mp3 Gain ?, 3 guides - normalization - maximizing

Differences between Lame 3.90.2 and 3.92
Lame 3.90.2 vs 3.92, Audible differences with APS?

Differences between Lame 3.90.3 APS and 3.93.1 APS -Z
LAME 3.93.1 vs 3.90.3

What are the internal switches of Alt presets?
What are the internal switches of Alt presets?

What does --alt-preset standard do that no custom command line can ?
Re: LAME + Dibrom's presets/switches + remarks

Can I hear the difference between an alt preset standard MP3 and the original ?
samples where aps or ape has a problem

Why is joint stereo better than pure stereo ?
Basic :
i need the help of you wonderful experts!, lame
Any listening test Stereo vs Joint stereo in mp3?
Advanced : a response to a growing rumor...
Expert : alt preset extreme -m s ??

To lower the bitrate of Alt Preset Standard with the -Y switch
how to get the lower bitrates?

Low bitrates : --alt-preset standard -Y versus --alt-preset medium
preset-standard -Y vs preset-medium, How big is the difference?

Why is ABR better than VBR below 160 kbps ?
Suggest ~160kbps VBR setting.

How to compare Lame with other codecs ?
Explaining Lame Presets

What's wrong with substracting wavs in order to see the amount of loss ?
Alternative/Supplement to listening test

What is the best MP3 decoder ?
mp3 decoder tests

MP3 quality and music genre
a classical music and mp3 issue?

What does % and * mean ?
Request information

How to encode and burn gapless MP3s ?
Question about compression @EAC

Does mp3->wav->mp3 conversion lose quality
mp3 to wav to mp3 to wav same?

Transcoding/Re-encoding 128kbps to higher bitrate
Re-encode mp3 128 to higher w/ winlame

Editing MP3s
non-distructive mp3 edit software

LAME and Dolby ProLogic
Lame and surround

EAC


Official EAC webpage : http://www.exactaudiocopy.de
Especially Technology and FAQ.

EAC FAQ
For all problems read first ! @EAC

English tutorial
Liekloo's Essential Ripping Guide
The coaster Factory (for EAC prebeta 11)

German tutorial (EAC+Lame)
EAC-audio

French tutorial
EAC, comment le configuer facilement ... @Hardware.fr

Italian tutorial
Exact Audio Copy Italiano

What is a gap and why detecting them is not necessary ?
Pre-gaps ripped in EAC?

Tutorial about gaps and CUE Sheets @EAC, by Mestrelion
Gap and CUE Sheet 101: A simple tutorial for Dummies like me

Editing cuesheets by Mestrelion
EAC CUE Sheets ASCII formats explained, because sometimes Notepad is all you have

Does the bitrate selected for MP3 encoding overrides the command line ?
Does EAC add aguments to --alt-preset standard

A very useful new tool for EAC is AccurateRip, please search the forums on this.

CDR Media


What are the best CDR ?
Short CDR summary : The summary of CD-R brands @Afterdawn
Long CDR/burner/speed summary : Media Compatability With CD-RW Drives - Which Media Is Best? @CDRLabs
Tests : CDR media tests, all types! @CDFreaks
48x and higher tests : 48x media tests, post your results here! @CDFreaks

How to recognize Tayo Yuden CDRs ?
how do you tell which media you have? @CDRLabs

Burning speed tests
High speed vs low speed burning @CDFreaks

Life expectancy of CDRs
R.I.P. - The thread for dead CD-Rs @Afterdawn

Higher dye type doesn't mean higher quality
Re: Audiophile concerns @EAC ML and answers

Why are audiophile not always trusted when they say that a copy doesn't sound as good as an original CD ?
Digital audio quality @CD Freaks

Secure mode ripping


Ripping scratched CDs
Repairing scrached cd:s
Whats The Best Way To Remove Scratches? ...or the dangers of the above.
Ripping Scratched CD's, Success story (label side scratches)

How to test C2 accuracy ?
Andre Wiethoff's DAEquality kit

Warning about C2 accuracy measurments
Toshiba SD-M 1612 C2 ...

Secure mode FAQ
EAC... how perfect? How does it work?

How to accurately detect C2, accurate stream, overread, etc
Which drives are caching audio data?
How to ACCURATELY detect C2 / Accurate stream / lead-in / lead-out, etc? @EAC

EAC secure mode superior to CDex Paranoid mode
Cdex Vs Eac : The Results !

Does CloneCD read "rawer" than EAC ?
Is audio extraction different than raw mode ? @CDFreaks

Is reading twice secure ?
Is C2 used to correct errors as well as detecting them ? @EAC

Discussion about secureness of C2 versus secureness of no C2
EAC C2 error correction, Use it or not?

Test and copy secure mode failure
Matching CRC for errored rips @EAC

Paranoid mode failure
Eac, Paranoid X Secure mode


Older discussions, possibly out-of-date infos


How does reading twice allows EAC to detect errors
Discussion reliability DAEquality test @EAC

Accuracy of C2 information
Is accurate C2 error reporting an Utopia? @EAC

Safety of C2, of caching, and of reading twice
Cache off @EAC

Offsets

Drive offsets databases
Spoon's Accuraterip page

Offsets are arbitrary
Re: offset detection @EAC ML

Mathematical war between Pio2001 and Matthias trying to figure out ofsets without external reference
How to figure out your offset @EAC

How to "read" your read offset with noisy CDs
How to find a reference offset Article by Pio2001

Arguments against offset correction
The use of offsets@EAC

the relativity of exactness
Why can't two drives read identical images - even when calibrated? @ EAC

Protected audio CDs


Campain for digital rights

Sound and Vision mag article about copy protections

c't-CD-Register, database of protected CDs in german language.

Reading protected audio CDs@ CD Freaks

SPDIF recording of protected audio CDs@EAC ML

Cactus Datashield 200 mastered errors Technical analysis
Excessive Copy Protection?, Mp3 related

Key2audio tested on 27 drives @Afterdawn

Various


About soundcard line input clipping
Recording line in with Soundforge, and Audiophile 24/96
Line in overload on soundcards, M-Audio etc unable to record properly ?

Can a PC with a digital output replace a CD player ?
Soundcard digital pathways?, If you skip the DAC are they 'perfect'?

Recording louder is not better
Rip Rowan. Over the limit @prorec.com
When will this madness stop?!?!? @MusicPlayer.com

What soundcard to buy ?
Want to buy a new soundcard..., ... should be around €100 / $115

How to rip HDCD, or >16bits CDs ?
How to rip 20-bit CD(and retain all 20bits)

Blind ABX tests about hifi components, cables, amount of distortion...
ABX Test Data

Is there a measurable difference between regular and audiophile line cables ?
RMAA analysis of audiophile cables distortion

Is jitter an issue in recent DACs ?
Anti-jitter RAM buffer in DACs, Which have one ?

Killer sample for resampling and clipping (and tweeters)
Test your soundcard for clipping, with this sample

How to insert track markers in a big wave
Burning Gapless CD's

My CD is not Gapless
CUE sheet + 1 wav file for part of CD

How to extract audio before track 1
Recording Gaps Before Track 1.

MPC : What's --xlevel good for?
--xlevel With Mpc?

Using replaygain to reduce bitrate
WaveGain vs. MP3Gain

Transcoding/Re-encoding 128kbps to higher bitrate
Re-encode mp3 128 to higher w/ winlame

I can't find any drive that doesn't cache
Questions on Asus drive and buffer/cache@EAC

High definition digital audio


Do CD sound good enough ?
Theoretical discussion : 44 KHz (CD) not enough !? (Nyquist etc.), plethora of distortion frequencies?
Listening test : 96 vs. 48 or 44.1 kHz sampling --> scientific test, perhaps here is the 1. listening test !
Another discussion : Sound, the human ear, and the digital world

Why was 44.1 kHz chosen ?
48, 44.1 khz, why no and/or not 40 khz, Only for 2 channel audio...........

SACD/DVDA
Help! Sacd Good Or Bad?, Does SACD ought to sound like crud?

96 kHz sampling rate
George, Watch this!!!....(96k) @George Massenburg, abstract in page 33


Vinyl


Vinyl versus CD samples from the same album
What songs has digital killed (CD vs LP samples)

Processing the CD sample so as it sounds like the vinyl sample
Compare for yourself: Vinyl vs. CD

Does digital recording keep the "vinyl" sound ?
Casual vinyl vs digital blind test

Vinyl noise samples, how much clicks on a good vinyl ?
Vinyl Care & Dust Removal, How to make vinyl sound good??


Cassette


Recording cassette tapes to PC
How to Clean up Cassette to Digital, Need Help

Compact Disc links


All About Recordable Discs @Roxio.com. Life expectancy seems overestimated, see link above.

The CDR FAQ

Other links about CD technology

MP3 links


MP3-Tech.org

David Robinson's page

Other digital audio links

Recommended bibliography
Interesting books

Explanation of dither by Nika Aldrich

The audio engineer's approach to understanding digital filters. For the idiot such as myself by Nika Aldrich

End of FAQ

Added :

Cactus Datashield 200 mastered errors Technical analysis
Excessive Copy Protection?, Mp3 related


...the only analysis we have proving that
-There are actually intentional errors
-They might not be all handled as well by modern CD ROM players as by hifi players because there are a few with contiguous samples.
-They prevent CRC comparisons between drives, like in accuraterip.
-They are repeatable and thus not detected with non-C2 secure modes, and not corrected by EAC once detected bu C2.
-They are not generated in special places "so as to be inaudible".


Lame development
Dibrom&JohnV -how you see the future of LAME? ...further links inside.

...should have been there earlier


Why was 44.1 kHz chosen ?
48, 44.1 khz, why no and/or not 40 khz, Only for 2 channel audio...........

...little-known info, that was just needed in the CD audio is not good enough thread


Removed :

Samsung, Pioneer and Teac vs Cactus datashield 200 audio protection@EAC

Not much useful info... the fact that protections are drive dependant is already stated in the CDFreaks link, and illustrated in the Key2audio tests.


I'd like to have you opinion about these two :


What are the parameters used by MPC for encoding ?
--verbose output of all --quality settings, A List For The Advanced User
Asked here : http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....=ST&f=12&t=6802

Is it useful in the FAQ section ?

Lower bitrate presets
"alt-preset standard -Y" VS "preset medium"

Is it accurate ? Still on topic ? Useful ?

Added

Drive offsets databases
SatCP's Coaster Factory (no more updated)
Spoon's Accuraterip page (often updated)

thanks to Spoon

Added this first link (the second is the former "96 kHz is unuseful") :

Do CD sound good enough ?
Theoretical discussion : 44 KHz (CD) not enough !? (Nyquist etc.), plethora of distortion frequencies?
Listening test : 96 vs. 48 or 44.1 kHz sampling --> scientific test, perhaps here is the 1. listening test !

Added this introduction to the MP3 section :

Recommended MP3 Encoder
for bitrates < 128kbps Fraunhofer ...
for bitrates > 128kbps Lame (read on)

...thanks to Tigre

Added

How to rip HDCD, or >16bits CDs ?
How to rip 20-bit CD(and retain all 20bits)

This EAC offset database by uli-76 should be added. All SatCP's entries AFAIK and many new ones (updated)
http://www.hilfe-stellung.de/eac/offset.htm

not a big deal, but there a little typo here

should be:
"What does --alt-preset standard do that no custom command line can do ?
Re: LAME + Dibrom's presets/switches + remarks"

It was not a typo, it was a mistake in my speaking english B)
TU2

And still not quite...
The last "do" is unnecessary.

No biggie

Major FAQ update !

**********NEW************** :

Audio Compression

Hydrogenaudio.org's basic rules on listening tests
Subjective vs Objective opinions, post your favourite links / experiences
See also rule 8 of Hydrogenaudio.org's terms of service.

MP3

Low bitrates : --alt-preset standard -Y versus --alt-preset medium
preset-standard -Y vs preset-medium, How big is the difference?

Secure mode

How to test C2 accuracy ?
Andre Wiethoff's DAEquality kit

Repairing CDs scratched on the label side
Ripping Scratched CD's, Success story

Is reading twice secure ?
Is C2 used to correct errors as well as detecting them ?

Discussion about secureness of C2 versus secureness of no C2
EAC C2 error correction, Use it or not?

Various

Killer sample for resampling and clipping (and tweeters)
Test your soundcard for clipping, with this sample

Vinyl

Vinyl versus CD samples from the same album
What songs has digital killed (CD vs LP samples)

Processing the CD sample so as it sounds like the vinyl sample
Compare for yourself: Vinyl vs. CD

Does digital recording keep the "vinyl" sound ?
Casual vinyl vs digital blind test

Vinyl noise samples, how much clicks on a good vinyl ?
Vinyl Care & Dust Removal, How to make vinyl sound good??

Cassette

Recording cassette tapes to PC
How to Clean up Cassette to Digital, Need Help

Other digital audio links

Recommended bibliography
Interesting books

****************REPLACED**************

Can a PC with a digital output replace a CD player ?
Soundcard digital pathways?, If you skip the DAC are they 'perfect'?
replaces
Does WinXp's mixer resample ?
My tests over kmixer effects, Seem to be none...
that is linked from inside the new one


Burning speed tests
High speed vs low speed burning
replaces
Burning slower is not necessarily safer
CDR Burn Speed and Audio Quality @Afterdawn

**************MOVED****************

Moved
How does reading twice allows EAC to detect errors
Discussion reliability DAEquality test @EAC
Accuracy of C2 information
Is accurate C2 error reporting an Utopia? @EAC
Safety of C2, of caching, and of reading twice
Cache off @EAC
to Older discussions section

****************RENAMED***************

Renaming
Why is not CloneCD advised for audio ?
Is audio extraction different than raw mode ? @CDFreaks
to
Does CloneCD read "rawer" than EAC ?
Is audio extraction different than raw mode ? @CDFreaks

Added

Is jitter an issue in recent DACs ?
Anti-jitter RAM buffer in DACs, Which have one ?

in the "various" section.

Added

What soundcard to buy ?
Want to buy a new soundcard..., ... should be around €100 / $115

Is "What soundcard to buy ?" a good english sentence ?

Two links replaced :

Chip's CD Media Resource Center

ECMA-130 Compact disc specifications

with

Other links about CD technology

Both Ecma links, the one at Cd freaks and the one removed above, that is more recent, seem dead. I'll check the above one tomorrow to see if it is temporarily offline.
Could someone check the FTP link for ECMA 130 at CD Freaks (in the "other links" link above) ? Because it seems I can't acces any FTP. Maybe there'a problem on my side.

ftp.ecma.ch doesn't appear to be listening ATM. I tried 3 different proxies.

You should add this entry:

For a big and popular database or protected CDs in german language: c't-CD-Register

Features: search by Artist, Title and Player (PC drive, HiFi player, portable player, car hifi), adding new CDs to the database and a german forum.

Done, thanks

FYI

The coaster factory has moved to a new site. The link in the EAC section:

English tutorial
The coaster Factory (for EAC prebeta 11)

should point to:
The coaster Factory

Link updated.
Thanks.

Added Roberto's tests

Test results
Roberto's public listening tests page

Removed the mention of Lame being recommended above 128 kbps and Fraunhofer below.

This poor old FAQ needs a general update, but since I am currently writing to a band to beg them to stop the loudness race, I added these two links in the "various" section :

Recording louder is not better
Rip Rowan. Over the limit @prorec.com
When will this madness stop?!?!? @MusicPlayer.com

Added

How to accurately detect C2, accurate stream, overread, etc
Which drives are caching audio data?

and

EAC FAQ
For all problems read first ! @EAC

Removed

Explanation of C2 secure mode
Drive options => 'capable C2 info' vs 'use C2 info' @EAC

Completely out of date and confusing.

Added

About soundcard line input clipping
Recording line in with Soundforge, and Audiophile 24/96
Line in overload on soundcards, M-Audio etc unable to record properly ?

Added

Liekloo's Essential Ripping Guide

For EAC.

Added

mp3 editing

Added: Presets vs. -V? Post-3.95 Development of the --alt-presets.

Added: MP3 and Dolby ProLogic

Removed dead links :

SatCP's Coaster Factory (no more updated)
EAC-Audio, by Uli-76

Yes, that sentence is okay...

This probably needs to be updated for 3.97b1 although that is admittedly a very minor change to make. Also some explanation as to why we're recommending betas is a good idea.

This FAQ is being s-l-o-w-l-y migrated to the HA Knowledgebase, here. Hopefully the process will finish before this century ends

Assistance will be very much appreciated.

I'd go with "Soundcard options" or "Soundcards."