Re: Ipod with good headphones, what Codec and Bitrate???
Reply #9 – 2018-08-25 16:50:50
"I have an iPod running Rockbox What codec and bitrate would you use today, if space is limited, but still you want very very good quality?" It boils down to the following... -if your device has enough CPU then use Opus @ 96kbps and you might even find 64kbps to be a solid choice if your really trying to cram as much songs as possible on it while still maintaining a reasonable level of quality. I would avoid going lower than 64kbps with Opus. -if your device can't play Opus files well due to lack of CPU then use Apple AAC @ 96kbps TVBR (128kbps TVBR tops). I would avoid bit rates lower than 96kbps with AAC (when I say AAC I pretty much always am referring to AAC-LC). basically with any quality encoder use 96kbps (or 128kbps tops) and forget about it as you can't go wrong with either of those two settings for most people on your typical set of headphones, especially on-the-go. bit rates beyond 128kbps with AAC or Opus are a waste of space in my opinion. plus, with 96kbps you can't really squeeze much more songs on a device that uses 96kbps without dropping bit rate which with AAC I would avoid but with Opus I find 64kbps to be a usable option if trying to get maximum amount of songs on a device without quality taking too much of a hit. I suggest Foobar2000 to convert your lossless files to Opus or Apple AAC (QAAC).@shadowking I tested casually LC / AAC (nero and faac) around 96k a few months ago and decided it would be a good replacement for mp3 (esp at similar bitrate ) should the need arise. Yeah, there is really no reason to use MP3 anymore if AAC (QAAC) (or Opus) is a option given MP3 tends to be so-so in the 128kbps lower ranges where as AAC is still strong at 96kbps or 128kbps. like MP3 seems to need too much bit rate for a similar quality level. or look at it this way... how much bit rate would MP3 require to give a quality similar to Opus or AAC (Apple AAC) at 128kbps? ; LAME v2 (190kbps) or higher?