[Ravi]

Okay, lets get all your expert (or even novice) opinions on this.  Now I'm not talking about pure MP3 Cds that you play in your MP3 Discman, but instead regular Redbook Audio CDs that were created from MP3 files downloaded from various file-sharing sites.  To preface,  I do not support piracy.  Infact, I always buy the original CD if I really like the MP3s.  I like to support the original artist.

Getting back on topic...now there is only one CD I have that was made from MP3s thats actually good quality (actually great), but all the dozens others, have too much sibilance, grain, thin, and just plain non-musical.  My understanding was that 256bit MP3s were virtually identical to their Redbook counterpart, and thus would make great candidates to convert to Redbook audio.  Is this true, or are MP3s converted to Audio CD never going to sound as good as a store bought original CD?

Lets hear some enlightening discussions!  

[nathanm]

It's all in the bitrate.  The problem is most folks encode with the default of 128k.  In my opinion once you get to 192k and above it's pretty damn good.  Hell, even 160 is favorable to 128k.  Amazing how good the result is when you consider how much data is being shaved down.  The treble is usually what gets mangled with MP3s to my ears.  It sounds "swimmy" or "slurred".  But even the lowest bitrate MP3 will sound better than Real Audio, which should be destroyed utterly from the earth.

I've made a couple CDs from illegal MP3s I downloaded with malicious intent to harm the artist and their ability to feed their families as well as to undermine the record labels, and it sounds pretty good.  If everyone was on high bandwidth internet connections I'd like to see the default go to 160k, but most of them are all 128k

[Ravi]

Nathan, I agree. 128k is unbearable.  192k I find ok.  But 224 or 256 is what I usually download.

But my audio quality concerns apply even when using 224 or 256.  Even then, I think a lot of my MP3 made audio CDs sound really unlistenable.

[JoshK]

A couple of tracks that I have found that intolerable on MP3 at any bitrate I have tested up to 256 are AC/DC Hells Bells & Korn Blind. The background guitar solos in the beginning are about 60 db down from where they should be and are virtually silent.  Don't know what it is about these particulary frequency ranges that MP3's can't do.  These are just a couple examples but I have found the same trend in MP3's.  This is coming from a guy who has 15,000 full length albums full of mp3's on his HD.   I use to be an SOP for efnet.

[Rob Babcock]

Bitrates over 300 kbps may defeat the purpose of compression, in a way, although they still would save some room, and I've been told at that level the sound is pretty transparent (ie true to the original 16 bit source).  I can neither confirm nor deny this, as I don't have the means/knowledge to encode this.  I would like to experiment with LAME at very high bitrates to see how good it sounds (mostly with the idea of music for reading or in the car/travelling).

[Ernest]

I experimented last year with very high bit rates and turning off the frequency cutoffs that are usually done and I could never get something that sounded as good as a CD.  For use in a car or portable they would be fine though.

[Carlman]

I burn CD's from MP3's for my car... sounds great to me.  On the few occasions I've listened to them on my home system, I thought they sounded pretty good.  I can hear a difference from the original CD but, it's not huge.  I can tell that some of the 'realness' is gone on the MP3 version.  Whether something is lost in the highs, or the overall range of octaves, I don't know.  Also, the simpler the music, the better it sounds.  (India Arie, Norah, etc.)

I have used Kazaa mainly and found a few 256'ers... but, not a lot.

Does anyone have any suggestions for good MP3 sharing software?  I don't like Kazaa because of all the spyware that comes with it.  Sorry for the off topic question...  Thanks for any suggestions, though.

[Ravi]

Ernest, Josh,

My experience is similar to yours.  There is something that makes music less enjoyable and real on even the highest quality MP3s, just wish they would develop a true 'peer' to Redbook in a small computer format.

Carlman,
I hate Kazaa as well, infact I never download music from it because its primarily 128bit.

Try WinMx.  Do a search for it. This is what I mainly use.  Most have MP3s above 192, and can easily find 320 MP3s as well.  No spyware attached either.

Ravi