What bit rate do you use these days ?

[digmen1]

A few years ago 128 was the most popular bit rate (because of file size).

These days I like to get files with 192 bit rate.

What do you do ?

Is it worth going the full hog for 320 ?

What bit rate has the best availability on the web.

Please do not mention vbr (I am not interested in those)

[1000possibleclaws]

Why are you not interested in VBR? :huh:

I can only think of reasons to switch to VBR, not the other way around.

[Glitterstep]

according to me its 320...coz i get my EDM music in 320 bit rate

[Skiz]

"320" is a constant bitrate (CBR). There is absolutely no reason to use or suggest 320 CBRs.

Mp3 files are made up from 100's of small audio chunks, called frames. Whilst encoding a variable bitrate (VBR) file, the encoder decides which bit rate to use for each frame. The bitrate can drop down to lower value when it is permissible (if there is not much audio going on), and switches up to a higher value when required.

This trickles down to less drive space for a potentially better sounding tune.

Drive space is cheap for your PC, but not so much for items such as iPods. Not only will VBR allow you to add more music to your device but it will actually save battery life it as well.

Most mp3 players load a certain amount of music into the buffer so that the disks can be shut down to save damage to the whilst on the move and to save battery life by not accessing the disks so often. If your files are smaller, the device isn't working as hard and thus saving battery life.

[n00bz0r]

A few years ago 128 was the most popular bit rate (because of file size).

These days I like to get files with 192 bit rate.

What do you do ?

Is it worth going the full hog for 320 ?

What bit rate has the best availability on the web.

Please do not mention vbr (I am not interested in those)

VBR is way better than sticking to lame 192s
go for V0 or V2 if you have space constraints. They offer better quality for the space they occupy.

http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/images/2/2c/Lame-chart-2.png

[digmen1]

Please do not mention vbr (I am not interested in those)

Thanks for the replies. but see my original post.

Which bit rates (other than vbr) do you use these days ?

[The_Martinator]

Wow, you guys know your stuff. I download Flacs. These range (afaik) from 800 something and up.

[djerholler69]

if you've got super ears, or a super sound system or have lots of harddisk space, going FLAC is a worthy option. If you're not intending to do any transcoding, I guess 320kbps is fantastic enough, since you don't want vbr ;)

I use 320kbps when I can't get v0/v2, until a day where petabyte storage solutions are in mass production and filesharing has bloomed to a standard for all earthlings. I will do FLAC then :P Or maybe by then, there is a new container that makes it much more size efficient! ahh, daydreams...

[1000possibleclaws]

Is there any basis in it being CBR? I mean I'll get whatever bitrate I can if I can't get a v2/v0. Preferably Flac to convert to v0, or else 320 or 192. I just don't like seeing 224 or 256 CBR in my collection. Probably because those are what v0 and v2 respectively average around.

So Flac, 320, and 192. Or if it's lower than 192 i'll get the highest I can find. I personally don't think it's worth going to 320. The file sizes are huge and not efficient. 192 CBR is in no way bad quality, and if you're not interested in VBR 192 CBR will still sound great.

[Jezebel]

I primarily download V0s, secondarily 320s if I for a reason or another can't get V0.

[nameste]

i was downloading 128k but now, i download at least 320k

[Villalltheway]

v0 majority of time these days need to save the space and sometimes v2.

[bluju]

Best available. Right now I'm listening to a demo from the early 80's that's showing ~96kb/s VBR, I have some mp3s encoded as low as 60 (not counting spoken word, like lectures and that kind of thing).
When I can, I get FLAC, I don't use a mobile mp3 player, so I don't particularly care about file size. Its not even really the sound quality, its just that its worth more from a file sharing perspective. Lossless ends all bitrate arguments as you can encode it to whatever the hell you'd like.

[worldpease]

Yeah, as 'bluju' said, the best available; for me too flac is the way to go, though I still get most of my music in mp3, the higher the bit rate the better.
And if i get al album in flac, but I want to put it in my Zen, then I just encode a copy to mp3 320.

[skindoggi]

I download FLAC and convert it to 320k

[shipwreck]

Lossless: FLAC

Lossy: LAME V0 prefered, or V2 (scene). 320kbps CBR is a waste of space.

[snakebite]

WOw thanks for the Head up dudes.....that was very usefull once again thankyou

[lastboy]

flac always:)

[darbezen]

always 320

[sake]

I have 320kbps only. If it`s available for the moment with worse quality i am waiting for a better one :)

So ... 320kbps is fine for me too.

[aman11dhanpat]

256 to 320 :D

[1000possibleclaws]

256 is such a shitty bitrate. You could have v0 and it would be the same size but it would be alot closer to cd quality. I despise that bitrate.

Sure it still sounds great but I hate it cause of this fact.

[S!X]

For me it's always scene standard V2 or V0.

[sharem]

Always 320 for tracks, but hunt the flac for sample fodder :)

[zetah]

320k and a bit of lossless

[Barbarossa]

192 is perfectly acceptable for me.

But to be honest, the quality of music is more important than the quality of the sound, so for example if there was a stonking live recording of a track I like, but I could only get it at 128, I wouldn't turn my nose up at it.

IMO 320 is just a waste, your ears don't work well enough to distinguish the difference. Well even if they do, they won't when you get older... ;)

[manu1991]

I am unable to distinguish between music encoded in upwards of 128 kbps , so anything above that is acceptable to me . VBR is obviously preferred

[sticks0202]

Usually V0/FLAC for storage and V2 for the portable.

[kopunsuki]

I love FLAC.

[Legend1987]

I guess 320kbps

[Qlix]

128-320... Depends. I download whatever version I find of a CD wether it's flac, v0, v2 or what not. I don't really care. :b

[Lolaids]

v0 or 320 for computer.
v2 or 192 for Ipod.

[Soarek]

I download 320s

[bionx]

generally vbr scene releases

[Topick]

320 :)

[anon]

V0.

[RevFinch]

FLAC for certain files, but I'll convert those to -V0 as necessary.

[Luigi]

Flac, V0, 320.

[oneandonly]

128, 192, 320 kbps

[darc]

192 for ipod, 320 for computer.

[Vero]

320 I wont settle for less. :P

[jonsonicaV2]

128-329

[Camaleon]

VBR or 320kbps

[inf3]

I stick to VBR and 320kbps (I prefer 320kbps)

[PlaystationMan]

Flac

[QPD]

320 or FLAC

[Speedo]

320 or FLAC

Anything else is useless.

[AndreyReyna]

320kb

[dandyccc]

Flac or V0

[janostn]

V0s

[iLOVENZB]

VBR for most stuff and FLAC for those 'special' albums.

[SelfMadeMMAn]

If I am ripping and sharing, I do 320 VBR, for my stuff I get, it is normally .M4A or Bin & CUE

[xXHD-LoverXx]

320kbps. Nice quality. :)

[MarioXXL]

i think 320kbps it's good!

[Frankthetank1]

What is the max bit-rate your Ipod can handle? isnt it 128?

[iLOVENZB]

What is the max bit-rate your Ipod can handle? isnt it 128?

Lol no. It would be lossless, iPod's don't support FLAC out of the box but it does support Apple's Lossless codec (m4a) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lossless)

[waffler]

V0 or 320 mostly :)

[poorgirl]

320, v0

[Bassi2o]

V0 and flac

[zzyzx]

320, v0 or flac...

[cs101]

V0 and FLAC

[Zoltar600]

FLAC or 0.45 Nero AAC

[jmayer]

V0 or 320. FLAC takes too much HDD space.

[ThorMAN]

320Kbps or FLAC.

[spunyluv]

V0 or flac

[iJazz]

I second V0 or FLAC

[Pimms]

I only use FLAC.

[ahmed200106]

320KBPS or FLAC

[shaardu]

mostly flac ....

[BullRock]

i mostly download FLAC & 320Kbps

[ybk1797]

320k or V0 now. flac is just same as 320k for me :P

[mandown]

I prefer 320k & Flac :)

[bpchia]

I only go for lossless compression or no compression if possible

[arunatsu]

I use V0 for mp3.

[minsh]

at least 320K, but i like flac more :p

[cinephilia]

V0 and 320 CBR

[Kholdstare]

I try to stick to 320 CBR, but I take V0 if that's not available, and FLAC is good for some things (unmixed tracks).

[THEBAR]

Used to be mostly VO, but these days it's FLAC as I have new system.

[snagit]

v0 and 320 cbr

+1.

[yuvan]

i use 320k mostly.

[Speedo]

I'm actually pissed of at the people that record mixes of the radio and can't figure out how to make it flac or 320mp3. Jesus fucking christ. Does better music have to be explained?

[rokok]

flac V0s 320 what :D

[pint76o]

I prefer loss less compression or no compression.

[AvailableName]

320 and V0s are all that I collect.

[marlish]

320 & v1

[spring62]

Mostly I download FLACs.
Anyway, I prefer the best quality I can find.

[lued_00]

V0 for own rips or V2 for the scene ones

[nietos]

i use flac of course it's the best bitrate for me in fact when i buy a cd i rip it in flac it take more place in my hdd but the quality is best .

[Tvaaker]

I use flac the most. :)

[Diablo]

FLAC is the way to go.

[Ikki]

320..

[pineappleseeds]

Personally, I prefer to download V0 (VBR) quality music only. If I were to download something different, I'd get FLAC. However, that is only if I absolutely enjoy the album, and is truly amazing.

IMO, it is near-impossible for me to tell the difference between 320 and V0, and 320 are slightly larger files.

[HokageNaruto]

Flac

[magicpsycho]

320 is a must, really belive me

[Iundk]

Definitely FLAC....with the sound quality you get from blurays...it hard to listen to anything less than FLAC

[Solstice]

New PMP, new music collection, all FLAC! :D

[kiemcun]

MP 320 Kbps

[cappy]

320 kbps , not 2 mention flac too
but prefer best one among all

[lightseed]

mp3 120 kps
flac

[Skiz]

mp3 120 kps
flac

:blink:

120?

And if you like 120, why would you go to the opposite end of the spectrum and get FLAC?

For me, it's V0 for everything.

[Phucnv87]

I often listen to music at my lappy, then 128Kbps bitrate is enough for me :D

[sharemore]

320 Kbps :D

[Expeto]

I love all the bitrates, which are lower than my DSL bitrate :)

[Tik-Tok]

FLAC or 320kbps(CBR)
but, I'm now prefer the v2, v0... because I know the VBR's appriciate by this post.

[crespo9]

At least 192 bit rate.In my opinon,it is good enough for the effort

[bangtango]

I prefer a bit rate of 320kbs.

[bigdaddydude]

I like my MP3s at a bit rate of 192kbps. It seems like anything lower than that will not be of good quality.

[Nufek]

I use 320kbps

[kooltilldend]

320, V0, V2...any of those will do for me

[braveherat_7]

320

[McBride]

320

[alk3076]

recently, i love flac~
flac is best

[Skiz]

recently, i love flac~
flac is best

FLAC isn't a bitrate; it's a format.

[Omniatia]

320 vbr

[anon]

320 vbr

Does such a thing even exist? :unsure:

[dalin]

320

[Chavez]

192-320kbps

[actii]

V0 mostly

[tsiparamai]

v0

and for all those people who are saying flac, while yes, it is a good (the best) format, but doesn't really cue in with the convo

[Untouchable]

^ that's right.

[sofalva]

320 mostly

[snow]

320 for me too

[PowerWheels]

Flac

[Kondw]

320 is good enough for me too

[Nilou]

V0, of course :)

[Bakura]

u have to try at least 320 KB it's so good
but i prefer flac

[BangComedy]

I download my music in FLAC format for archiving purposes. I then convert to Wave when I am burning an audio CD. As for my iPod, I convert my FLACs to 320 kbps CBR.

[ccs434]

i prefer v0 these days.

[TTS]

i prefer v0 too