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Topic: Going from 320 kbps to LAME VBR (~190 kbps) - Loss of Quality? (Read 3201 times) previous topic - next topic
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Going from 320 kbps to LAME VBR (~190 kbps) - Loss of Quality?

I have a few mp3 files that are encoded at 320 kbps, that I would like to recode using LAME VBR (~190 kbps).  Would there be a loss in sound quality? My guess is there would be since I am recoding a lossy, but since I am reducing the bitrate maybe not?

Unfortunately I can not just recode from the CD since it has been stolen from my car  

Thanks

Going from 320 kbps to LAME VBR (~190 kbps) - Loss of Quality?

Reply #1 –
Yes, there will be a quality loss.  When transcoding from one lossy format to another, there is always a quality loss.  Whether you can hear this quality loss or not is another question.  It doesn't matter if you are decreasing the bitrate, there will still be a quality loss.  So if you are going from 320kbps to -V 2, that will not have the same sound quality as ripping the CD straight to -V 2.

Going from 320 kbps to LAME VBR (~190 kbps) - Loss of Quality?

Reply #2 –
Quote from: Sharp Pointy Stick on
I have a few mp3 files that are encoded at 320 kbps, that I would like to recode using LAME VBR (~190 kbps).  Would there be a loss in sound quality? My guess is there would be since I am recoding a lossy, but since I am reducing the bitrate maybe not?

You don't simply reduce the bitrate, but entirely encode the files once again instead. The transcoding application decodes the 320 kbit/s MP3s to PCM and LAME generates new MP3 files out of these intermediate ones. Since the decoder can't restore the amount of data that was lost during the first encoding process, the temporary PCM files contain exactly the same losses like the MP3s. That means, encoding them once more will cause LAME to further reduce the quality. In the best possible case you won't be able to perceive this additional loss, but it's undoubtedly present.

From personal experiences I can tell that transcoding 320 kbit/s source material to high VBR (I consider ~190 kbit/s as high) should be a safe job. For my flash-based portable device I don't even have a problem at transcoding this insane bitrate to LAME -V 6. But it's up to your ears whether you agree to my point of view.

Going from 320 kbps to LAME VBR (~190 kbps) - Loss of Quality?

Reply #3 –
Besides re-encoding, another option is to give MP3 Repacker a try.  You won't get it down to 190Kb, but it is a lossless process, so there is no harm in trying it.
 

Going from 320 kbps to LAME VBR (~190 kbps) - Loss of Quality?

Reply #4 –
Quote from: gib on
Besides re-encoding, another option is to give MP3 Repacker a try.  You won't get it down to 190Kb, but it is a lossless process, so there is no harm in trying it.


With the "-z" switch, savings about 10%/15% can be expected, depending on the source material. All this losslessly, as referred!