evernaut wrote:locojohn wrote:evernaut wrote:AAC all the way...I hear a big difference. And, yeah, itunes does a nice job.
A big difference? C'mon, it's either psychological imagination, or improper encoder/codec, or the settings, really!
-andrejs
I compared an mp3 with an AAC file both at 192 recently, through the same system, both encoded with Itunes and the difference was enormous.
This is, of course, a subjective appraisal...but have you tried it?
Yes, I have! When I was interested in this subject I have checked plenty of orchestral/choir reference material in both 48khz/24-bit WAV and VBR quality MP3 files encoded with lame, then I carefully A/B'd the output of WAV's and MP3's both on my monitor system and through my three pair of studio phones (Grace m902B, Ultrasone PROline 750's, AKG K-400's, Audiotechnica M50). And then came the delight
$ lame --alt-preset standard --vbr-new -q 0 source.wav dest.mp3
I bet you won't notice a difference, and if you do, then it's your brain telling you - the difference just has to be there!
On a paranoidal side of things, you can also try:
$ lame --alt-preset insane -q 0 source.wav. dest.mp3
I have, since then, formed my opinion about quality differences and nothing made me reconsider through these couple of years.
Try it. Of course you need to have lame installed and you should be able to call it from command line. (Mac/Windows/Linux etc.)
Andrejs
GAFM ***