What bitrate/quality is your music library?

[Santaji]

Most of my music is currently about 250kbps or a bit more then that, But some songs are 128kbps(I might be reimporting those CD's in a higher quality soon).
I was wondering what is the best bitrate for good quality and a decent file size?

[NightwishFan]

My music is usually flac which is lossless (600-1200kb/s). However for music that I generally just listen to and have no need to archive, I use 160kb/s ABR Vorbis Audio. :)

[dh04000]

I use VBR mp3 encoded with the newest lame-mp3 codec. Nothing it better at the file size it creates. IMO, this is the best combination of file size and sound quality.

[killfall]

To be honest it all depends on what you are using to play back the audio. Personally I like to rip at least 250kbps. I have a lot at 320kbps, but I listen back on quite high quality kit. I have previously put those songs onto my iPhone at 128kbps to save space and it really flattens things and the low end goes completely.

So basically if you like bass and have a good audio system rip at 320 if you can afford 8mb a song =:(

[dh04000]

To be honest it all depends on what you are using to play back the audio. Personally I like to rip at least 250kbps. I have a lot at 320kbps, but I listen back on quite high quality kit. I have previously put those songs onto my iPhone at 128kbps to save space and it really flattens things and the low end goes completely.

So basically if you like bass and have a good audio system rip at 320 if you can afford 8mb a song =:(

I would suggest ripping to VBR (variable bit rate) using the lame-mp3 codec. It has 320kb or better sound at 1/3 to 1/2 the size.

[MisterGaribaldi]

I'd use OGG if I could, but I don't have enough devices which support it. Sadly.

[cascade9]

About 70% flac, 20-25% MP3 VBR V0/CBR 256/320K, less than 5% crap MP3 (192K or less) less than 5% ogg vorbis (various bitrates).

*edit- I forgot, I have some albums in DTS. Not many, far less than 5% of my collection.

Pretty much everything I own that is rippable (not damaged, very old, etc) is in .flac. The tracks I want poatable are transcoded to MP3 V0. I have some rare stuff/live gigs/random bootlegs in 320K/256K/V0/Ogg vorbis as well, and only a tiny amount of stuff I simply cant find in a decent bitrate (probably less than 5%)

In these days of multi-terrabyte HDDs that are very cheap, why bother with lossy codecs?


I would suggest ripping to VBR (variable bit rate) using the lame-mp3 codec. It has 320kb or better sound at 1/3 to 1/2 the size.

VBR V0, which is pretty close to 320K normally comes out as about 250K. At '1/3 to 1/2 the size' you arent using V0, you are using something more like V3 to V7..which sound crappier than 320K CBR.

YOU might nto hear the difference with your ears and sound setup, but then you are back to the old 'less than 200K bitrate is good enough argument'.....and I dont buy it.

[realzippy]

RIAA 33⅓ min−1 vinyl.codec...

[sffvba[e0rt]

My bit-rates are as high as possible :) - I don't have any loss-less formats though... and non of my files are variable bit-rate (don't ask, must have had a horrible experience with it ten years ago :P)


404

[theraje]

To be honest it all depends on what you are using to play back the audio.

And also your hearing. Some people can't really distinguish a song encoded at 128k and the same song encoded at 256k. On the other hand, some people say a 128k file sounds horrible compared to one encoded at 256k.

This is why you shouldn't drive your car with those supercharged subwoofers that shake windows on the other side of your city block -- keep that up, and all you'll hear is rumbling (or, more likely, hissing).

But I go ahead and encode at 320k, since my music collection is relatively small (around 500 songs), and my MP3 player has 8GB of storage space.

[Spice Weasel]

60% 1000kbps flacs
30% 3000kbps flac vinyl rips
10% 128-320kbps mp3s

Vinyl rips if the music is available on vinyl, 1000kbps if it is only available on CD or downloads, 128-320kbps mp3s if it is only available on the internets.

Before you ask, I can tell the difference between lossy and lossless. This isn't convenient at all if you use a MP3 player frequently, the best bitrate really depends on how often you listen to music on the go. ;)

[bikodog]

RIAA 33⅓ min−1 vinyl.codec...

ditto

[DoktorSeven]

Mostly flac (CD rips), need to re-rip a lot of stuff I did with q7 Ogg Vorbis in the early days but I'm lazy.

I can tell the difference, and my music player (Sansa Clip+) supports flac :)

[RiceMonster]

Mixed. Lots of flac, lots of 320kbps mp3s, etc.

[stmiller]

I like to use:


lame -V2 -q0

[Dustin2128]

It's all loss-less FLAC, and I play it over a monster cable woven from elf hairs dipped in unicorn blood and plated with extraterrestrial gold! IT IS THE ONLY WAY!










Seriously though, average 192k.

[MisterGaribaldi]

Let me actually *answer* the OP's question this time.

The most important thing for me in audio formats is portability. Like it or not, MP3 is still the single most supported (and therefore most portable) format available. I've played around with OGG Vorbis (I think it sounds excellent) and I've heard a lot of good things about FLAC, but they just don't enjoy the kind of ubiquity that MP3 does. If they did, I'd use them instead.

All my stuff I rip using either Asunder (http://littlesvr.ca/asunder/) or iTunes, and I rip all my stuff at 192K because that represents the sweet spot between quality and file size. 256 is cool, but for the increase in size, you don't get a commensurate increase in quality. Moreover, I listen to music mostly in my car, and while 192K is better than 128K (for instance) as long as the quality settings are high enough, you almost can't tell because of the noise associated with being in a car.

[BHEJU]

As some of the members mentioned above, it depends on the type of device you use to playback the music. I mostly use portable player with very high end headphones. And I prefer VBR or at least >250.
So, if you really want to get the best music quality then you should be equally if not more concerned about the speakers / headphones you use.

Cheers

[Spice Weasel]

I play it over a monster cable woven from elf hairs dipped in unicorn blood and plated with extraterrestrial gold! IT IS THE ONLY WAY!

Not all audiophiles are that crazy. :(

[koleoptero]

Nobody uses musepack I see.

[gintovan]

I'm as far from an audiophile as can be I guess. Don't care really, music is just background noise for the most part to me.

But most files is MP3 at 128K-192k. But then again I only have 5GB of music on the PC. I mostly just use some net radio or grooveshark.

[Spr0k3t]

When I'm ripping for archival purposes I will always rip to FLAC or lossless OGG. I always make a duplicate of the audio disc and then never use the original again. If it's music I'm going to be listening to in the car, no less than 320K in MP3 or at least 92% variable bitrate quality. I've got plenty of room to spare so small size isn't important.

[Ctrl-Alt-F1]

I try to get at least 256kbps for mp3, preferably 320kpbs. I use mp3 because it's DRM free and supported by all music stores and devices. I don't buy physical discs ever anymore, so I can't rip my own formats. Cd's are a waste of space imo.

[cascade9]

@ MisterGaribaldi- you are still using CBR 192K files? Unless you've got some device that only supports CBR, VBR is better overall. VBR V2 should be better quality at about the same filesize as CBR 192K. V3 should be a very similar quality to 192K at smaller file sizes.

@ Spr0k3- Lossless ogg? You mean ogg-flac, or even rarer oggpcm? Vorbis is never lossless....

@ Ctrl-Alt-F1- CDs might be annoying if your are only after a digital collection, but at least you actual 'own' your rips when you convert from CD. Not like the the very limited rights you have when you buy digital files-

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/who-owns-your-digital-downloads-hint-its-not-you/2831

Personally, I will only buy digital files from independent artists (and by that I mean artist who never had ties to the recording industry or who have severed whatever ties they had).

[neonl]

I rip practically everything to 320 kbps. My downloads, if mp3, are usually 320/V0 - 256 kbps, in worse case - or FLAC, if I am going to burn a CD with those songs.

I also have some 192 kpbs I downloaded over the time.

[Grenage]

I'd rather have and not need, than need and not have; I usually rip music to FLAC and MP3, for portability and local use.

[TenPlus1]

Ogg Vorbis 64 kbps is fine for me :)

[DeviantGuy]

All my music is 350.

[Hyporeal]

As long as you're not impoverished in your storage capacity, a lossless format like FLAC is the best choice. You then avoid the nebulous bitrate issue entirely. If you have a portable device that does not support lossless compression then you can easily convert your files to MP3 using one of many convenient utilities. The file size is small enough that your entire music collection should easily fit on a fraction of the total capacity of a cheap HD. There is a certain nerdy charm in being frugal with storage space, but for most people lossless is perfectly fine.