What bitrate does everyone refer or reccomend for mp3's?

I currently encode in 192Kbps, but a ton of mp3's I am offered are at 128Kbps...

...what do people reccomend? Should I be holdin gout for 192Kbps (or higher), or is 128Kbps still nice?

All of mine are 128Kbps, they sound fine to me.

:stupid: yup mine are all 128 and sound perfect!

i've got a program that can convert mp3's to anything between 128-320
i did have em all at 320, but put em back to 192, they sound just the same to me, cept 192 frees up a hellova lot more space

the programs called dB poweramp, soz i aint got a link

The higher the bitrate the better the quality. So the choice is entirely yours.
128kbps is usually the accepted standard rate though.

I'm not sure if all mp3 players are compatible with 192kbps.

I try to get all mine at 192kbps if I'm putting them on a cd. If I want them on my hard drive 128kbps will do. Higher it is the better it sounds. For example I once downloaded two of the same songs and the 128 version was good but on the 192 version I could hear extra percusion in the mix. :)

jesuslovesyou spouted:
i've got a program that can convert mp3's to anything between 128-320
i did have em all at 320, but put em back to 192, they sound just the same to me, cept 192 frees up a hellova lot more space

the programs called dB poweramp, soz i aint got a link


It might be able to convert *downwards*, from 320 to 192 as you stated above. But it's impossible to *increase* the bitrate.

dirtyfrog spouted:



It might be able to convert *downwards*, from 320 to 192 as you stated above. But it's impossible to *increase* the bitrate.

The software might let you do it. In theory it's possible but you wouldn't gain any extra quality in doing so.

There are certain types of winamp plugins that can enhance the sound of an mp3. Havent tried any yet but you can find them at www.winamp.com

I am going to use 160KB/s for new encoding, I think that gives a reasonable sound.

128 is fine, but much lower than that sounds a bit crap.

over 192 I don't think you hear much difference unless you got a damn good soundcard/stereo setup

i use 160KB/s for new encodings and have a lot at 128KB/s which do the trick . .

i use a variable bit rate of 96 to 192. thats decent.

128 is fine by me, what do u guys think of mp3-pro?

I think there's a lot of crap talked about sound quality. Of course differences exist between formats, but you need to have good - and sometimes absolutely top notch - equipment to appreciate them.

My PC has a standard soundcard, and is hooked up to a cheapish, but solid seperates system. (Richer sounds don't sell crap!) 128 mp3s sound fine. They also sound fine when recorded to LP4 Minidisc - another compression tecnique which is supposed to degrade sound quality.

There will always be some people who care more about digital quality than the quality of the product itself. For geeks like these me have those strange superbit dvds, and those "enhanced" cd jobbies.

For sensible people, it doesn't really matter.

Anyway, The Libertines sound great in ANY format, and thats because the album sounds like it was recorded in a toilet anyway.

GSB

Try To Get All @ 128

I get most of my mp3's now at 128. I record everything at 192 though.

when i used to rip em i always used to use 96, seemed good enough to me.

as for downloads i dont really care about bitrate as long as its resonably complete

128 is fine, 192 sounds tinny and lesser quality to me.

96 = radio quality
128 = cd quality (roughly)

I only noticed a 'good' difference on a 320kbps one, but they're 2.5 times the size.

what bitrate would people recommend for FM radio recordings?

just to clarify, thats recording from FM radio to mp3

and what difference does 44kHz vs 22kHz sampling make ?
i assume it will roughly half the file size, is this correct?

cheers :D

22kHz will make your music sound like it's being played through a £10 radio with a speaker on the front.

monkeyfister spouted:
22kHz will make your music sound like it's being played through a £10 radio with a speaker on the front.

ok - i'll not do that then :D

mp3 tips for newbie broadcasters - learnt from bitter experience and reading the instructions a few days after opening the box...

if you wanna reach a wider audience (those with a dial-up connection too)and broadcasting on shoutcast, jetcast etc make sure the bit rates on your mp3s are LOW.

Also

If you're broadcasting using dial-up 56k don't transmit at any speed higher than 28 - it's - your bandwidth won't tolerate it. Shoutcast recommend 24.