mp3 quality

Please seach the forums for this.  We've discussed it multiple times.  mp3 will never be the same as CD quality.  mp3 is a lossy format, it ALWAYS loses frequency information and detail.  160 is much better than 128.  192 is better than 160.  256 is even better.  Use the highest bitrate you can.  VBR helps quite a bit.

My advice:  if you MUST use mp3 check out the guides here:  https://www.ubershare.com/

dyohn, i know it is a bold move to disagree with you, but when encoded properly, mp3's will be pretty damn close to cd quality.  with modern cd's the way they are sometimes even better when you bring everything down to below 0db.  as long as you rip the cds with a good scsi drive and encode them with a program like lame and oversample the hell out of them they will sound good.  all my test tones are mp3s and trust me they do go below 50hz and well above 16khz.  the problem is people dont understand that the standard compression for them now is the same as when us computer nerds were trying to cram all our music onto a 1 gigger.  with a slightly modified codec, there is absoloutely no loss of any tones though no mp3 player or deck that is able to play mp3 cd's will be able to use it.  for home audio though, with well made mp3's and a good sound card, they will sound just as good as a cd.  same information, just rearranged.  i know you will all disagree, but when i get home ill post some waves and mp3's of a few things so you can compare.  the differences you will find will be so small that even the most hardcore audiophile's ear will not be able to detect them.  now all analog is the way to go anyways

it depends on how you encode them.  my test tone cd is an mp3 cd and i have tones that are kept that are inaudible.  when i get home on monday or tuesday, i will post an mp3 and a wav with a sweep from 10 hz to 40khz

Here's the deal.

MOST people have never heard really, really good sound equipment.  A old fashion Direct Disc record album sounds better than the same album on a CD.  What?  A vinyl record??  Yes, vinyl.  Problem is most people have never heard a Direct Disc record played on a quality turntable with a quality amp and speakers.

Sound quality in the Boom Box generation?  Mash 100 songs on one CD with MP3 and cut the sound quality to nothing, but hey, I have 100 songs on one CD.   

Digitally recorded audio is a compromise.  What is filtered out is the warmth and presents that 'tricks' your ears into thinking you are listening to a live preformance. 

BUT, maybe there is hope.  The latest generations of High Definition (DVD-CD SACD) promise to do a more faithful job of delivering all the music that is there.  Don't know if any car head units will playback SACD or DVD-CD yet though.

I use 320 or VBR enhanced on a Sound Forge program that can raise or lower the input. to hear the differance though you will need a good sound card like a M-Audio that has true 24bit and a DAC that has been talked about that can handle it. "No Sound Blaster cards need apply" as they are not true 24bit as they state. Never mind there cheap DAC.

I still record CD's in CDA format cause I don't care how many fit on it. I got a CD changer for that.

dr. righteous, Your right Vinyl or direct disk has that quality that no CD can match. I still have my old Yamaha Turntable with a super expensive head. It just sounds fills the room with a warm filling sound that I have yet to hear a CD even get close.

One reason I had to get a M-Audio card to record all those records, But not lose any of the quality.

Even to this day the best system is still a vacum tube system. Granted it takes up a whole room, but knowbody has yet got to the same level it produces.

One of my best friends several years ago had a Mcintosh Amp and speakers and a B&O turntable.  He pulled those Direct Disc records out and absolutely blew me away.  I was the first in my group of friends to get a CD player.  ($400 single disc Pioneer OUCH!!)  Had that my old Sony Vfet as a preamp and a beat up Aocustic 400w PA amp  as my main amp, and some old Ultra Linear speakers.  Told everyone how SUPER CLEAN my system was.  My buddy just smiled and told me to come over and listen to his 'record player' some time.  :) 

You can even make a point that people now adays don't know HOW to listen to music.  My buddy had a Direct Disc of some live classical music.  You could close you eyes and place each musicians chair, people in the audiance, and the announcers soft spoken introduction of each peice.  The stereo imaging was absolutely amazing.  Listening to a CD you do not experiance the same thing.  The "sound field" sounds totally flat. 

I'm not saying drag out some old turn table and a LP of Earth Wind and Fire and expect it to sound better than a CD.   CDs replaced tapes and records because they were more durable, and surpassed cassette tapes.  People that listened to vinyl records only were not impressed with the sound quality.  The direct track access was a new feature that really sold CDs to most people.  Now,a Direct Disc was an expenive "vinyl master" record and sounded much better than a LP vinyl record.  But the notion that Digital audio (CDs) and MP3 for that matter is the peak of recording and playback technology is far from true.   CDs are a first step, but they did not surpass the sound quality of the technology it replaced.  The next generation of music CD (SACD/DVD-CD) will approach the quality of now obsolete equipment.