Okay, mp3 question! :)

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Prydonian

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Hi! I have a question, and I'm desperately hoping someone here can help me... :) Here it is:

Let's say I'm burning a CD, and I want to rip open an mp3 into WAV format and burn it on with songs that I took directly off CD's. Is the only way to ensure that the mp3 comes out with the same volume and quality as the other songs to make sure it had a bitrate of 192 kbps rather than the standard 128 kbps? This is my question! :) Can anybody help me? Thanks!
 
Wehn you make the mp3, the higher the bitrate, the greater the quality, in simple terms. Most likely 128kbps will be good enough, if you use a good encoder (ie Fraunhofer). To be on the safe side you may use 192kbps, but then, to be on the REALLY safe side use 320. :)
The higher the bitrate, the less compression and the less the mp3 file will be changed from the original.
 
Ah! So then...

Wow, thanks! I understand...

So then, do you think would it be excessive of me to only download mp3's of 320 kbps, just 'cause I want the best quality I can get?

So the compression options are, following 128: 160, 192, 256, 320? And the only difference is that each one is slightly better than the last? Sorry to be so inquisitive, I just don't want to find out one day that, like, everything will rip and burn just fine *except* 160's because of some fundamental difference or something like that! That would be my luck...

Last question: What is Fraunhofer?

Thanks again! :)
 
Yes, I think it would be "excessive" to only download 320's, unless you can hear the difference between 320's and 256's. :)

There are lower compression ratios than 128 too. 92, 64, 56, 32, probably some more, i don't know. Oh, and there is variable bitrate too, where the bitrate varies...

Fraunhofer is an mp3 encoder, and one of the best.
 
Ah...

Well, see, that's just it... I don't know whether I can hear the difference! :) But I gather from the way you said it that I shouldn't be able to, right? I mean, technically there must be *some* difference... See, for all I know they could sound identical on my lousy computer speakers but noticeably different on headphones... Or fine by themselves, but different next to CD songs. I just don't know enough about it... I just want it as close to CD sound as I can get it, is all...

As for Fraunhofer, ah... I wouldn't be using an encoder, though, would I? I'm just opening up mp3's from Napster, not making my own... So the encoder wouldn't ever be an issue for me, would it?

So, what would you recommend I do, bearing in mind that these songs will be burned onto CD's with songs that were never mp3's, and I'd like to not notice a difference in volume or clarity? How would you do it? Thanks again for your help, I'd be sort of adrift without it! :)
 
I now figured out what you actualy are doing, and my answer is that I wouldn't do it in the first place, because it seesm to me you are copying music illegaly. That is stealing, which is immoral.

However: Since you are burning it to audio CD's anyway, space is not an issue, so you should obviously download the song with the highest bit rate when you have a choice. But I think it would be kinda silly not to download a song because it's encoded in 128K or lower, right? :)
 
What? No, no...

Excuse me? I mean... okay, I'm going to approach this calmly. You don't really know me, so you have no reason to expect me to behave in any specific way... Therefore I suppose that, rather be offended, I should appreciate the fact you actually have a moral code, which is all too rare a thing these days! But, just so ya know, I'm not doing any such thing... morality is very important to me. Heck, I'll only even use Napster to download songs that are impossible to find otherwise. I'm not quite sure what you thought I was up to, but I'm just burning a Halloween mix CD for myself! I suppose, to be fair, my questions did sound a little weird... I'm just anal about quality...
 
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