How To Make Archive Quality MP3's.
It's easy to make archive quality mp3's. Simply use the r3mix option - a specific high quality setting for the mp3 encoder Lame.
The setting takes it's name from the website r3mix.net which uses a small (but respectable) amount of scientific evaluation and audiophile listening test analysis to recommend the best MP3 encoder, and what settings to use.
Best in this context means transparent CD quality with smallest file size and fastest encoding time, (bitrate is not limited). The need for these settings arises because the near CD quality (normally 128kbps) offered by most encoders, whilst sufficient for everyday listening, is not good enough for archives of important recordings.
The space requirements for r3mix quality mp3's are approximately 1.4Mb per minute (the average bitrate is about 180kbps). In other words, you can fit roughly 10 albums on a CD-R, or well over 400 albums on a 30Gb hard disk - standard with today's new PCs.
The current encoder of choice at r3mix.net is the Lame encoder (and hence the programmers of Lame have paid tribute to the website by using its name as shorthand for their preferred settings). To make the best mp3s you can use the following command:
lame --r3mix infile.wav outfile.mp3
"--r3mix" is a synonym for
- "-V1 -mj -h --athtype 3 --lowpass 19.5 -b112" in Lame 3.88 beta, and
- "--nspsytune --vbr-mtrh -V1 -mj -h -b96 --lowpass 19.5 --athtype 3 --ns-sfb21 2 -Z --scale 0.98" in version 3.90.
Some versions of all-in-one ripping software like the latest CDex and Audiograbber now include an r3mix setting in their options, but the site recommends using ExactAudioCopy and Win32Lame for best results.