Mp3 Converter

[Clipping]

I intend to convert 24 Bits 96 Khz 78 rpm wave files to MP3.

Any recommendations for a good MP3 converter are appreciated.

[DJBohn]

Hi Clipping,
I may be wrong (I haven't looked at available MP3 converters lately), but I don't believe there are any MP3 converters that can work with 24/96 WAV files. I think you will have to change the WAV to 16/44.1 first.

Secondly, considering the limited fidelity of 78's, I don't think the playback would benefit from such a high resolution and sample rate - only the restoration process itself would benefit from it.

I would however suggest getting CDex to convert your music to MP3's. It uses the Lame Encoder Engine and is very flexible. The best thing about this converter is it's free! I downloaded mine from www.downloads.com - If they don't have it anymore, I could send you a copy (send me a private message with your e-Dress). Try starting out with these settings when you configure the encoder section. Note: These settings will take a lot of time to process, but if you are like me, the extra quality is worth the wait! (the program does have batch file ability...)

Thread Priority - Lowest
Encoder - Lame MP3 Encoder (I use version 1.30, engine 3.92 MMX)
Encoder Options:
Version - MPEG 1
Bitrate Min. - 160 kbps, Bitrate Max. - 320 kbps
Mode - Mono (I use J-Stereo which works well with encoded Surround Sound)
Quality - High (q=2)
VBR Method - VBR-MTRH (if sound is funky, try one of the other VBR settings)
VBR Quality - VBR 2
Output Sample Rate - 48 kHz (seems to give crisper less dull sounding treble than 44.1 kHz)

I have very good luck using these setting with almost all of the music I put into it. I would recommend not using the "MP3 on-the-fly" option which may be quicker, but the overall quality will not be as good. (always start with a WAV file on the computer for conversion) These settings give me excellent sound quality on playback, while still allowing me to squeeze 150 to 180 songs on each CD! Let me know how it works for you.

[Clipping]

Did anybody use or know about MP3 to WAVE Converter PLUS from Acoustica?

[IveyLeaguer]

Hi Everybody,

The first thing you want to do is preserve your original wave files. I learned the hard way it's important to do this at each stage of processing. You do this with LOSSLESS compression.

After years of research and practice with compression and restoration, I am down to only 2 methods of compression - mp3 and ape (lossless). Lossless cuts the wave file in about half. The great thing about it is a lossless file can be compressed/decompressed at will with ZERO loss of audio information (thus, lossless). My favorite is Monkey's, very easy to use, found here: http://monkeysaudio.com/index.html

Lame is the standard for mp3 as DJBohn said. The development of Lame has been over for more than a year (it cannot get any better). The page linked below is the best forum for audio compression (the one the developers use). Follow the settings and download Lame 3.90.3 (the expert's favorite). Use '-alt-preset-standard' (about 190 kbps) to '-alt-preset-insane' (320 kbps)and you'll have the world's best mp3's. You need a frontend since Lame is a DOS program - I like Speek's frontend. It is linked on Hydrogen Audio's Lame page, I think, or google 'Speek's frontend'. Simple follow the readmes. Here's the link: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/...howtopic=28124 All of these programs are small, powerful, and FREE.

As a classically trained musician and audiophile I'm as picky as it gets. On my 80 GB laptop computer I have mp3's (about 2500 of them, @ -alt-preset-standard). On the larger desktop & external drive I have the whole collection in APES, the lossless files. Both mp3's and apes were made from wave files which were 'doctored' by DCLive5, to the least extent possible. The entire collection is backed up in APES on a backup hard drive. From there, you can play with them at will. The point is, once you finish restoring or processing the file, make an APE copy and you'll always have that file 100% original. MP3's are LOSSY, and each time you compress or decompress you lose audio information.

So, the process goes: 1. DiamondCut waves to APES (archives) 2. DiamondCut waves to MP3's (or some other lossy compression). If you want to do something to a file in your collection, simply decompress the APE (no need to copy it) and you'll have your DiamondCut wave file, the perfect original.

In addition, I recommend saving the originals of all vinyl recordings, or other special recordings. I also save the "cleaned" copies, one that has been declicked only and one after the declick/CNF or other filters using the multifilter. APES are the way to go with these files as well. They'll always be perfect copies of the file at that particular stage. After some time, I delete all but the vinyl original and the 'cleaned' original.

Hope this helps.

P.S. WinAmp (and Nero, FWIW) has an APE plugin, so you can listen to APES on your high-end system and it's the same as listening to original WAVES.

[Dan McDonald]

... and a backup hard drive is pretty important.. I learned that the hard way. Save the originals and restored copies to CD and to an external hard drive.

Dan

[amyangel]

I wish to help you!

I know a site: http://www.filesforfree.com/audioconvertors.htm

there are many software.I hope you can find what you need.

[Craig Maier]

DC Audio Mentor includes a very good MP3 encoder and decoder. It also includes a WMA encoder and decoder as well. Mentor can be found in our online store located at:

http://www.diamondcut.com/osc/index.php

[Geebster]

Just a very short time ago we had a thread going about MP3 in the 'General Audio' forum. After all the listening and clinical tests I performed, I see no benefit anymore of using MP3 at all. Sure, the files are slightly smaller than the non-lossy formats, but at a huge sacrifice to sound quality. To review the actual compression of the various formats (MP3, .ape, etc) see thread below:

http://www.diamondcut.com/vforum/sho...?t=2315&page=3

Dan is so correct about the virtues of a removable hard drive system, so your work is protected. I tend to back-up my data in multiple formats in various ways, so if 1 type of media fails, I still have the others.

Besides my 'throw-away' copies of restorations, I usually copy to a removable hard drive, DVD (in original .wav format), DVD (compressed by back-up program) and on archival CD. That way I have my music preserved in three differing medias to prevent disaster.

With all of this said, quality of the music is most important to me, while it may not be as important to others. That's why I have completely ceased using MP3 of any kind because it sounds so inferior to me.

GB

[Geebster]

Non-Loss Formats

While on the subject of non-loss formats, I still tend to use extreme caution when working with any of the non-loss formats as file errors could make the files corrupt.

Craig and I had a short discussion about it awhile back:

Quoting Craig: "Given that there is no free lunch, I wonder what the data error rate of the non-lossy compression techniques are compared to non-compressed files. I have been told that non-lossy compression works on the principle of storing the incremental value of a sample rather than the entire value. Since the delta value from one sample to the next is usually less than the sum of each value, compression is achieved.

I once heard an accountant say that the road to hell is paved by the technique of incremental accounting. This sounds like a very similar situation. Hmmmm.

In other words, the errors build up over time. One error carries forward forever or until the next error correction frame."

So, I NEVER rely completely on a compressed file of any kind and also try to keep my compression/decompression routines down to a minimum.

GB

[Craig Maier]

I agree that compressed audio is not "high fidelity". But, for those that do want to use compressed audio, the DC Audio Mentor does have a good set of routines to accomplish that feat.

[Geebster]

Yep. And while it would be rare that I would need to ever rip a MP3, for that reason and others is why I am going to include Mentor in my arsenal of sound enchancement. I also like the fact that you can shell out to DC6 whenever the need arises.

GB

[cromag]

I mostly listen to mp3s on my ... mp3 player! (an old Creative Nomad Jukebox 2).

If you're converting to mp3 to listen on an mp3 player check to see if any software came with your player -- you might already have what you need.

[Geebster]

Hey Cromag!

Remember?... I don't use a portable. (we had a thread going a month or so ago) Don't give me any excuses NOT to get Mentor. I just want to have it and having any reason to justify it keeps the GF off my back!

GB

Note: Dan McDonald has a thread somewhere on this BBS about the EZ filter being a bit more robust (than DC6) on Audio Mentor. I've tried it and it seems to work better for me as well. For that reason as well as it being completely integrated with DC6, makes it a worthy purchase in my book.

[Craig Maier]

Quoting GB:

"Dan McDonald has a thread somewhere on this BBS about the EZ filter being a bit more robust (than DC6) on Audio Mentor. I've tried it and it seems to work better for me as well. For that reason as well as it being completely integrated with DC6, makes it a worthy purchase in my book."

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The EZ Clean filter in Mentor is more sophisticated than the one in DC6 or Live / Forensics. However, it is just as "EZ" for the user. It has the same controls, but the internal architecture of the routines have been enhanced providing a higher level of performance on impulsive type noise.