File formats etc...

[Noumenon]

Not really sure where to put this, so admins please move it if necessary.

Anyway; I'm planning on releasing my album for free on the net. Thinking of several versions (192kps, 320kps, vbr, lossless etcetcetc) and a pdf-booklet. The questions are, what formats/bitrates should I make them and should I make them directly from the sequencer (logic) or should I rip them from the cd-image (I'm making one in case I ever get the money to actually print cds)?

 

[wishtheend]

Rip them from the CD image. Since the CD will be the final product and the download are just copies of that. I would go with 320kbps MP3 and FLAC as the two formats. Mp3 is still the standard even though M4a may sound better - but at 320kbps, the quality will be decent. FLAC of course is there for those who want the pure version.

 

[Ola Englund]

I just export directly from Logic. Put some dithering on it and put it straight to the web!

Ad tell me when you've done it so I can download all the songs

 

[006]

I don't care who anybody is, you cannot tell the difference in quality from a 16/44.1 wav and 256kbps mp3.

~006

 

[colonel kurtz]

in all honesty, i don't find that much of a difference between a 16/44.1 wav and a 192kb mp3

128 is total trash, of course, but beyond 192 the difference is pretty f'ing hard to hear

 

[JBroll]

I don't care who anybody is, you cannot tell the difference in quality from a 16/44.1 wav and 256kbps mp3.

~006

With good headphones I've done it, but then again I hear fluorescent lights, stereo systems, and my own heartbeat.

Jeff

 

[MetallyGuitarded]

I think a lot of the 'difference' between WAV and good MP3s are how the MP3's are ripped. Some programs default to joint stereo which is not mono but not really stereo either. Also, some have HP / LP filters by default to strip out 'excess' frequencies and enhance compression. I can only imagine that FLAC rippers are the same. I have over 500GB of MP3's and around 192 and up sound very good for the most part. Maybe the advantage of owning shitty speakers is that I can't hear what's missing but ignorance is bliss after all.

 

[JBroll]

That's usually what I hear - extreme highs are missing from MP3s unless you explicitly tell the encoder to leave them in.

Jeff

 

[seditz740novaprospect]

With good headphones I've done it, but then again I hear fluorescent lights, stereo systems, and my own heartbeat.

Jeff

im the same way


i can pick all kinds of stuff out expecially if im in my control room

 

[ArtGarceau]

I don't care who anybody is, you cannot tell the difference in quality from a 16/44.1 wav and 256kbps mp3.

~006

On a good pair of speakers it's pretty easy. In a car or on a pair of low cost monitors (Rokits, Yamaha HS, M-Audio BX, etc)...no you probably won't hear a difference. Like JBroll said there is a difference in the highs.

 

[abyssofdreams]

That's usually what I hear - extreme highs are missing from MP3s unless you explicitly tell the encoder to leave them in.

Jeff

how can I tell the encoder to leave them in?

 

[wishtheend]

Another reason to rip them from a "CD" version is so that the ID3 tags properly match the album. Especially if you offer the album for download, you don't want people to have to go and tag their own files before throwing them on the ipod. And in the even the CD has slightly different run times - you'd want the mp3 to match the exact track length of the CD version.

 

[Noumenon]

Well, of course they must be tagged properly

 

[006]

Yes I know there is a difference in the highs...but as you said, in a car you probably won't notice it. Which is exactly my point. I'm pretty sure most metal fans don't have a $1,000+ monitor setup to listen to music on. Most people listen to music in their cars and on $40 headphones. The high end the mp3 conversion takes away is what? Extreme high end.... Might as well stop low-passing guitars because OMG we're losing high end that way!!! There is a point where the human ear stops picking up frequencies on both ends of the spectrum... last I checked the BULK of the freqs that mp3 conversion disposes of consists of those frequencies we can't hear anyway.

Despite that...do any of you honestly think the average listener can tell the difference? I highly doubt it. Nor would they give a shit if you told them.

~006

 

[AdamWathan]

192kbps MP3 is plenty good enough for me, I guess I'm just a lowly commoner who should be spat on by the audio community as well.

 

[Metaltastic]

192kbps MP3 is plenty good enough for me, I guess I'm just a lowly commoner who should be spat on by the audio community as well.

Hahaha, join the club Adam!

 

[006]

That's what I'm sayin... all my stuff is 192kbps or 256....mostly 192. Doesn't bother me one single bit.

~006

 

[AdamWathan]

Hahaha, join the club Adam!

Curiosity, where do you know my name from?

 

[Metaltastic]

Who's who thread homie - I figured we'd helped each other out with enough stuff (and agreed on enough stuff!) that a first-name basis wouldn't be too presumptuous, hope it's ok!

 

[AdamWathan]

Who's who thread homie - I figured we'd helped each other out with enough stuff (and agreed on enough stuff!) that a first-name basis wouldn't be too presumptuous, hope it's ok!

Haha yeah man it's all good! I just thought maybe I knew you from another board or something