Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase - User contributions [en]

LAME

2005-10-12T09:04:52Z

Echizen: /* History */

LAME (Lame Ain't an MP3 Encoder) is the recommended encoder. It has been developed by the open-source community since 1998, and has become the highest quality [[MP3]] encoder for most purposes.

Some benefits for using LAME:
* Highly optimised presets
* Fast encoding
* [[CBR]], [[ABR]] and [[VBR]] encoding methods
* [[Gapless]] playback with LAME-header compliant decoders
* [[Exact Audio Copy]] and [[CDex]] support

=History=

LAME development began around mid-1998. Mike Cheng started it as a patch against the 8hz-MP3 encoder sources. After some quality concerns raised by others, he decided to start from scratch based on the dist10 sources. That branch (a patch against the reference sources) became LAME 2.0, and only on LAME 3.81 they got rid of all dist10 code, making LAME no more only a patch.

The project quickly became a team project. Mike Cheng eventually left leadership and started working on [http://toolame.sourceforge.net/ tooLAME], an [[MP2]] encoder. Mark Taylor became leader and released version 3.0 featuring gpsycho, a new psychoacoustic model developed by him.

Nowadays LAME is considered the best MP3 encoder at mid-high bitrates and features the best VBR model among MP3 implementations, mostly thanks to the dedicated work of talented developers like Takehiro Tominaga, Naoki Shibata, Darin Morrison, Gabriel Bouvigne, Robert Hegemann, etc. And development is still going on...

=Recommended Encoder Settings=

{{:Recommended LAME}}

=Additional reading=

* [http://lame.sourceforge.net LAME official homepage]
* [http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/lame.html Historical versions of LAME] at ReallyRareWares
* [http://www.rjamorim.com/test/ Several multiformat listening tests] featuring LAME and other encoders.
* [[EAC_and_LAME | Configuring EAC and LAME]]

EAC and Lame

2005-10-11T19:04:03Z

Echizen: /* Configuration */

===Software Needed===
* [http://exactaudiocopy.org/eac6.html Exact Audio Copy]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Recommended_LAME Recommended LAME version]

===Installation===
'''Note:''' This guide assumes that EAC is has been configured for secure ripping, if not please follow [[EAC_Drive_Configuration | this]] guide.
* Unzip the chosen LAME version into the same directory that EAC is in.

===Configuration===

* Open EAC and insert a CD into the drive.
* Click the '''EAC''' menu and select '''Compression Options'''.
* Click the '''External Compression''' Tab, and put a check box in '''use external program for compression'''.
* Change '''Parameter Passing Scheme''' to '''User Defined Encoder'''.
* Change '''Use file extension''' to '''.mp3''' if not already that.
* Click the '''Browse''' button and locate the '''LAME.exe''' that you unzipped earlier.
* Remove the ticks from '''Use CRC check''', '''Add ID3 tag''' and '''check for external programs return code'''.
* Do not worry what bit rate is shown in the '''Bit rate''' drop down box as this will not have any effect on the resultant MP3 file (See Note 4 at the bottom of this page).

* In the '''Addtional command line options''' box, copy and paste one of the below strings based on the Tag you would prefer.
'''No Tags:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' %s %d

'''ID3v1:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' --id3v1-only --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

'''ID3v2:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' --id3v2-only --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

'''ID3v1 and ID3v2:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' --add-id3v2 --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

'''APEv2: (requires [http://www.saunalahti.fi/cse/files/wapet.zip wapet.exe])'''
* Set file extension to .mp3
* Locate '''wapet.exe'''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" LAME.exe '''-V 2 --vbr-new''' %s %d

'''Note 1:''' LAME.exe needs to be in the same directory as wapet.exe.

'''Note 2:''' If you wanted to change the [[LAME#Encoder_Presets| LAME preset]], the green portion what you would substitute with the new preset.

'''Note 3:''' If you are using LAME version 3.95.1+, please note that '''--alt-preset''' is no longer used, it is now just '''--preset'''

'''Note 4:''' The '''%l...%l''' and '''%h...%h''' placeholders are used to add text according to whether the High quality or Low quality radio button is selected as shown below:

'''%l--alt-preset 128%l%h--alt-preset standard%h''' %s %d

Therefore, if you select '''Low quality''', EAC will invoke the LAME encoder with the following command line parameters:

LAME.exe --alt-preset 128 %s %d

..and if you select '''High quality''' EAC will invoke LAME with these command line parameters:

LAME.exe --alt-preset standard %s %d

You can access the bitrate value in the dropdown list using the '''%r''' placeholder, For Example:

--alt-preset %r %s %d

So, if you selected '''192 kBit/s''' in the '''Bit Rate''' drop-down list, the command line would be:

LAME.exe --alt-preset 192 %s %d

It is a generally accepted fact that the bitrate selected in the drop-down list doesn't affect the command line. In essence this is true, as it will not affect the command line ''unless you use the %r placeholder''. However, using ABR or CBR over VBR is not recommended and hence, you will probably never have to use the '''%r''' option.

<center>[[Image:EAC_LAME02.png|frame|center|LAME configured with ID3v1 tagging]]</center>

EAC and Lame

2005-10-11T19:01:28Z

Echizen: /* Configuration */

===Software Needed===
* [http://exactaudiocopy.org/eac6.html Exact Audio Copy]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Recommended_LAME Recommended LAME version]

===Installation===
'''Note:''' This guide assumes that EAC is has been configured for secure ripping, if not please follow [[EAC_Drive_Configuration | this]] guide.
* Unzip the chosen LAME version into the same directory that EAC is in.

===Configuration===

* Open EAC and insert a CD into the drive.
* Click the '''EAC''' menu and select '''Compression Options'''.
* Click the '''External Compression''' Tab, and put a check box in '''use external program for compression'''.
* Change '''Parameter Passing Scheme''' to '''User Defined Encoder'''.
* Change '''Use file extension''' to '''.mp3''' if not already that.
* Click the '''Browse''' button and locate the '''LAME.EXE''' that you unzipped earlier.
* Remove the ticks from '''Use CRC check''', '''Add ID3 tag''' and '''check for external programs return code'''.
* Do not worry what bit rate is shown in the '''Bit rate''' drop down box as this will not have any effect on the resultant MP3 file (See Note 4 at the bottom of this page).

* In the '''Addtional command line options''' box, copy and paste one of the below strings based on the Tag you would prefer.
'''No Tags:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' %s %d

'''ID3v1:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' --id3v1-only --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

'''ID3v2:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' --id3v2-only --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

'''ID3v1 and ID3v2:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' --add-id3v2 --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

'''APEv2: (requires [http://www.saunalahti.fi/cse/files/wapet.zip wapet.exe])'''
* Set file extension to .mp3
* Locate '''wapet.exe'''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" lame.exe '''-V 2 --vbr-new''' %s %d

'''Note 1:''' lame.exe needs to be in the same directory as wapet.exe.

'''Note 2:''' If you wanted to change the [[LAME#Encoder_Presets| LAME preset]], the green portion what you would substitute with the new preset.

'''Note 3:''' If you are using LAME version 3.95.1+, please note that '''--alt-preset''' is no longer used, it is now just '''--preset'''

'''Note 4:''' The '''%l...%l''' and '''%h...%h''' placeholders are used to add text according to whether the High quality or Low quality radio button is selected as shown below:

'''%l--alt-preset 128%l%h--alt-preset standard%h''' %s %d

Therefore, if you select '''Low quality''', EAC will invoke the LAME encoder with the following command line parameters:

LAME.EXE --alt-preset 128 %s %d

..and if you select '''High quality''' EAC will invoke LAME with these command line parameters:

LAME.EXE --alt-preset standard %s %d

You can access the bitrate value in the dropdown list using the '''%r''' placeholder, For Example:

--alt-preset %r %s %d

So, if you selected '''192 kBit/s''' in the '''Bit Rate''' drop-down list, the command line would be:

LAME.EXE --alt-preset 192 %s %d

It is a generally accepted fact that the bitrate selected in the drop-down list doesn't affect the command line. In essence this is true, as it will not affect the command line ''unless you use the %r placeholder''. However, using ABR or CBR over VBR is not recommended and hence, you will probably never have to use the '''%r''' option.

<center>[[Image:EAC_LAME02.png|frame|center|LAME configured with ID3v1 tagging]]</center>

Recommended LAME

2005-10-11T19:00:40Z

Echizen: /* Quick Start */

==Introduction==

This article is meant to explain to the users what are the [[Hydrogenaudio]] recommended settings to be used with [[LAME]] for highest quality [[MP3]] encoding.

These settings require LAME 3.94 or later. LAME 3.97beta found on this website is the recommended version ([[LAME Compiles|check here to download]]).

Avoid using alpha (a) versions of LAME. More often than not those are exclusively for testing purposes, if you want to help developers with feedback.

Note: At a given bitrate range, the quality scale is following: VBR is higher quality than ABR which is higher quality than CBR (VBR > ABR > CBR in terms of quality). The exception to this is when you choose the highest possible CBR bitrate, which is 320 kbps (-b 320 = --alt-preset insane).

''Note: all modes and settings mentioned in this topic belong to the specifications of the MP3 standard, and the resulting MP3s should be played by every standard-conform MP3-Decoder. If this shouldn't be the case, blame the manufacturer or developer of your MP3-Decoder/device.''

==VBR (Variable bitrate) settings==
'''[[VBR]]:''' ''variable bitrate mode, the goal is to keep a constant quality and saving bits where possible without lowering the quality.''

[[VBR]] can be useful to get good quality from a specific quality level. Size is less predictable than with [[ABR]], but the quality is usually better.

-V(number) where number is 0-9, 0 being highest quality, 9 being the lowest.

{| align=center border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|+'''List of recommended settings'''
| '''Switch''' || '''Preset''' || '''Target Kbit/s''' || '''Bitrate range kbit/s'''
|-
| -b 320 || --preset insane || 320CBR || 320
|-
| -V 0 --vbr-new || --preset fast extreme || 245 || 220...260
|-
| -V 0 || --preset extreme || 245 || 220...260
|-
| -V 1 --vbr-new || || 225 || 200...250
|-
| -V 1 || || 225 || 200...250
|-
| -V 2 --vbr-new || --preset fast standard || 190 || 170...210
|-
| -V 2 || --preset standard || 190 || 170...210
|-
| -V 3 --vbr-new || || 175 || 155...195
|-
| -V 3 || || 175 || 155...195
|-
| -V 4 --vbr-new || --preset fast medium || 165 || 145...185
|-
| -V 4 || --preset medium || 165 || 145...185
|-
| -V 5 --vbr-new || || 130 || 110...150
|-
| -V 5 || || 130 || 110...150
|-
| -V 6 --vbr-new || || 115 || 95...135
|-
| -V 6 || || 150 || 95...135
|-
| -V 7 --vbr-new || || 100 || 80...120
|-
| -V 7 || || 100 || 80...120
|-
| -V 8 --vbr-new || || 85 || 65...105
|-
| -V 8 || || 85 || 65...105
|-
| -V 9 --vbr-new || || 65 || 45...85
|-
| -V 9 || || 65 || 45...85
|}
See also [[Technical data for recommended LAME settings]]

If the target is eg. streaming, where you need MP3 in ABR or even CBR mode, there are still the ABR and CBR modes.

==ABR (average bitrate) settings==
'''[[ABR]]:''' ''average bitrate mode varies bits around a specified target bitrate''

''(128 kbit/s ABR: roughly the same filesize as 128 kbit/s CBR)''

* '''[[ABR]] Setting tuned from 320 kbit/s down to 80 kbit/s'''
** --preset <bitrate>

<bitrate> (desired averaged bitrate in kbit/s) can be any value between 8 - 320 , like eg. 9, 17, 80, 128, 133, 200 etc.

:: Example: --preset 200

==CBR (constant bitrate) settings==
'''[[CBR]]:''' ''constant bitrate mode is not efficient regarding distributing bitrate to more complex music parts and saving bits where it would be possible without lowering the quality of those music parts. Only recommended for usage in streaming situations where the upper bitrate margin must be strictly enforced.''

*'''[[CBR]] Setting tuned from 320 kbit/s down to 80 kbit/s'''
** -b <bitrate>

<bitrate> (bitrate in kbit/s) can be only: 8 , 16 , 24 , 32 , 40 , 48 , 64 , 80 , 96 , 112 , 128 , 160 , 192 , 256 or 320.

==Remarks==
The '''--vbr-new''' switch enables the new VBR mode. Lame will encode much faster compared to old/default vbr mode. Current knowledge qualitywise comparing vbr with --vbr-new is, that --vbr-new might even be better qualitywise than the default vbr mode, but there are also reports about artefact, which is worse in --vbr-new compared to default. Though the general impression is, that --vbr-new should be recommended over vbr-default.
--vbr-new can be faster and at equal/better quality at same time, because it uses a different algorithm than old/default vbr mode.

===Quick Start===

'''Best Quality : 'archiving''''

--cbr 320. This is the strongest setting for MP3, with the lowest risk of [[artifact]]s.
With the exception of a few situations, quality is rarely better than the highest [[VBR]] profiles described below.
Alternative: [[Lossless]] formats like [[WavPack]], [[Flac]] etc. allow true archiving bit for bit like on original CD.

'''High Quality : HiFi, home or quiet listening'''

-V3 --vbr-new (~175 kbps), -V2 --vbr-new (~190 kbps), -V1 --vbr-new (~210 kbps) or -V0 --vbr-new (~230 kbps) are recommended.
These settings will produce [[transparent]] encoding (transparent = most people cannot distinguish the mp3 from the original in an ABX blindtest).
Audible differences between these presets exist, but are extremely marginal.

'''Portable : background noise and low bitrate requirement, small sizes'''

-V6 --vbr-new (~115 kbps), -V5 --vbr-new (~130 kbps) or -V4 --vbr-new (~160 kbps) are recommended for this use.
-V6 --vbr-new produces an acceptable quality, while -V4--vbr-new should be close to perceptual [[transparency]].

'''Very low bitrate, small sizes:''' eg. for voice, radio, [[mono]] encoding etc.

For very low bitrates, up to 100kbps, [[ABR]] is most often the best solution.

Use '''--abr xx''' (e.g. --abr 80).

[[Image:lame-chart-2.png|frame|center|Here a trial to get a view, how the perceived listening quality improves with settings/averaged filesize:]]

The revolutionary --alt-preset system introduced in LAME 3.90, is replaced nowadays by the preset system, which is already substituted by the above explained settings -V x system.

You don't need to worry anymore about quality, settings, switches, presets, if you stick to the recommendations of this topic, all will be fine and even optimized.

If you select nowadays in LAME 3.97 either --alt-preset xy , preset xy or corresponding switch xy, you will always get the same, simply stick to one of the recommended switches of the table or described here in the text.

E.G.: --alt-preset cbr 320 is the exact same thing as --alt-preset insane etc.:

--alt-preset insane = --preset insane = -b 320 = --preset 320 = --preset cbr 320

==Setting up EAC for LAME.exe with tagging==

{{:EAC and Lame}}

==Additional reading==

* [[LAME|More information on LAME]]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=16&t=32288 Forum discussion of the recommended settings]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=15&t=203 Forum discussion of the recommended settings (older)]
* [[Recommended LAME credits|Credits for the recommended settings]]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32288&view=findpost&p=327262 Previous recommendations (outdated)]
* [[MP3]]
* [[LAME]]
* [[Exact_Audio_Copy|Exact Audio Copy]]

----
[[Recommended LAME credits|Credits]]

Recommended LAME

2005-10-11T19:00:22Z

Echizen: /* Quick Start */

==Introduction==

This article is meant to explain to the users what are the [[Hydrogenaudio]] recommended settings to be used with [[LAME]] for highest quality [[MP3]] encoding.

These settings require LAME 3.94 or later. LAME 3.97beta found on this website is the recommended version ([[LAME Compiles|check here to download]]).

Avoid using alpha (a) versions of LAME. More often than not those are exclusively for testing purposes, if you want to help developers with feedback.

Note: At a given bitrate range, the quality scale is following: VBR is higher quality than ABR which is higher quality than CBR (VBR > ABR > CBR in terms of quality). The exception to this is when you choose the highest possible CBR bitrate, which is 320 kbps (-b 320 = --alt-preset insane).

''Note: all modes and settings mentioned in this topic belong to the specifications of the MP3 standard, and the resulting MP3s should be played by every standard-conform MP3-Decoder. If this shouldn't be the case, blame the manufacturer or developer of your MP3-Decoder/device.''

==VBR (Variable bitrate) settings==
'''[[VBR]]:''' ''variable bitrate mode, the goal is to keep a constant quality and saving bits where possible without lowering the quality.''

[[VBR]] can be useful to get good quality from a specific quality level. Size is less predictable than with [[ABR]], but the quality is usually better.

-V(number) where number is 0-9, 0 being highest quality, 9 being the lowest.

{| align=center border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|+'''List of recommended settings'''
| '''Switch''' || '''Preset''' || '''Target Kbit/s''' || '''Bitrate range kbit/s'''
|-
| -b 320 || --preset insane || 320CBR || 320
|-
| -V 0 --vbr-new || --preset fast extreme || 245 || 220...260
|-
| -V 0 || --preset extreme || 245 || 220...260
|-
| -V 1 --vbr-new || || 225 || 200...250
|-
| -V 1 || || 225 || 200...250
|-
| -V 2 --vbr-new || --preset fast standard || 190 || 170...210
|-
| -V 2 || --preset standard || 190 || 170...210
|-
| -V 3 --vbr-new || || 175 || 155...195
|-
| -V 3 || || 175 || 155...195
|-
| -V 4 --vbr-new || --preset fast medium || 165 || 145...185
|-
| -V 4 || --preset medium || 165 || 145...185
|-
| -V 5 --vbr-new || || 130 || 110...150
|-
| -V 5 || || 130 || 110...150
|-
| -V 6 --vbr-new || || 115 || 95...135
|-
| -V 6 || || 150 || 95...135
|-
| -V 7 --vbr-new || || 100 || 80...120
|-
| -V 7 || || 100 || 80...120
|-
| -V 8 --vbr-new || || 85 || 65...105
|-
| -V 8 || || 85 || 65...105
|-
| -V 9 --vbr-new || || 65 || 45...85
|-
| -V 9 || || 65 || 45...85
|}
See also [[Technical data for recommended LAME settings]]

If the target is eg. streaming, where you need MP3 in ABR or even CBR mode, there are still the ABR and CBR modes.

==ABR (average bitrate) settings==
'''[[ABR]]:''' ''average bitrate mode varies bits around a specified target bitrate''

''(128 kbit/s ABR: roughly the same filesize as 128 kbit/s CBR)''

* '''[[ABR]] Setting tuned from 320 kbit/s down to 80 kbit/s'''
** --preset <bitrate>

<bitrate> (desired averaged bitrate in kbit/s) can be any value between 8 - 320 , like eg. 9, 17, 80, 128, 133, 200 etc.

:: Example: --preset 200

==CBR (constant bitrate) settings==
'''[[CBR]]:''' ''constant bitrate mode is not efficient regarding distributing bitrate to more complex music parts and saving bits where it would be possible without lowering the quality of those music parts. Only recommended for usage in streaming situations where the upper bitrate margin must be strictly enforced.''

*'''[[CBR]] Setting tuned from 320 kbit/s down to 80 kbit/s'''
** -b <bitrate>

<bitrate> (bitrate in kbit/s) can be only: 8 , 16 , 24 , 32 , 40 , 48 , 64 , 80 , 96 , 112 , 128 , 160 , 192 , 256 or 320.

==Remarks==
The '''--vbr-new''' switch enables the new VBR mode. Lame will encode much faster compared to old/default vbr mode. Current knowledge qualitywise comparing vbr with --vbr-new is, that --vbr-new might even be better qualitywise than the default vbr mode, but there are also reports about artefact, which is worse in --vbr-new compared to default. Though the general impression is, that --vbr-new should be recommended over vbr-default.
--vbr-new can be faster and at equal/better quality at same time, because it uses a different algorithm than old/default vbr mode.

===Quick Start===

'''Best Quality : 'archiving''''

--cbr 320. This is the strongest setting for MP3, with the lowest risk of [[artifact]]s.
With the exception of a few situations, quality is rarely better than the highest [[VBR]] profiles described below.
Alternative: [[Lossless]] formats like [[WavPack]], [[Flac]] etc. allow true archiving bit for bit like on original CD.

'''High Quality : HiFi, home or quiet listening'''

-V3 --vbr-new (~175 kbps), -V2 --vbr-new (~190 kbps), -V1 --vbr-new (~210 kbps) or -V0 --vbr-new (~230 kbps) are recommended.
These settings will produce [[transparent]] encoding (transparent = most people cannot distinguish the mp3 from the original in an ABX blindtest).
Audible differences between these presets exist, but are extremely marginal.

'''Portable : background noise and low bitrate requirement, small sizes'''

-V6 --vbr-new (~115 kbps), -V5 --vbr-new (~130 kbps) or -V4 --vbr-new (~160 kbps) are recommended for this use.
-V6 --vbr-new produces an acceptable quality, while -V4--vbr-new should be close to perceptual [[transparency]].

'''Very low bitrate, small sizes:''' eg. for voice, radio, [[mono]] encoding etc.

For very low bitrates, up to 100kbps, [[ABR]] is most often the best solution.

Use '''--abr xx''' (e.g. --abr 80).

[[Image:LAME-chart-2.png|frame|center|Here a trial to get a view, how the perceived listening quality improves with settings/averaged filesize:]]

The revolutionary --alt-preset system introduced in LAME 3.90, is replaced nowadays by the preset system, which is already substituted by the above explained settings -V x system.

You don't need to worry anymore about quality, settings, switches, presets, if you stick to the recommendations of this topic, all will be fine and even optimized.

If you select nowadays in LAME 3.97 either --alt-preset xy , preset xy or corresponding switch xy, you will always get the same, simply stick to one of the recommended switches of the table or described here in the text.

E.G.: --alt-preset cbr 320 is the exact same thing as --alt-preset insane etc.:

--alt-preset insane = --preset insane = -b 320 = --preset 320 = --preset cbr 320

==Setting up EAC for LAME.exe with tagging==

{{:EAC and Lame}}

==Additional reading==

* [[LAME|More information on LAME]]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=16&t=32288 Forum discussion of the recommended settings]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=15&t=203 Forum discussion of the recommended settings (older)]
* [[Recommended LAME credits|Credits for the recommended settings]]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32288&view=findpost&p=327262 Previous recommendations (outdated)]
* [[MP3]]
* [[LAME]]
* [[Exact_Audio_Copy|Exact Audio Copy]]

----
[[Recommended LAME credits|Credits]]

EAC and Lame

2005-10-11T18:56:29Z

Echizen: /* Installation */

===Software Needed===
* [http://exactaudiocopy.org/eac6.html Exact Audio Copy]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Recommended_LAME Recommended LAME version]

===Installation===
'''Note:''' This guide assumes that EAC is has been configured for secure ripping, if not please follow [[EAC_Drive_Configuration | this]] guide.
* Unzip the chosen LAME version into the same directory that EAC is in.

===Configuration===

* Open EAC and insert a CD into the drive.
* Click the '''EAC''' menu and select '''Compression Options'''.
* Click the '''External Compression''' Tab, and put a check box in '''use external program for compression'''.
* Change '''Parameter Passing Scheme''' to '''User Defined Encoder'''.
* Change '''Use file extension''' to '''.mp3''' if not already that.
* Click the '''Browse''' button and locate the '''LAME.EXE''' that you unzipped earlier.
* Remove the ticks from '''Use CRC check''', '''Add ID3 tag''' and '''check for external programs return code'''.
* Do not worry what bit rate is shown in the '''Bit rate''' drop down box as this will not have any effect on the resultant MP3 file (See Note 4 at the bottom of this page).

* In the '''Addtional command line options''' box, copy and paste one of the below strings based on the Tag you would prefer.
'''No Tags:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' %s %d

'''ID3v1:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' --id3v1-only --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

'''ID3v2:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' --id3v2-only --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

'''ID3v1 and ID3v2:'''

'''-V 2 --vbr-new''' --add-id3v2 --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d

'''APEv2: (requires [http://www.saunalahti.fi/cse/files/wapet.zip wapet.exe])'''
* Set file extension to .mp3
* Locate '''wapet.exe'''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" lame.exe '''-V 2 --vbr-new''' %s %d

'''Note 1:''' lame.exe needs to be in the same directory as wapet.exe.

'''Note 2:''' If you wanted to change the [[LAME#Encoder_Presets| Lame preset]], the green portion what you would substitute with the new preset.

'''Note 3:''' If you are using Lame version 3.95.1+, please note that '''--alt-preset''' is no longer used, it is now just '''--preset'''

'''Note 4:''' The '''%l...%l''' and '''%h...%h''' placeholders are used to add text according to whether the High quality or Low quality radio button is selected as shown below:

'''%l--alt-preset 128%l%h--alt-preset standard%h''' %s %d

Therefore, if you select '''Low quality''', EAC will invoke the LAME encoder with the following command line parameters:

LAME.EXE --alt-preset 128 %s %d

..and if you select '''High quality''' EAC will invoke LAME with these command line parameters:

LAME.EXE --alt-preset standard %s %d

You can access the bitrate value in the dropdown list using the '''%r''' placeholder, For Example:

--alt-preset %r %s %d

So, if you selected '''192 kBit/s''' in the '''Bit Rate''' drop-down list, the command line would be:

LAME.EXE --alt-preset 192 %s %d

It is a generally accepted fact that the bitrate selected in the drop-down list doesn't affect the command line. In essence this is true, as it will not affect the command line ''unless you use the %r placeholder''. However, using ABR or CBR over VBR is not recommended and hence, you will probably never have to use the '''%r''' option.

<center>[[Image:EAC_LAME02.png|frame|center|Lame configured with ID3v1 tagging]]</center>

Recommended LAME

2005-10-11T18:56:12Z

Echizen: /* Setting up EAC for lame.exe with tagging */

Recommended LAME

2005-10-11T18:55:49Z

Echizen: /* Quick Start */

==Introduction==

This article is meant to explain to the users what are the [[Hydrogenaudio]] recommended settings to be used with [[LAME]] for highest quality [[MP3]] encoding.

These settings require LAME 3.94 or later. LAME 3.97beta found on this website is the recommended version ([[LAME Compiles|check here to download]]).

Avoid using alpha (a) versions of LAME. More often than not those are exclusively for testing purposes, if you want to help developers with feedback.

Note: At a given bitrate range, the quality scale is following: VBR is higher quality than ABR which is higher quality than CBR (VBR > ABR > CBR in terms of quality). The exception to this is when you choose the highest possible CBR bitrate, which is 320 kbps (-b 320 = --alt-preset insane).

''Note: all modes and settings mentioned in this topic belong to the specifications of the MP3 standard, and the resulting MP3s should be played by every standard-conform MP3-Decoder. If this shouldn't be the case, blame the manufacturer or developer of your MP3-Decoder/device.''

==VBR (Variable bitrate) settings==
'''[[VBR]]:''' ''variable bitrate mode, the goal is to keep a constant quality and saving bits where possible without lowering the quality.''

[[VBR]] can be useful to get good quality from a specific quality level. Size is less predictable than with [[ABR]], but the quality is usually better.

-V(number) where number is 0-9, 0 being highest quality, 9 being the lowest.

{| align=center border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|+'''List of recommended settings'''
| '''Switch''' || '''Preset''' || '''Target Kbit/s''' || '''Bitrate range kbit/s'''
|-
| -b 320 || --preset insane || 320CBR || 320
|-
| -V 0 --vbr-new || --preset fast extreme || 245 || 220...260
|-
| -V 0 || --preset extreme || 245 || 220...260
|-
| -V 1 --vbr-new || || 225 || 200...250
|-
| -V 1 || || 225 || 200...250
|-
| -V 2 --vbr-new || --preset fast standard || 190 || 170...210
|-
| -V 2 || --preset standard || 190 || 170...210
|-
| -V 3 --vbr-new || || 175 || 155...195
|-
| -V 3 || || 175 || 155...195
|-
| -V 4 --vbr-new || --preset fast medium || 165 || 145...185
|-
| -V 4 || --preset medium || 165 || 145...185
|-
| -V 5 --vbr-new || || 130 || 110...150
|-
| -V 5 || || 130 || 110...150
|-
| -V 6 --vbr-new || || 115 || 95...135
|-
| -V 6 || || 150 || 95...135
|-
| -V 7 --vbr-new || || 100 || 80...120
|-
| -V 7 || || 100 || 80...120
|-
| -V 8 --vbr-new || || 85 || 65...105
|-
| -V 8 || || 85 || 65...105
|-
| -V 9 --vbr-new || || 65 || 45...85
|-
| -V 9 || || 65 || 45...85
|}
See also [[Technical data for recommended LAME settings]]

If the target is eg. streaming, where you need MP3 in ABR or even CBR mode, there are still the ABR and CBR modes.

==ABR (average bitrate) settings==
'''[[ABR]]:''' ''average bitrate mode varies bits around a specified target bitrate''

''(128 kbit/s ABR: roughly the same filesize as 128 kbit/s CBR)''

* '''[[ABR]] Setting tuned from 320 kbit/s down to 80 kbit/s'''
** --preset <bitrate>

<bitrate> (desired averaged bitrate in kbit/s) can be any value between 8 - 320 , like eg. 9, 17, 80, 128, 133, 200 etc.

:: Example: --preset 200

==CBR (constant bitrate) settings==
'''[[CBR]]:''' ''constant bitrate mode is not efficient regarding distributing bitrate to more complex music parts and saving bits where it would be possible without lowering the quality of those music parts. Only recommended for usage in streaming situations where the upper bitrate margin must be strictly enforced.''

*'''[[CBR]] Setting tuned from 320 kbit/s down to 80 kbit/s'''
** -b <bitrate>

<bitrate> (bitrate in kbit/s) can be only: 8 , 16 , 24 , 32 , 40 , 48 , 64 , 80 , 96 , 112 , 128 , 160 , 192 , 256 or 320.

==Remarks==
The '''--vbr-new''' switch enables the new VBR mode. Lame will encode much faster compared to old/default vbr mode. Current knowledge qualitywise comparing vbr with --vbr-new is, that --vbr-new might even be better qualitywise than the default vbr mode, but there are also reports about artefact, which is worse in --vbr-new compared to default. Though the general impression is, that --vbr-new should be recommended over vbr-default.
--vbr-new can be faster and at equal/better quality at same time, because it uses a different algorithm than old/default vbr mode.

===Quick Start===

'''Best Quality : 'archiving''''

--cbr 320. This is the strongest setting for MP3, with the lowest risk of [[artifact]]s.
With the exception of a few situations, quality is rarely better than the highest [[VBR]] profiles described below.
Alternative: [[Lossless]] formats like [[WavPack]], [[Flac]] etc. allow true archiving bit for bit like on original CD.

'''High Quality : HiFi, home or quiet listening'''

-V3 --vbr-new (~175 kbps), -V2 --vbr-new (~190 kbps), -V1 --vbr-new (~210 kbps) or -V0 --vbr-new (~230 kbps) are recommended.
These settings will produce [[transparent]] encoding (transparent = most people cannot distinguish the mp3 from the original in an ABX blindtest).
Audible differences between these presets exist, but are extremely marginal.

'''Portable : background noise and low bitrate requirement, small sizes'''

-V6 --vbr-new (~115 kbps), -V5 --vbr-new (~130 kbps) or -V4 --vbr-new (~160 kbps) are recommended for this use.
-V6 --vbr-new produces an acceptable quality, while -V4--vbr-new should be close to perceptual [[transparency]].

'''Very low bitrate, small sizes:''' eg. for voice, radio, [[mono]] encoding etc.

For very low bitrates, up to 100kbps, [[ABR]] is most often the best solution.

Use '''--abr xx''' (e.g. --abr 80).

[[Image:lame-chart-2.png|frame|center|Here a trial to get a view, how the perceived listening quality improves with settings/averaged filesize:]]

The revolutionary --alt-preset system introduced in LAME 3.90, is replaced nowadays by the preset system, which is already substituted by the above explained settings -V x system.

You don't need to worry anymore about quality, settings, switches, presets, if you stick to the recommendations of this topic, all will be fine and even optimized.

If you select nowadays in LAME 3.97 either --alt-preset xy , preset xy or corresponding switch xy, you will always get the same, simply stick to one of the recommended switches of the table or described here in the text.

E.G.: --alt-preset cbr 320 is the exact same thing as --alt-preset insane etc.:

--alt-preset insane = --preset insane = -b 320 = --preset 320 = --preset cbr 320

==Setting up EAC for lame.exe with tagging==

{{:EAC and Lame}}

==Additional reading==

* [[LAME|More information on LAME]]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=16&t=32288 Forum discussion of the recommended settings]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=15&t=203 Forum discussion of the recommended settings (older)]
* [[Recommended LAME credits|Credits for the recommended settings]]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32288&view=findpost&p=327262 Previous recommendations (outdated)]
* [[MP3]]
* [[LAME]]
* [[Exact_Audio_Copy|Exact Audio Copy]]

----
[[Recommended LAME credits|Credits]]

Recommended LAME

2005-10-11T18:53:55Z

Echizen: /* Introduction */

==Introduction==

This article is meant to explain to the users what are the [[Hydrogenaudio]] recommended settings to be used with [[LAME]] for highest quality [[MP3]] encoding.

These settings require LAME 3.94 or later. LAME 3.97beta found on this website is the recommended version ([[LAME Compiles|check here to download]]).

Avoid using alpha (a) versions of LAME. More often than not those are exclusively for testing purposes, if you want to help developers with feedback.

Note: At a given bitrate range, the quality scale is following: VBR is higher quality than ABR which is higher quality than CBR (VBR > ABR > CBR in terms of quality). The exception to this is when you choose the highest possible CBR bitrate, which is 320 kbps (-b 320 = --alt-preset insane).

''Note: all modes and settings mentioned in this topic belong to the specifications of the MP3 standard, and the resulting MP3s should be played by every standard-conform MP3-Decoder. If this shouldn't be the case, blame the manufacturer or developer of your MP3-Decoder/device.''

==VBR (Variable bitrate) settings==
'''[[VBR]]:''' ''variable bitrate mode, the goal is to keep a constant quality and saving bits where possible without lowering the quality.''

[[VBR]] can be useful to get good quality from a specific quality level. Size is less predictable than with [[ABR]], but the quality is usually better.

-V(number) where number is 0-9, 0 being highest quality, 9 being the lowest.

{| align=center border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|+'''List of recommended settings'''
| '''Switch''' || '''Preset''' || '''Target Kbit/s''' || '''Bitrate range kbit/s'''
|-
| -b 320 || --preset insane || 320CBR || 320
|-
| -V 0 --vbr-new || --preset fast extreme || 245 || 220...260
|-
| -V 0 || --preset extreme || 245 || 220...260
|-
| -V 1 --vbr-new || || 225 || 200...250
|-
| -V 1 || || 225 || 200...250
|-
| -V 2 --vbr-new || --preset fast standard || 190 || 170...210
|-
| -V 2 || --preset standard || 190 || 170...210
|-
| -V 3 --vbr-new || || 175 || 155...195
|-
| -V 3 || || 175 || 155...195
|-
| -V 4 --vbr-new || --preset fast medium || 165 || 145...185
|-
| -V 4 || --preset medium || 165 || 145...185
|-
| -V 5 --vbr-new || || 130 || 110...150
|-
| -V 5 || || 130 || 110...150
|-
| -V 6 --vbr-new || || 115 || 95...135
|-
| -V 6 || || 150 || 95...135
|-
| -V 7 --vbr-new || || 100 || 80...120
|-
| -V 7 || || 100 || 80...120
|-
| -V 8 --vbr-new || || 85 || 65...105
|-
| -V 8 || || 85 || 65...105
|-
| -V 9 --vbr-new || || 65 || 45...85
|-
| -V 9 || || 65 || 45...85
|}
See also [[Technical data for recommended LAME settings]]

If the target is eg. streaming, where you need MP3 in ABR or even CBR mode, there are still the ABR and CBR modes.

==ABR (average bitrate) settings==
'''[[ABR]]:''' ''average bitrate mode varies bits around a specified target bitrate''

''(128 kbit/s ABR: roughly the same filesize as 128 kbit/s CBR)''

* '''[[ABR]] Setting tuned from 320 kbit/s down to 80 kbit/s'''
** --preset <bitrate>

<bitrate> (desired averaged bitrate in kbit/s) can be any value between 8 - 320 , like eg. 9, 17, 80, 128, 133, 200 etc.

:: Example: --preset 200

==CBR (constant bitrate) settings==
'''[[CBR]]:''' ''constant bitrate mode is not efficient regarding distributing bitrate to more complex music parts and saving bits where it would be possible without lowering the quality of those music parts. Only recommended for usage in streaming situations where the upper bitrate margin must be strictly enforced.''

*'''[[CBR]] Setting tuned from 320 kbit/s down to 80 kbit/s'''
** -b <bitrate>

<bitrate> (bitrate in kbit/s) can be only: 8 , 16 , 24 , 32 , 40 , 48 , 64 , 80 , 96 , 112 , 128 , 160 , 192 , 256 or 320.

==Remarks==
The '''--vbr-new''' switch enables the new VBR mode. Lame will encode much faster compared to old/default vbr mode. Current knowledge qualitywise comparing vbr with --vbr-new is, that --vbr-new might even be better qualitywise than the default vbr mode, but there are also reports about artefact, which is worse in --vbr-new compared to default. Though the general impression is, that --vbr-new should be recommended over vbr-default.
--vbr-new can be faster and at equal/better quality at same time, because it uses a different algorithm than old/default vbr mode.

===Quick Start===

'''Best Quality : 'archiving''''

--cbr 320. This is the strongest setting for MP3, with the lowest risk of [[artifact]]s.
With the exception of a few situations, quality is rarely better than the highest [[VBR]] profiles described below.
Alternative: [[Lossless]] formats like [[WavPack]], [[Flac]] etc. allow true archiving bit for bit like on original CD.

'''High Quality : HiFi, home or quiet listening'''

-V3 --vbr-new (~175 kbps), -V2 --vbr-new (~190 kbps), -V1 --vbr-new (~210 kbps) or -V0 --vbr-new (~230 kbps) are recommended.
These settings will produce [[transparent]] encoding (transparent = most people cannot distinguish the mp3 from the original in an ABX blindtest).
Audible differences between these presets exist, but are extremely marginal.

'''Portable : background noise and low bitrate requirement, small sizes'''

-V6 --vbr-new (~115 kbps), -V5 --vbr-new (~130 kbps) or -V4 --vbr-new (~160 kbps) are recommended for this use.
-V6 --vbr-new produces an acceptable quality, while -V4--vbr-new should be close to perceptual [[transparency]].

'''Very low bitrate, small sizes:''' eg. for voice, radio, [[mono]] encoding etc.

For very low bitrates, up to 100kbps, [[ABR]] is most often the best solution.

Use '''--abr xx''' (e.g. --abr 80).

[[Image:Lame-chart-2.png|frame|center|Here a trial to get a view, how the perceived listening quality improves with settings/averaged filesize:]]

The revolutionary --alt-preset system introduced in lame 3.90, is replaced nowadays by the preset system, which is already substituted by the above explained settings -V x system.

You don't need to worry anymore about quality, settings, switches, presets, if you stick to the recommendations of this topic, all will be fine and even optimized.

If you select nowadays in lame 3.97 either --alt-preset xy , preset xy or corresponding switch xy, you will always get the same, simply stick to one of the recommended switches of the table or described here in the text.

E.G.: --alt-preset cbr 320 is the exact same thing as --alt-preset insane etc.:

--alt-preset insane = --preset insane = -b 320 = --preset 320 = --preset cbr 320

==Setting up EAC for lame.exe with tagging==

{{:EAC and Lame}}

==Additional reading==

* [[LAME|More information on LAME]]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=16&t=32288 Forum discussion of the recommended settings]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=15&t=203 Forum discussion of the recommended settings (older)]
* [[Recommended LAME credits|Credits for the recommended settings]]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32288&view=findpost&p=327262 Previous recommendations (outdated)]
* [[MP3]]
* [[LAME]]
* [[Exact_Audio_Copy|Exact Audio Copy]]

----
[[Recommended LAME credits|Credits]]

LAME

2005-10-11T18:06:35Z

Echizen:

LAME

2005-10-11T18:01:26Z

Echizen:

LAME (LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder) is the recommended encoder. It has been developed by the open-source community since 1998, and has become the highest quality [[MP3]] encoder for most purposes.

Some benefits for using LAME:
* Highly optimised presets
* Fast encoding
* [[CBR]], [[ABR]] and [[VBR]] encoding methods
* [[Gapless]] playback with LAME-header compliant decoders
* [[Exact Audio Copy]] and [[CDex]] support

=History=

LAME development began around mid-1998. Mike Cheng started it as a patch against the 8hz-MP3 encoder sources. After some quality concerns raised by others, he decided to start from scratch based on the dist10 sources. That branch (a patch against the reference sources) became LAME 2.0, and only on LAME 3.81 they got rid of all dist10 code, making LAME no more only a patch.

The project quickly became a team project. Mike Cheng eventually left leadership and started working on tooLAME, an [[MP2]] encoder. Mark Taylor became leader and released version 3.0 featuring gpsycho, a new psychoacoustic model developed by him.

Nowadays LAME is considered the best MP3 encoder at mid-high bitrates and features the best VBR model among MP3 implementations, mostly thanks to the dedicated work of talented developers like Takehiro Tominaga, Naoki Shibata, Darin Morrison, Gabriel Bouvigne, Robert Hegemann, etc. And development is still going on...

=Recommended Encoder Settings=

{{:Recommended LAME}}

=Additional reading=

* [http://lame.sourceforge.net LAME official homepage]
* [http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/lame.html Historical versions of LAME] at ReallyRareWares
* [http://www.rjamorim.com/test/ Several multiformat listening tests] featuring LAME and other encoders.
* [[EAC_and_LAME | Configuring EAC and LAME]]