music files lower bit rate 128kbps to 320kbps

andipandi_2

i have some music files at 128kbps,if i upgrade to 320kbps will i get a better sound quality?

thanks in advance

Andy

bat999

What do you mean by 'upgrade'?

andipandi_2

if you rip from a cd you can choose what bit rate you want upto 320kbps,i assume that cds are already high bit rate whereas the music files i have are 128 and i was wondering if i convert them to 320 would i get an improvement in sound quality.

bat999

If you rip them again at 320kbps then you might notice an increase in quality.
But if you just tamper with the files you've already got then it won't improve the quality at all. It will just take up more room.

andipandi_2

bat999 wrote: »

If you rip them again at 320kbps then you might notice an increase in quality.
But if you just tamper with the files you've already got then it won't improve the quality at all. It will just take up more room.

thanks you have confirmed what i was thinking,anyway just googled about bitrates and some of what i have read says that mp3 at 128 bitrate is good enough for most sound systems,it just that i know people who insist on 320 bitrate so i was curious to know,

musicboy

personally I can tell the difference between 128 and 160, so I use that for the best trade off between file size and quality, in my opinion.

andipandi_2

apparently 192 bit rate is supposed to be the sweet spot for mp3,i just read that itunes sells all their stuff at 128 bitrate ,i find that surprising but some say that mp4 or aac as a codec has fixed certain problems that mp3 format suffers from,anyway i don't have an i pod so its mp3 all the way for me

Edit, so its a waste of time having music files at 320 bit rate then i assume,all that happens is you fill your hard drives up quicker i suppose.

musicboy

they say that the apple itunes AAC format is supposed to be better quality than mp3, therefore 128kbs AAC is apparently a similar quality to a higher mp3 file - you will be fine with 192 mp3 dude.

superscaper

musicboy wrote: »

personally I can tell the difference between 128 and 160, so I use that for the best trade off between file size and quality, in my opinion.

I agree you can definitely tell the difference, but as has been mentioned it really depends on your use of them. On a HiFi, definitely go for higher quality. If you're listening to them mostly on earbud headphones with an MP3 player it's highly unlikely you'll notice the difference so you may as well fit more songs on with the lower 128 kb/s quality. The quality will only be as good as the lowest quality item in the system, so if you're playing the music on a lower quality music system you won't see any benefit to the higher quality files and vice versa.

Donnie

I would recommend 192kbps for mp3. Especially if you are archiving your music collection.

Conor_3

andipandi wrote: »

i have some music files at 128kbps,if i upgrade to 320kbps will i get a better sound quality?

thanks in advance

Andy

You can't if you're wanting to convert existing MP3's. Well you can but as its been encoded in the lower quality, it'll remain the same but now be over twice the size file. You need to rip them from the CDagain but in 320kbps.