The best answer to this question has a lot to do with the answer to these questions....:
Are you encoding for immediate playback, or for archiving music onto your hard drive?
***If you are archiving to your HD, and have the available space, you might use a lossless encoder like Monkey's Audio or Shorten. These formats produce files roughly 50% of the original file size without *any* loss. They can be easily repurposed, or converted, on demand into other file types for use... like for playback in a portable mp3, or writing back to audio CD for an exact duplication of your original CD disc.
What device will you use for playback of your encoded files?
***If you use a portable mp3 player, you may get by with higher compression without noticable loss of fidelity. In this case, the particular encoder choice probably is not as important as its ability to generate files of the type you need... like WMA or MP3.
How involved do you want to be in the encoding process?
***The further you get into encoders, the more questions you'll have to answer. The simple (Read: easier to use) encoders that are built into players like Music Match, Media Juke Box, WinAmp, etc., may give you all you need in terms of quality and compression for your particular use. Or NOT!.... hehehehe.... If you're an audiophile looking for precise control over the many parameters and aspects of encoding, you'll want to check out some of the encoding schemes mentioned in the thread... Lame/Ogg/MPC, etc.
Can You Really Hear?
***How good IS you audio-ear? After 4 decades of smashing my ears with insanely loud rock and roll, my once pristine and finely-tuned audio factory is, well, trashed. Since I cannot hear sounds much above 14khz anymore, the music I encode for my personal use can be at a higer compression/lower bitrate. This I learned through experimentation with different encoding shemes and quality settings - oh yeah, and the doctor who frowned at me when testing my hearing. I would suggest you download a few free encoders and experiment to see just how good *your* hearing is.
So... the reason you don't find a *straight* answer may be because you need to answer a few questions for yourself first.
Another aspect of this is something like the (now old and tired) debate over vinyl versus digital. Much depends on personal choice, and by definition, that means that the right answer for *you* may be different from that of your best friend.
Experiment a little, think about what you are trying to acomplish with your encoding, and have some fun with it.
That all said... I'd be happy to list my preference, as others on this thread have listed theirs... just ask. I think, however, that you will find your own solution just like the rest of us.
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Topic: Looking for opinion on encoders... (Read 2328 times)