RazorLame: A Front-end for LAME

Step 4: Go to Holger's site [Germany] and download the latest version of RazorLame. Then bookmark SatCP's RazorLAME tutorial.

LAME is a command-line program. In other words, it has no graphical user interface (GUI), which means it's difficult for many people to use.

RazorLame is a GUI for LAME, also called a Front End. RazorLame makes it easy to configure & use the LAME MP3 encoder. There are other front ends for LAME, such as LAMEr, but I have no experience with anything but RazorLame.

You can use the RazorLame/LAME combo as a stand-alone encoder. You can configure LAME using RazorLame to the specs you want, then copy-n-paste the switches for LAME directly into EAC. This may be easier than typing in the settings manually, where it would be easier to make a mistake [type-o].

The only problem is that the setting for ABR [average bit rate] is not easy to find. I finally asked Holger. He said:

Yes, that's currently a bit hidden. For v1.1.4 use 'Edit' from the Main menu, then 'LAME Options', choose the 'VBR' Tab, check 'enable VBR', and finally check 'use ABR instead of VBR' at the bottom of the dialog and enter the target bitrate. I'm aware that this isn't optimal and planning a change in the future.
Regards, Holger

You can also copy-n-paste pre-configured settings into the 'Custom options' from the Expert tab in order to configure ABR encoding. Don't forget to put a check in the box labeled Use only custom options.

Copying-and-pasting these Lame switches directly into EAC (or Razorlame) is more fool-proof than typing the switches by hand. If you type an error into the command line (for example, - b vs -b) the Lame DOS-looking box will open then close immediately (provided you have have you system configured to show the Lame's DOS-looking box).

You can also go to jthz.com (beautiful page) and copy the settings that he has already configured for you. Again, it's easiest to copy-n-paste switch configurations. If you want to learn a little more about LAME's switches, they're posted here. Some people call switches "arguments".

LAME switches/arguments

People who know the most about maximizing MP3 audio fidelity for your bit-rate buck use the following setting with LAME 3.97 beta 2:

the new -V 2 --vbr-new preset [yields files ~170-210-kbps, depending on the specific song, and the type of music]

This is a VBR setting, which means it'll take longer to encode than an ABR file. Personally, I have tons of hard drive space, so I'm not very concerned with file sizes. If you don't mind spending ~220-260 kbps, you can use: -V 0 --vbr-new. In order to use these new presets however, you need to use v3.97 beta2.

Regarding the --vbr-new switch .. it enables the new VBR mode (from this page):

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.

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.

CBR vs ABR vs VBR

The documentation that comes with Lame (usage.txt) has this to say about ABR: ABR is still in beta, but it should always give results equal or better than CBR. The best explanation that I've heard comparing alt preset standard [VBR] with 256-kbps ABR comes from CiTay:

ABR at this average bit-rate usually sounds better than VBR, by definition. ABR is sort of an enhanced CBR, and has not much to do with VBR. The difference is that VBR depends on LAME's psychoacoustic model. If the psy-model says that something is easy to encode, VBR takes a low bitrate frame.

But flaws in that model could lead to the situation where something is hard to encode in reality, but the psy-model misinterprets the signal and says "easy to encode". Then VBR chooses a low bitrate where it really would need a 320 kbit frame.

With CBR and ABR, this can't happen. --abr 256 always takes a bitrate that's high enough and doesn't rely on the psy-model (which is far from perfect). Yes, you'll waste bits at those places in a song where you don't need many bits, but you also have better overall quality .. ABR yields better sound quality [tho many people won't hear the difference].

If you have plenty of hard drive space, you can rip your songs in one session (to .wav files), then encode them to mp3 files later, preferably overnight, while you sleep. This is referred to a batch encode, and RazorLame supports it. You'll wake with a bunch of shiny, new mp3's on your hard drive.

I prefer to have EAC rip & encode in one step. I currently use ABR, but have used VBR (--r3mix) in the past. VBR is noticeably slower. I have a Pentium-D 820, and never notice myself waiting for any files to encode. But I have definitely found myself saying, "Come on already," when using VBR.

So if you're using VBR exclusively, you probably want to look for ways to encode overnight, especially if you have plenty of hard drive space to store the .wav files.

The MP3 encoding format supports a maximum of 320kbps. It's possible to exceed this, tho. For example, Lame can exceed 320kbps with the --freeformat switch.

The MAD decoder will play MP3s up to 640kbps (see the last page of this guide for info about the MAD decoder), but the standard Winamp player supports a max of 320kbps.

MPC supports a maximum of 1200kbps, but MPC is a non-MP3 format. See the page on Alternative Lossy Encoders for info on MPC, also called MPEGPlus and MP+. Altho it makes little sense to use a lossy encoder to encode at bit-rates this high, since you can usually achieve lossless compression at ~700kbps.

Audio quality vs file sizes vs encoding methods is a hotly debated topic. Everybody has different ears, different equipment, different musical preferences, different songs, etc. This means that everybody has a different opinion.

For example, you can read what Julius thinks about VBR (variable) vs CBR (constant) vs ABR (average) at jthz.com.

Razorlame does not currently support ID3 tags. This is probably its weakest point. If ID3 tags are important, you can:

• Use a 3rd-party tagger, something like Renatager, or TagMaster, or Mp3/Tag Studio, or MAC. There are a many ID3 taggers out there.
• You may also want to check out Lameb. Pretty nifty program.
• Encode directly from EAC or CDex, which will pass the ID3 info directly.
• Use Monkey's as a front end for encoding with LAME.

If you want to use Monkey's to encode MP3s using Lame, you need to put a copy of LAME in the directory Program Files\Monkey's Audio\External. Click the down-arrow beside the 'Compress' button, and go to 'Compression level,' then 'External,' then put a check mark next to Lame.

The default is --r3mix b128. If you prefer something else, select thru: External > Lame > Configure, and enter whatever you want, such as --alt-preset standard (usually via copy-n-paste, so you ensure the switch is correct).

When you hit the Compress button, you'll get MP3 files (not *.ape files). Don't forget to put a check in the box labeled Automatically tag files on compress found under Options | Tagging (F9).

Monkey's also allows you to customize the tag. Click the Help button under Tagging (under Options). You can learn about ID3 tags here. Another good place to learn about MP3 quality is here, at mp3-tech.org.