So I have been doing some LP transfers and am wondering what quality they are being recorded at. They sound alright. But I want to know if it is 128...320...etc. How can I tell?

Just look in your recording s/w's settings.

Jay

When you play back the track, most media players will display the bitrate.

Although if you are making a VBR MP3 the displayed bitrate may be an average or some number that is very low, depending on which player software you have. Windows Media Player shows the average bitrate for VBR MP3.

Ok my recordings are at 128 bit. Sounds good. Down the road I may want better. Better needles? Better external sound card? Different program? What makes my bit rate go up? Audacity is what I am using now.

what is vbr and why cant you use it with CDJs? how do i avoid vbr? its obviously bad?

Last edited by xstalkrx on Oct-28-2005 at 05:29

vbr = various bit rate

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VBR is Variable Bit Rate, I use it all the time with no problems, the LAME encoder "Alt Preset Standard" setting which gives an actual bitrate of 128 to 320 kbps depending on if the music needs it at any particular point, this setting generally gives an average bitrate of about 192 kbps. But some CD players and software have problems with VBR so to be safe most commercial MP3 stores only use CBR (Constant Bit Rate) 192 to 320 kbps.

The AAC format used by Apple uses a form of VBR.

If you're just starting out, probably a good setting is 192 kbps CBR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VBR

quote:

Originally posted by tvmann VBR is Variable Bit Rate, I use it all the time with no problems, the LAME encoder "Alt Preset Standard" setting which gives an actual bitrate of 128 to 320 kbps depending on if the music needs it at any particular point, this setting generally gives an average bitrate of about 192 kbps. But some CD players and software have problems with VBR so to be safe most commercial MP3 stores only use CBR (Constant Bit Rate) 192 to 320 kbps. The AAC format used by Apple uses a form of VBR. If you're just starting out, probably a good setting is 192 kbps CBR. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VBR

what do you mean setting? I dont see anywhere to set my bit rate higher. windows media says 128 k/bits a second. my recording software says that i am recording at 44.1Khz 16-bit. That is three different numbers. What do they all mean?

Last edited by xstalkrx on Oct-28-2005 at 06:28

I don't use Audacity but there should be a place somewhere in the program where you can set the bitrate for the MP3s that are created. If the program will create a WAV file you could save the WAV file and later on make MP3s at different bit rates.

128 is probably too low but if you're just using computer speakers you may not be able to hear the difference. With 128 you will hear some small inaccuracies or glitches or "artifacts" in the sound, but if your speakers or headphones are not the best and you're not listening closely you might not notice at first.

Most people here are fussy about their audio and would only use 128 for long recordings like DJ mixes they put online or find there. Most everyone after some testing would want to use 192 kbps CBR or higher, or maybe VBR.

128 was the standard about 5 years ago, and is good enough for lots of people who are casual listeners who use MP3 players with inexpensive headphones, or average-quality car stereos.

ahhh my wav to mp3 program has a setting to make the bitrate higher.

however, the files sound to be exactly the same. I cannot hear any difference at all.

if i have an mp3 that was saved at 128. can i take this mp3 and rewrite it to say..192 or higher? or will i have to record the LP again to my computer and save as wav. Then take the wav and make it a 192 mp3?

I guess I will just save all my mp3's at 192. 192 seems the standard now? What does 44.1Khz 16-bit mean and is it bad? That is what my recorder says I am recording at.

Last edited by xstalkrx on Oct-28-2005 at 06:44

No, you can't get any better sound from a 128 MP3 that is re-encoded to 192, in fact it will probably sound a little worse due to extra conversion steps. You need to go back to the original WAV file and make a new MP3 when you want to change the MP3 bitrate.

44.1 Khz is the usual sample rate and means you are sampling the audio at 44,100 samples per second, which is enough to cover up to 22,050 Hz audio (22.05 Khz). Well, not quite that high but too complex to get into that here.

16 bits means there are 16 bits in the analog-to-digital converter binary numbers that sample your audio, so it puts out numbers from 0 to positive or negative 2**15 which is 32,767. That gives you a good digital signal-to-noise ratio. More bits are better, but 16 bits is the standard as used for CD audio so it's pretty good.

192 kbs CBR is a good selection. Eventually you would probably become unsatisfied with 128.

quote:

Originally posted by xstalkrx ahhh my wav to mp3 program has a setting to make the bitrate higher. however, the files sound to be exactly the same. I cannot hear any difference at all. if i have an mp3 that was saved at 128. can i take this mp3 and rewrite it to say..192 or higher? or will i have to record the LP again to my computer and save as wav. Then take the wav and make it a 192 mp3? I guess I will just save all my mp3's at 192. 192 seems the standard now? What does 44.1Khz 16-bit mean and is it bad? That is what my recorder says I am recording at.

quote:

Originally posted by xstalkrx ahhh my wav to mp3 program has a setting to make the bitrate higher. however, the files sound to be exactly the same. I cannot hear any difference at all. if i have an mp3 that was saved at 128. can i take this mp3 and rewrite it to say..192 or higher? or will i have to record the LP again to my computer and save as wav. Then take the wav and make it a 192 mp3? I guess I will just save all my mp3's at 192. 192 seems the standard now? What does 44.1Khz 16-bit mean and is it bad? That is what my recorder says I am recording at.

It's impossible to go from 128 to 192. You have record the LP as a wave and compress it to mp3 in 192.

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The best way to go would be to rip your stuff to .wav not .mp3 I have my record collection on a secondary hard drive saved a .wav files. From there I can convert it into .mp3 if I wanted to but the lowest I'd use would be 320s. the 44.1 and the 16bit are the sample rate and the bit rate those being the stardard for audio CDs. Depending on your hardware and software you can record at higher sample and bit rates like 192khz 24bit, but then you can't play stuff like that on a CDJ.

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