Quality of iTunes encoding vs. LAME

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Level 1

15 points

Quality of iTunes encoding vs. LAME

Hi all,

I have ripped a lot of my CDs to Apple Lossless and am now rapidly running out of space.

I have tried re-encoding them to AAC and MP3 at various settings and cannot hear a great deal of difference between them, if any!

I have a Creative Soundworks 730 CD/Radio and use AirTunes to stream music.

I also listen to MP3 CDs in the car (player cannot play AAC files).

So, I want to encode everything using the highest quality MP3 file possible for maximum compatibility and to prevent having to convert between formats and have several copies tracks for various uses. It's an administrative nightmare!

So... how do I get the best MP3 possible? LAME used to be considered the best MP3 encoder, but how does it stand up with recent updates to CoreAudio/Quicktime encoder?

Shall I just encode in iTunes or use an application that uses LAME?

Thanks!

John

PS. Is AAC really that much better than MP3? I have read conflicting things.

Message was edited by: John Clare

iMac G5 20, Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Posted on Aug 7, 2009 4:14 AM

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Answer 1

Limnos

Level 10

427,097 points

Aug 7, 2009 7:21 AM in response to John Clare

You're asking a lot of good questions and I don't think there is any definite answer unless you're talking extreme condition encoding (e.g., at very low bitrates). I'd do a general web search because I know I have seen comparison articles out there. You might also need to factor in when they were posted to make sure they are talking current versions. Then again, some of this is going to be relative to each listener.

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Answer 2

Aug 7, 2009 8:23 AM in response to John Clare

Mp3 (320 kbps) is the best, if you still want 100% CD quality, than try WAV or Apple Lossless - they offer the best bitrate upto 1600 kbps. but the file sizes can vary from 40MB for a 4 mins song to 110 MB for a 10 mins song.

MP3 320 KBPS, seems like a wise choice. however it's upto you.

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Answer 3

John Clare Author

Level 1

15 points

Aug 7, 2009 8:32 AM in response to MUSIC_foryou

MUSIC_foryou wrote:
Mp3 (320 kbps) is the best, if you still want 100% CD quality, than try WAV or Apple Lossless - they offer the best bitrate upto 1600 kbps. but the file sizes can vary from 40MB for a 4 mins song to 110 MB for a 10 mins song.

MP3 320 KBPS, seems like a wise choice. however it's upto you.

Thanks for your reply. However, I understand all your points already! My question was more to do with whether the latest iTunes MP3 encoder was any worse than LAME, and if it was worth using a Mac app such as iTunes-LAME to encode the tracks.

LAME is far slower, if it offers no real advantage over iTunes encoder, then I won't bother!

And, I'm curious if AAC has any advantage over MP3, particularly at >192kbps bit rates.

John

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Answer 4

Limnos

Level 10

427,097 points

Aug 7, 2009 9:13 AM in response to John Clare

[http://www.google.com/search?q=aac vsmp3]

e.g.

http://ipod.about.com/od/introductiontoitunes/a/soundqualtest.htm

From [http://www.stereophile.com/features/308mp3cd/index1.html]
"It is true that there are better-performing MP3 codecs than the basic Fraunhöfer—many audiophiles recommend the LAME encoder—but the AAC codec used by iTunes has better resolution than MP3 at the same bit rate (if a little noisier at the top of the audioband). If you want the maximum number of files on your iPod, therefore, you take less of a quality hit if you use AAC encoding than if you use MP3. But "CD quality"? Yeah, right!"

Message was edited by: Limnos

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Answer 5

ed2345

Level 9

63,584 points

Aug 7, 2009 2:55 PM in response to John Clare

John Clare wrote:

PS. Is AAC really that much better than MP3? I have read conflicting things.

At 128 kb/s encoding, which was common several years ago, AAC is noticeably better. Somewhere around 192, its advantage vanishes, and at 256, which is the common rate nowadays, AAC and MP3 provide equally good audio, although MP3 enjoys support on a much wider array of players, programs, and phones.

A lot of folks here refer to this article in Planet of Sound.

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Answer 6

Aug 7, 2009 5:52 PM in response to John Clare

Hi

I get it, you got some doubts, but it's really simple.

AAC = Better quality than Mp3 (proven, atleast 10-15% more sound details)
MP3 = Usually the most accessible & playable on 95% of media/music players.

In this case, AAC is the winner when it comes to *better sound quality* as it's a newer technology than the MP3 era & the latest iTunes encoder is excellent + there's a advantage that you don't need to add songs to your library, which can be a hassle if it involves encoding & adding hundreds of songs.

Another thing / if you do choose AAC, check 256 kbps instead 192 kbps, for near CD Quality, as lowering the bitrates will lower the beats & details.

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