[chamlin]

What kind of differences do you hear in terms of sonic quality between 192kbps and 320kbps? 384kbps?

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by chamlin

What kind of differences do you hear in terms of sonic quality between 192kbps and 320kbps? 384kbps?

You left out 256vbr my favorite...

[pouche]

Originally Posted by chamlin

What kind of differences do you hear in terms of sonic quality between 192kbps and 320kbps? 384kbps?

each set of 'ears' differ by individual.
fun test - mp3 or not - Don't you hear it?
it also soooo depends upon how to plan on listening to the music, what your equipment is, where you are, outside influences (kids, traffic, speaking), and whether you're a casual (background) listener or a dedicated (sitting on a couch doing nothing else) one.
i highly suggest ripping a piece of music you are (very) familiar with into 3 or 4 different bit-rates. name them (name of song)1, 2, 3. play them back on whatever platform you'll be using and see what you can tell.

depending upon your ears, you'll hear a fuller soundstage, a depth and sustain of music not found on lesser bitrates.

i personally use exact audio copy with lame encoding and Chris Myden's instructions for ripping my personal CDs.
the created MP3s come out in a 'variable' bitrate - simply put, sections of a song desire higher bitrates than other sections of the song - this accomplishes that goal automatically.

ultimately, if your ears can hear a difference, you have HD space, you can afford a few pennies more, and/or you'd ever like the option to utilize some presently unknown Uber-compression...go 320.

addded: just in case anyone is interested in Chris Myden's site for Mp3 pulling from their CD collection - Chris Myden dot com

[chamlin]

Excellent post Pouche. Now try saying Excellent post Pouche 5 times fast!

[chamlin]

Originally Posted by Nightfly

You left out 256vbr my favorite...

On the few downloads I've done with mp3sparks I didn't get the 256 option, so wasn't sure if they offered it. Will find out soon enough!

[solaris]

Originally Posted by chamlin

On the few downloads I've done with mp3sparks I didn't get the 256 option, so wasn't sure if they offered it. Will find out soon enough!

Hi chamlin


When you order your tracks, you have to switch to Advanced Mode instead of the default Simple Mode, then you'll get plenty of different file format/bit rate options


Excellent post, Pouche
Excellent post, Pouche
Excellent post, Pouche
Excellent post, Pouche
Excellent post, Pouche

Now, that wasn't so hard

[markstan]

Originally Posted by pouche

each set of 'ears' differ by individual.
fun test - mp3 or not - Don't you hear it?

Thanks for the link!
I failed
Even after knowing which one was the 320, I couldn't tell the difference.
All that money spent..............

Mark

[baggypablo]

I occassionally DJ and you really notice the difference then. Anything not at 320 will definitely sound distorted when played on bigger PAs at louder volumes.

[Nightfly]

I thing it depends on your hardware like for PC speakers and Mp3players
between 256 and 320 there is no diference to me, except 320 is brighter on these devices which I don't care for..But for the car and any large unit, which has some sought of sound stage you gotta have 320, and if you want to covert to wave
for people with cars with out mp3 capabilities on their players.

[Hirs Ute]

Originally Posted by Nightfly

I thing it depends on your hardware like for PC speakers and Mp3players
between 256 and 320 there is no diference to me, except 320 is brighter on these devices which I don't care for..But for the car and any large unit, which has some sought of sound stage you gotta have 320, and if you want to covert to wave
for people with cars with out mp3 capabilities on their players.

I have a moderately decent audio system in my car (for the option cost it should be ) and 98% of the time 256 Variable is perfect. The other 2% I, think, is down to poor encoding and can't, actually, be blamed on the bitrate.