[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by navin

Just remember that usig todays algorithims VBR = constant sound quality and CBR = variable sound quality although at 256kbps+ the differences will be small. Still I'd say use VBR if you want to save some diskspace and retain quality.

I used to get some funny background tone when encoding hissy tape recordings in VBR. wasnt there when i tried for CBR ( was using lame 3.96) so have been using CBR all along


Ok, whenever i record from tape , i record to 96 Khz and then downsample to 48k since PC soundcards resample 44.1 Khz stuff to 48k. Do car audio MP3 decoders have similar issues ( sounding better at 48khz than 44?)

[navin]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

I used to get some funny background tone when encoding hissy tape recordings in VBR. wasnt there when i tried for CBR ( was using lame 3.96) so have been using CBR all along

Ok, whenever i record from tape , i record to 96 Khz and then downsample to 48k since PC soundcards resample 44.1 Khz stuff to 48k. Do car audio MP3 decoders have similar issues ( sounding better at 48khz than 44?)

That hiss is odd. I used custom APE-derived settings wtih Lame 3.97 and dont have any.

As far as Car decoders. I have not really noticed this.

[greenhorn]

it wasn't a hiss actually. it was more of a faint tone falling somewhere in the mid frequency range, which was noticeable when the music was absent , and there was just tape hiss.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

... it was more of a faint tone falling somewhere in the mid frequency range, which was noticeable when the music was absent , and there was just tape hiss.

How are you taking the signal from tape to PC? It is quite likely a power frequency harmonic carried over from the tape player to the signal.

[greenhorn]

nah, the tone wasn't present in the 48Khz wav or the CBR mp3 i encoded to. just in the one i encoded with VBR.Anyway, nowadays i dont bother, most of the stuff on tape is just a download away!

[navin]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

most of the stuff on tape is just a download away!

Can anyone put up a list of places where one can legally download lossless (Flac, WavPack, etc..)?

I have not been happy with almost all of the stuff my nephew downloaded for me. Even the stuff at 224k/256k CBR does not sound right. I assume they (the people who created the MP3s) did not take too much care during ripping.

[bossman]

guys, remeber to use a good CD, a bad CD will suck irrespective of the Bit Rate/lossless conversion... ...I am not sure whether you have encountered this...

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by navin

Can anyone put up a list of places where one can legally download lossless (Flac, WavPack, etc..)?

I have not been happy with almost all of the stuff my nephew downloaded for me. Even the stuff at 224k/256k CBR does not sound right. I assume they (the people who created the MP3s) did not take too much care during ripping.

that's tough, since most of the stuff i want is hardly for sale anywhere , and I guess ( at least to placate my conscience ) that it's probably out of copyright, especially the british stuff, and i'm effectively only format shifting

Usually I'm just happy that i can get them at all, since they mostly sound better than what i can get from tape , even with some tough noise reduction. And then there are some vinyl rips. For me , the problem is with the post 80's stuff. you really cant blame the mp3's. the CD's themselves sound horrible. to justify the "digitally remastered" label on the covers, they usually have a hard and edgy sound which i quite dislike...

Usually the tone controls help somewhat , but sometimes i go overboard and use iZotope Vinyl - Authentic Lo-Fi Vinyl Simulation for Pro Tools, VST, MAS, Audio Unit, and DirectX audio applications

[greenhorn]

http://www.bestmp3guide.com/

stumbled onto this site. seems to be what you guys were looking for

[hrsraghav]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

How are you taking the signal from tape to PC? It is quite likely a power frequency harmonic carried over from the tape player to the signal.

Earlier I connected two TRS Jack Plugs back to back, then I use to put one end in the headphone socket of my Tape recorder and other end into the "Line In" socket of my PC. I didn't tried it on Laptop, as there was not any "Line in" Socket available. I am not sure whether it will work with MIC port.

[DerAlte]

Without the tech data, not sure what will happen if you connect the headphone output to the Mic-in on the laptop. Usually Line-in definition used to be 400mV p-p, and Mic-in was 5-10mv p-p. I have in the past connected headphone to mic-in in chalu tape recorders (tape copy, jugaad method, fiddled with output volume for best signal), but then I was not bothering about sound quality. I am not sure of the signal levels expected for the laptop, but then you can cautiously try adjusting the volume of the tape recorder - low enough not to cause clipping, loud enough to overcome hum and hiss. Power frequency harmonic interference & EMI was endemic in most chalu cassette tape players. Good decks have shielded transformers and better prevention of interference.

[greenhorn]

you will get sound input , and you will hear the sound ( you should turn off mic boost or any sort of mic related enhancements) , but its not recommended if you plan to use that to back up tapes to cd/mp3. a proper soundcard would be the better choice