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Topic: 128/ 192/ 320 kbs mp3 files

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Hi there.

I would like to know if is there any big difference among files at 128/192/320 kbs when being played.

Would the audience be able to recognize the difference?

Regards
 
Posted Sun 10 Aug 08 @ 3:56 pm
128 kbits sounds horrible, even through my home hi-fi. Once you get to about 180 kbits, most people cannot tell a difference. With the way that mp3 works, a file with an variable bitrate (average) of 180 may be of better quality than one which is 192 kbps cbr. It depends on the encoder used and the source etc.

Generally, encode your music at a minimum of of 192 kbps or a similar preset.
 
scrap mp3 and go with wave or flac,

People think mp3 is near cd quality, while i tell you different
 
frank, yes, at 128 the music quality really is the pants, you need to be around the 200 mark as an average for it to be of playable value in any venue, go do a sound test yourself, record the same track at 128 and increments thereafter and play them back on the same equipment, that is what your audience can percieve in sound quality as well, there is your answer.

 
switching from diferent bitrates when mixing will also be very noticable. wav files are huge, but are the best quality. 320kbs mp3s sound very close to wav's. If all your files are converted to 320kbs or you actually legally download music this is a good bitrate.
 
yes, I legally dowloaded the files from a website, but with my big disappointment I discovered only today that they are not all at 320 kbps.

I checked the bitrate of the tracks I dowloaded from this website ( emusic.com) and most of them are at 128 kbps.
Is there any way to manually bring them to a higher bitrate or do I have to download them again from another website like beatport.com?

Thanks to everybody
 
it will bring you nothing to convert 128 to a higher bit rate
 
128 is decent and at a DJ gig the people will most likely not notice the difference. Higher rates such as 256K should sound better and do. However you have to sit down and really listen to the music on a good system. Most of the time when I am DJing people are yelling and drinking. There is a lot of background noise. Most download sites have their files at 192K for WMA and 256K for MP3. Those are good rates and the one's that I recommend. There are some sites that cater to pro DJs that offer 320K download rates. Don't be cheap. Get the best rate available. Also rip you cd's at 256K or higher. Another thing to consider is that another DJ may show up at your club with CD's or higher bit MP3's and sound better than you if you are at only 128k. Most people won't notice but suppose that someone does notice the difference!
 

200kbps ABR is a good minimum.
320kbps is good practice.
WAV is ideal if space/service permits, there isn't much excuse for the former with HD's being as big and cheap as they are.
 
I convert all my files to either 256kbps of 320kbps depending on what software I use.

I tend to go with this House and Dance music (which I play the most) bitrate of 320kbp, Chart music and everything else 256kbps

On a good, clear system you do need to use the higher bitrate IMO.

 
I've always used 192 (space was an issue when I first started ripping). It sounds okay, but I would take advantage of higher rates (256-320) if you're just starting to rip your collection. These rates tend to work better with some VDJ features such as master tempo.
 
Hard Discs are Cheap, i rip at 320cbr. I can always tell when a file is at 128.. especially i the high end
 


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