Yes, generally Xing is considered to be one of the worst sounding mp3 encoders.
MP3 Encoder Comparison:
http://www.modatic.net/audio/mp3_encoder_comparison.phpWMA is probably fine at low bitrates for listening on a portable, but at higher bitrates and better listening equipment, LAME using the --alt-presets is is definitely the way to go.
Recommended LAME Compiles:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?act=ST&f=15&t=478&s=54e0168e421baf7990161b4b52074f31Recommended LAME Settings:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?act=ST&f=15&t=203&s=54e0168e421baf7990161b4b52074f31Because of the DRM (digital rights management) features that are built in to WMA, it is highly
not recommended for storing or archiving. It is conceivable that at some point, Microsoft might choose to no longer support WMA that was encoded without the DRM features enabled, so all of your old files could become unplayable.
Also, if you are really interested in storing your music in a high quality format, think about using lossless encoders like Monkey's Audio (APE) or FLAC.
Check out the rest of the Hydrogen Audio forums for info on high quality audio compression
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/As for normalization, you should do a search of this forum and the Hydrogen Audio forums for info on what it does and why you probably shouldn't do it. If you are using Media Jukebox, it would be better to use the built in Replay Gain feature for volume leveling of your files during playback. You should also search this forum and Hydrogen Audio for Replay Gain info.
Rob