Recently when trying to figure out how to get out from under Music Match as an "encoder" I stumbled onto r3mix.net and followed the recommendations to use Exact Audio Copy and LAME (3.93). With this as my only info, I proceeded merrily along re-ripping several hundred of my CDs. A few days ago, I tried to rip a whole CD and run it through Lame so I could hack it up using one of the various "mp3 cutters". When I do this, I get corrupted output no matter how I do it. Has anyone ever heard of this problem?

I think the VBR files will still work, you'll just get incorrect time displayed in your audio player and trouble seeking. Correct me if I'm wrong.

DO NOT USE LAME 3.93. Use either 3.93.1, or 3.90.2 or 3.90.3 which are (the last two) the recommended versions.
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most mp3 spliters cant cut mp3 vbr files properly. I know that there r a few that do the job fine, but since i dont use them, i cant recommend one.

AND most info at r3mix.net is wrong and outdated. search hydrogenaudio for the ultimate info on audiocoding

Wow, this forum moves!

I figured out how to fix the time display problem. The problem I'm dealing with is stuff from elsewhere in the file seems to have been splattered all over the beginning corrupting headers of frames, making weird "samples" interspersed, and such-like...

Um, OK. Geze, I wish I would have learned this about 300 CDs ago!

Thank you for the info!!

I'm finding that out (splitters). I've stumbled onto a few other options (cue sheets?)...

I am of course already hooked on HydrogenAudio and I've only been here about an hour. Thanks :-).

At the risk of appearing to be a fumbling newbie, where do I find 3.93.1?

try mp3 butcher
http://www.smart.icenter.pl/mp3/butcher/

on the site they claim that it works well with vbr.

use lame 3.90.2 instead. u can find a link to it on the 'recommended settings', on the general mp3 section

What preset are you using with LAME? I hope that you aren't using -r3mix?!?!? That preset is also way out of date.

Use --alt-preset standard if you are. Bitrates overall should be about 192kbit (which are just about what -r3mix does) and the quality is the best you can get with MP3's (unless you go to --alt-preset extreme or insane).

Um, OK. If I may ask, why is going backward in versions better than forward?

I thought lame 3.90.3 is the new recommended version :

Download: http://rarewares.hydrogenaudio.org/files/l...medropXPd-a.zip
From: http://rarewares.hydrogenaudio.org/mp3.php

or

Download: http://home.iprimus.com.au/alexanderino/cd...x/cdex150se.exe
From: http://home.iprimus.com.au/alexanderino/cdex/

I have been using --alt-preset standard which seemed the most reasonable compromise between size and quality (I'm not sure how I stumbled there from r3mix, maybe found something on EAC site). So now I have to decide if I should re-encode the 300 I did with 3.93 :-/...

Here's some more info. In the interrim before I learned I need to back-step (7 days?) to 3.90.2, er, .3... I got a copy of 3.93.1 and tried it. It does the same thing. Corrupted 67 Meg mp3 of the 504 Meg whole CD. Has no one ever run across this before!?

Hey everyone; I have installed the LAME 3.90.3 APE found at one of the above links and reset Exact Audio Copy to use it with the flag:

--alt-preset standard

(as was the case with 3.93 and 3.93.1).

I re-'encoded' the original full CD wav file; all of the utilities that were reporting header errrors are now giving it a clean bill of health.

It is interesting that it grew by 3 Meg (which seems to imply to me that 3 Meg of the file was splattered all over the other 67 Meg of the file in earlier passes with other versions).

Thank you everyone for your guidance and suggestions!

if the full length mp3 is ok, you can't blame lame for problems getting by some obscure mp3 cutter.