MP3 Bitrate for average listener on average equipments

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On 25 May 2005 15:04:33 -0700, michaeljc70@hotmail.com wrote:

>I have an MP3 CD player on my boat. I am trying to figure out what
>bitrate to use to maximize the number of songs on a CD. The receiver is
>an inexpensive JVC and the speakers are likewise average JVC. I am no
>audiophile, but don't want to hear hissing and cracking. What is the
>lowest I can go where there will be no discernable difference in sound?
> Keep in mind with the boat engine running, even the best
>encoding/stereo won't sound great.

64kbps isn't painful for casual listening in a noisy environment.
Does it have to be stereo?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Laurence Payne wrote:

> 64kbps isn't painful for casual listening in a noisy environment.
> Does it have to be stereo?


I disagree.
Even 192kbps can have quite obious artifacts depending on the material.
Even on low end equipment and in noisy environments 128kbps or lower
usually sounds horrible to me although it does depend a lot on the
actual recording you're encoding. Some (but not many) sound somewhat
decent at 128kbps.

Sander

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On 25 May 2005 15:04:33 -0700, michaeljc70@hotmail.com wrote:

>I have an MP3 CD player on my boat. I am trying to figure out what
>bitrate to use to maximize the number of songs on a CD. The receiver is
>an inexpensive JVC and the speakers are likewise average JVC. I am no
>audiophile, but don't want to hear hissing and cracking. What is the
>lowest I can go where there will be no discernable difference in sound?
> Keep in mind with the boat engine running, even the best
>encoding/stereo won't sound great.

It's all very subjective. For the popular LAME encoder, I would not
consider going below 160 kbps for 44.1 KHz stereo, about 50 seconds per
megabyte.

If you don't mind going to mono, that means you can get twice as many
files in the same space using 80 kbps. (1:40 per megabyte)

If you want stereo but don't mind losing the top octave (which may be
inaudible in a noisy environment), you can go to 22 KHz sampling rate at
80 kbps.

And then 22KHz mono can go at 40 kbps, giving you 3:20 minutes per
megabyte.






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Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

michaeljc70@hotmail.com wrote:

> I have an MP3 CD player on my boat. I am trying to figure out what
> bitrate to use to maximize the number of songs on a CD. The receiver is
> an inexpensive JVC and the speakers are likewise average JVC. I am no
> audiophile, but don't want to hear hissing and cracking. What is the
> lowest I can go where there will be no discernable difference in sound?

192 kbit/second stereo, 96 kbit pr. second mono, less sounds dull if mp3
and sharp if realmedia.

> Keep in mind with the boat engine running, even the best
> encoding/stereo won't sound great.

Some things are audible on the cheapest of gear, as for mp3 oddities,
the encoding pre-supposes that the playback frequency response is
reasonably linear, so worse equipment may be worse rather than better.


Kind regards

Peter Larsen

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