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[iamjcl]

I have just begun to use MJ (latest 8.xx ver.) on my WinXP sp1 setup.  I always rip to .wav and then convert to .mp3 in a mirrored directory.  When doing this with MJ, the CD-->WAV rip goes fine, and the conversion to MP3 (using iriver / lame plugin) seems to go fine.  MP3's play fine, but each seems to have a "Pop" either at the end or somehow between songs.  Doesn't matter if I choose gapless, standard, no silence etc... from the playback settings.  If I play the .Wavs, they are perfect.  If I convert with Cdex, the MP3's are perfect.  WMA is perfect also out of Cdex.  What gives with the MJ MP3 encoder ?

Thanks,  - Chris

[JimH]

It isn't the encoder.  It may be the sound card driver, but try this.  Change the settings for playback from wav out to direct sound or vice versa.

[iamjcl]

Jim,

    Thanks for the quick response.  

After some time-consuming testing, the problem seems to be unrelated to your suggestion, but I think is caused by the following:

    I have several Turtle Beach "AudioTrons" (Ethernet audio players) throughout my house, which I use to play .WAV files from.  The .Wavs need semi-proprietary tags for the AudioTron to catalog them neatly.  Turtle Beach includes a very limited program called "AudioStation" with the AudioTron to do this.  It is similar to MJ, but MUCH more limited.  But, it rips and tags the .WAV files so the A.Tron can neatly display your library.

I have been ripping the CDs to .WAV with this, and then converting to MP3 with Cdex.

After switching to MJ (very recently) I have been ripping the CD to WAV with MJ, and then dragging the whole album or .WAVs into "AudioStation" to tag them en-mass (Artist/Album) and then manually put in the track number for each track.

Then, I use MJ to Convert the .WAVs to MP3 for the MP3 mirror directory.

Here is the problem:


***  The .WAV files that have NOT been tagged by "AudioStation" produce perfect Mp3 Conversions via MJ.

***  .Wav files which HAVE been tagged by A.Station have the "Pop" at the end of the resulting MP3.


Oddly, CDex (using the same LAME encoder you use) can compress any of the A.Station tagged .WAVS without producing the "pop".
AudioStation can do the same.

Only MJ can't convert the "tagged" .WAVS properly.

I realize this could be viewed as a problem with the .WAV file, rather than a problem with MJ, but because the other programs seem to "ignore" the tag in the .WAV, there must be something MJ is doing differently.

- I can work around - I'll just tag the .WAVs AFTER converting to MP3 with MJ.

- Sorry for the long post, but maybe it will help you continue to improve your already great SW product.

BTW, you can dowload a "free" version of "AudioStation" if you have any desire to check this out at:  

www.voyetra.com

I would love to trash AudioStation altogether if MJ could just tag my .WAVs in the same way, so my Audiotrons could read them.

- Chris.

[xen-uno]

How do you have CDeX setup for the encode? If it's using LAME as an External encoder (LAME.exe) then that's the key. You can set up MJ to do the same (by default it uses the the lame dll (instead of the exe)). In MJ go to Settings>Options>Encoding and change the Encoder to External Encoder.

For the exe path LAME.exe should reside in the Plug-ins directory under MJ. Check the "Encoder supports long filenames" option.

For the parameters...I'm not sure about...maybe someone else can chime in on this.
Reason: I use EAC (ripper/encoder) with the following parameter string...
--alt-preset standard --id3v2-only --pad-id3v2 --tt "%t" --ta "%a" --tl "%g" --ty %y --tc "EAC: Lame 3.92 @ alt pre std" --tn %n --tg "%m" %s %d

The above string produces VBR files of around 192 kb/s

MJ uses %in and %out (%s and %d in EAC). The EAC variables (anything with a %) may not match MJ's. If someone could correct the variables for MJ, then this will work beautifully.

10^-27

[RemyJ]

How do you have CDeX setup for the encode? If it's using LAME as an External encoder (LAME.exe) then that's the key. You can set up MJ to do the same (by default it uses the the lame dll (instead of the exe)). In MJ go to Settings>Options>Encoding and change the Encoder to External Encoder.

For the exe path LAME.exe should reside in the Plug-ins directory under MJ. Check the "Encoder supports long filenames" option.

For the parameters...I'm not sure about...maybe someone else can chime in on this.
Reason: I use EAC (ripper/encoder) with the following parameter string...
--alt-preset standard --id3v2-only --pad-id3v2 --tt "%t" --ta "%a" --tl "%g" --ty %y --tc "EAC: Lame 3.92 @ alt pre std" --tn %n --tg "%m" %s %d

The above string produces VBR files of around 192 kb/s

MJ uses %in and %out (%s and %d in EAC). The EAC variables (anything with a %) may not match MJ's. If someone could correct the variables for MJ, then this will work beautifully.

10^-27

MJ doesn't use Lame to add the tags so the equivalent string is simply...

--alt-preset standard %in %out

[xen-uno]

That may be his original problem in that MJ is adding the tags. Looking through options...doesn't appear to be a way to keep MJ from doing so.

So iam...try the external encode option with rem's parameter string.

10^-27

[iamjcl]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

I am using CDex the "simple" way and just selecting Lame from the list of encoders (lame was in the d/l of Cdex).

**
One interesting thing I might add based on your observations; If I encode a tagged .WAV even using the WMA encoder via MJ, the file has the pop at the end!!

WTF?!?

**

I will do some experimentation based on your suggestions to see if I can replicate a "clean" convert of the tagged .WAVS using MJ / Lame, but seeing as both WMA and MP3 files generated by these .WAVs via MJ have the same problem, it seems likely that the problem is somehow in the "hand-off" of the .WAV to the encoder.

Its just weird that MJ is the only program I have that can't handle these .WAV files.  

For the record, since I ripped ~160 CDs to .WAV using the AudioStation program (tags generated with RIP), I tested the files before I started, by Ripping to the .WAV, converting to .APE, then converting back to .WAV, then doing a CRC against the original to see if anything changed in any way.  Nothing did.  All the .WAVS are treated as valid and standard by everyting except MJ in this case.

- Chris