Yet Another ACC vs MP3 Thread

[Drooling Dog]

Okay, I know this has been done to death. Hopefully I'm going into this with enough specifics to keep me from getting yelled at. I did read the others posts, but found none that address my specific situation.

First, throw player compatibility out the window. I don't mind ripping everything twice, and backing the mp3's up to DVD (data), should I need them someday.

What I really want to know is what a 128 ACC file is comperable to in MP3 format, ripped using EAC/lame.

Is it as good as or better than alt-preset standard?

I tried bumping the ACC up to 160, and the files came out a little larger than the alt-preset standards, so ripping at ACC-160 is pointless for me. I'm willing to change and rerip everything if I can get alt-preset standard quality from a 128 ACC.

Disclaimer: I realize that a popular answer might be "try both and listen to them yourself". I've done that, and I can't tell a difference, but I've only tried it in a few situations (headphones and car). Who knows what situations I'll encounter in the future. I could get a new car stereo that shows off bad files better.

[punk_r0x]

Just last night I was thinking about AAC, so I compared some AAC files to my current format (mp3s encoded at VBR ~192). My mp3s definitely sounded better than AAC at 128kbps. At 192, I couldn't tell the difference. The AAC files were slightly smaller than my mp3 files at that size, but not enough to make it worth reripping my entire collection.

[Drooling Dog]

Would you say a 128 AAC is comperable to, say, a 160 VBR EAC/LAME rip?

[MikeM]

The general consensus that I've seen since Apple released its AAC format is that 128 AAC is comparable to 160-192 mp3, depending on how the mp3s were ripped. VBR/LAME encoding- closer to 160. Standard mp3s- 192.

What I always tell people though is to do some tests yourself. Your ripping set-up, your players, and your headphones are the only way to get results you can trust. Pick your favorite music, trying to span different types/genres as much as possible. Then listen.

[punk_r0x]

I would say in general, unless you set your quality settings really low, EAC/LAME beats AAC until you get the AAC to at least 224kbps. That's my opinion anyway, I've heard different.

[jonnny]

It really depends on the source to me, but to save the trouble, I just ripped everything with EAC + alt-preset standard.

A compliation of old Glenn Miller tunes from the 30's and 40's still ripped at around 128 kbps (average) with APS, while the whole Weezer blue album ranges from 210-250 kbps.

I don't like the idea of having that Weezer album compressed down to 128 kbps (average/constant) AAC if it had to encode at that high of a bit rate with LAME.

A little bit of trivia: The song with the highest average bit rate in my Library's "Somebody Told Me" by The Killers, clocking in at 263 kbps. :p