MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

[Spoon]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

I hope you have other speakers with that subwoofer, some have very low frequency responces.

A few facts about audio:

You cannot judge a lossy audio codec on a frequecy graph, I could write a codec that gave a perfect freqeucy responce graph but would sound rubbish if you listened, lossy audio is all about artifacts and pre-echo (ringing etc).

To rate audio codecs the best way is to compare like with like (ie same bitrates, or filesizes) using a blind abx, if you know what codec you are listening to then you are influencing the test. ABX against the original, not the two compressed.

[Link500X]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

Yes, I do have other speakers connected to my subwoofer. But they are not nearly as grand as the speaker systems that everybody else in this forum has. My system is a simple gaming subwoofer and the stereo speakers that came with it. I don't have the money for expensive systems.
I don't think that race has anything to do with one's ability to hear the artifacts. I can hear the static that Lame produces, but not the reverb, overring, pre-echo, or whatever else you might call it(it is all the same) that Blade produces.

[neilthecellist]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

Well then, you can't judge on how good lossy audio sounds, because I'm assuming you have Logitech 2.1 set, which comes with the computer. Trust me, Link500X, computer speakers suck. SUCK SUCK SUCK. Like, seriously, they SUCK. (Forgive me if I assumed the wrong speaker set; correct me then)

As for ABX testing, have you ever been to one's house and tried it? If you have the time, go for it.

[neilthecellist]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

Oh and also, I've done ABX tests, but I don't have a scanner, I don't know how to take screenshots, so if someone tells me how to do that, I'll be able post "evidence".

[Tomb]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

As for ABX testing, have you ever been to one's house and tried it? If you have the time, go for it.

You don't need other people to ABX - just software such as WINABX and samples i.e original wav, mp3 at 128 k/bits then converted to wav and so on.. Oh and a good pair of headphones.

[ChristinaS]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

Oh and also, I've done ABX tests, but I don't have a scanner, I don't know how to take screenshots, so if someone tells me how to do that, I'll be able post "evidence".

Whenever you have somehting on your screen you want to take a screenshot of, just hit ALT + Print Screen.

Then open any imaging program like Paint and click on Edit > Paste and it will paste in the screenshot. Save it as jpg or whatever you want (don't forget to see where it goes, usually it's MY Documents > My Pictures) . Remember bmp is very large, it is to images what wav is to audio so save as jpg or gif.

[neilthecellist]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

but but but.....ABX testing on the computer is pointless and sounds like crap anyways on even the BEST headphones out there...more accurate test results can be obtained from performing the on kickarse audio systems like the L70 DVD-Receiver.

What I do for testing is I get my brother to take an original WAV file, (uncompressed PCM), and convert it to all these random lossy codecs, then convert all those lossy files back to WAV and then burn them to audio CD and then plays them on the L70 system with the PSB Platinum speakers. From then, i can test with friends(or by myself from now on) to see which format sounds better over the other. And we compare like

1. Listen to lossy
2. Listen to original
3. Compare.
4. Listen to new lossy
5. listen to original
6. listen to the first lossy
7. listen to the 2nd lossy again
8. compare to original
9. Choose a 3rd one and then repeat steps 4-8

[alrakis]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

Whenever you have somehting on your screen you want to take a screenshot of, just hit ALT + Print Screen.

Then open any imaging program like Paint and click on Edit > Paste and it will paste in the screenshot. Save it as jpg or whatever you want (don't forget to see where it goes, usually it's MY Documents > My Pictures) . Remember bmp is very large, it is to images what wav is to audio so save as jpg or gif.

It's not necessary: winabx creates automatically a log file in pure text.

[alrakis]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

...convert it to all these random lossy codecs...

bitrates?

[neilthecellist]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

Whenever you have somehting on your screen you want to take a screenshot of, just hit ALT + Print Screen.

Then open any imaging program like Paint and click on Edit > Paste and it will paste in the screenshot. Save it as jpg or whatever you want (don't forget to see where it goes, usually it's MY Documents > My Pictures) . Remember bmp is very large, it is to images what wav is to audio so save as jpg or gif.

thanks

[neilthecellist]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

bitrates?

We do 64, 128, 160, 192, and 320. Obviously, 64 is easy, so my brother and i stopped using it. now it's just 128, 160, (178 for ogg vorbis when comparing to 160) , 192, and 320.

[alrakis]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

So FhG outperformed Lame in that test? Cool. I think I'm going to reencode all my collection now.
I suggest however to give a serious try to winabx...

[adaywayne]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

You cannot judge a lossy audio codec on a frequecy graph

~~~~~~~~~~
Except to prove a "negative", such as a cutoff at, say, 8-10 MHz by mp3 at 64Kbps.
Arnie

[Link500X]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

Well then, you can't judge on how good lossy audio sounds, because I'm assuming you have Logitech 2.1 set, which comes with the computer. Trust me, Link500X, computer speakers suck. SUCK SUCK SUCK. Like, seriously, they SUCK. (Forgive me if I assumed the wrong speaker set; correct me then)

As for ABX testing, have you ever been to one's house and tried it? If you have the time, go for it.

The speaker that I have did not come with my computer. I bought them at EB Games. The brand is Century Concept Digital. They are for gaming, both console and computer. They are much better than the speakers that came with the computer.

[neilthecellist]

Re: MP3 Quality/Conversion: LAME vs. others

Ok sorry for the bad assumption.

Except to prove a "negative", such as a cutoff at, say, 8-10 MHz by mp3 at 64Kbps.
Arnie

Who cares? Who uses 64 kbps anyway? ^_^