When ripping CD's, what is the favoured format?

I'm guessing MP3 320kbps (although my mathematician mate who has worked on sound algorithms [whatever that means] says it's a waste above 192) and then do you prefer VBR or CBR??

And extra observation during my research.... I read just now that ripping through itunes is only licenced for replaying on ipods, nothing else! News to me.

I believe VBR is slightly better but the key question is having the most suitable format for blasting out tunes at a party or club..

Answers on a postcard please

Teez

I use exact audio copy + Lame encoder. Lame settings are set to the "insane" preset - the top-end CBR setting - i.e 320kbit with supposedly the best quality settings etc. Anything less isn't worth it for self-encodin imho. Some cheaper mp3 players *may* have problems with VBRs (mostly when skipping /searching through them)....

This is an interesting article about lossless and mp3 formats...
Trusted Reviews - Sounds Good To Me

Cheers

David

As always it depends..for example ..cortex units can now play VBR but they initially worked only with CBR so some players prefer it in a certain way as gadget says Some cheaper mp3 players *may* have problems with VBRs (mostly when skipping /searching through them).

I have also noticed that correct tagging and things like making sure you don't include album art as this can upset some media players and software.

normally for my home use... I make sure my files are tagged correctly to both id tag ID3v1 and ID3v2 standards , that they are CBR at 320 kbps 44 khz mp3 gained to 91dB with no non ID tags at all. The actual file names are always named Song title - Artist.

That is how I organise them for Home use.

Although people argue each way about what bit rate ..if you have the space why not go for WAV or the highest bit rate your player can handle?
Hard drive space is so cheap now that going any lower seems a false economy to me.

For DJ use maybe someone who uses mp3 music for there shows will be kind enough to tell you how they have there files.

David,

Thanks for that. I actually did read all the article this time. Confirmed that there is no absolute right or wrong.

It would be interesting to know if there's been a test in a Club or Hall environment for a DJ solution, other than personal preference or word of mouth.

I also dug around for Lame and EAC and have to say the quality coming out of this lot is better than what I've been using so far. I like having greater control over the tags etc. I did waste quite some time trying to download Lame as some of the download sites are questionable.

I found a really useful catchall site http://www.chrismyden.com/bestmp3guide.php and if followed to the letter produces a good result. (The tweaks to Lame seem to add value)

I just wanted to also add that the addin http://www.freedb.org/ in EAC was a bonus. I hadnt heard about it before and I was just about to spend £20 to join the new TuneUp facility for iTunes.

Thanks for that.

Teez

And if you use the accurate rip feature and make sure you're CD drive is in their db - even better - cos at least it gives you some idea if your Drive is working as it should be.

Make sure you set the offset correctly for the drive - it will make sure that it rips from the right place on each track..

Use secure copy mode - its slower but it will make sure that your CD is extracted as best it can be.. And tell you of dodgy bits if not. With accurate rip you can also send your results to the accuraterip db - I do it quite often.. (I also submit stuff to the freedb db too)

I'm quite surprised that some fairly scratched CDs actually extracted really well.. I've had a couple of CDs tracks which have had "suspicious" positions on them. I label these tracks accordingly :) (Or If I've already got it elsewhere then it gets binned!)

Cheers,

David