So I ran something I made through a spectral analyzer the other day, and noticed everything gets cut off after 16KHz. At first I thought it was exceptionally bad production on my part, which may indeed be part of the case, but then I ran some other mp3s through the same analyzer and got the same result.
I'm guessing the compression involved with mp3s (depending on quality of course) generally includes cutting off frequencies below 50Hz and above 16KHz...is this right?
Mar-09-2004 03:12
Matt Jay
Supreme tranceaddict
Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Brisbane, Australia
I think encoding to mp3 cuts out frequencies we can't hear, so that might be the reason why?
I'm not 100% sure though
try testing a wav file through the analyzer then encode to mp3 and do the same.
Mar-09-2004 03:38
hey cheggy
like a tiger
Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Sydney, Australia
Yeah, above 16k
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Mar-09-2004 04:50
J.L.
Never gonna give you up.
Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Toronto, Canada
depends on what bitrate you encode it in...
generally with 96 kb, you should be able to hear a loss in quality even if you have crappy speakers
with 128 kb, with most computer speakers, you should be able to hear a small reduction in the higher end frequencies if you listen very carefully
and 192 kb is considered "cd-quality" but there is still a slight reduction in quality but usually only those with high-quality monitors and "golden ears" can really notice the difference...
Mar-09-2004 07:58
Tranc3
tranceaddict in training
Registered: May 2002
Location: Santa Cruz, CA, US
quote:
Originally posted by kewlness
depends on what bitrate you encode it in...
generally with 96 kb, you should be able to hear a loss in quality even if you have crappy speakers
with 128 kb, with most computer speakers, you should be able to hear a small reduction in the higher end frequencies if you listen very carefully
and 192 kb is considered "cd-quality" but there is still a slight reduction in quality but usually only those with high-quality monitors and "golden ears" can really notice the difference...
Yeah this was all encoded at 192k/s, and I first noticed it because it sounded a little off. Not too sure on the golden ears thing though, it seems fairly obvious to me.
Mar-09-2004 08:51
dbl
Whitesun
Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Gothenburg/sweden
you can hear a little difference on a track if you first listen to it on a CD (the original cd offcourse) and then listen to the track on mp3....
but if you only listen to the mp3 you don't really notice the difference if you don't really pay attention to it and want to hear it
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Mar-09-2004 10:21
Cryogenic
Suspended User
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: .no
quote:
Originally posted by dbl
you can hear a little difference on a track if you first listen to it on a CD (the original cd offcourse) and then listen to the track on mp3....
but if you only listen to the mp3 you don't really notice the difference if you don't really pay attention to it and want to hear it
So what exactly do you mean by "mp3"... a file at 96kbit, 128 kbit or 256 kbit ?
It all depends on the encoding you know.
Cheers.
Mar-09-2004 10:36
dbl
Whitesun
Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Gothenburg/sweden
quote:
Originally posted by Cryogenic
So what exactly do you mean by "mp3"... a file at 96kbit, 128 kbit or 256 kbit ?
It all depends on the encoding you know.
Cheers.
ok.. sorry.. meant "CD" quality offcourse (192kbit)
well.. it's the same with above 196 too
if it's 96 or 128kbit offcourse you hear a difference since the quality is shit....
and i have tryied this in a studio
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Daniel
Mar-09-2004 12:34
J.L.
Never gonna give you up.
Registered: Aug 2002
Location: Toronto, Canada
I'm just wondering.. what kind of encoder do you use? for ex: (LAME, MP3PRO)
Mar-09-2004 14:41
Tranc3
tranceaddict in training
Registered: May 2002
Location: Santa Cruz, CA, US
I use the LAME encoder, not too sure but I've been told it's one of the best out there. All I really know is mp3 quality is shite.
Mar-09-2004 17:54
Luke Terry
tranceaddict oldskool
Registered: Oct 2001
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
mp3s are fine aslong they are encoded properly. i can personally distinguish between between an mp3 and a wave encoded at best quality in cdex at 192k, however at 224k i can't tell the difference. the new release method encoding in vbr is rather poor imo as you can tell its an mp3 almost straight away as areas drop into 96k, especially at the start of songs when there is nothing covering the percs.
Registered: Jan 2002
Location: Locked in my studio, somewhere in Holland
Well mp3s are made to reduce the amount of file usage of a wav file. So surely there is some information lost when encoding. That's the risk you have when using mp3s. But rest assure, this has nothing to do with your producing capabilities. It happens to everyone turning their songs into mp3.
Most people will probable can't tell the difference in quality, so it isn't that big of a problem. Most people will listen on hifi speakers, instead of high quality monitors.