difference in mp3 conversion quality?

[sitlet]

is there a difference, quality wise, between programs used to convert to mp3? currently im using MusicMatch jukebox for all of my cd ripping, wav to mp3, mp3 compression etc. would using a different program for all of this make a difference in quality? i know some programs are easier to use, some are faster, etc. but im just concerned about the quality. if so, what programs do you guys use/recommend for mp3

[jimmalenko]

The quality should be independent of the encoder used and is all about the bitrate, provided any of the softwares don't do any filtering on the fly (I'm not aware of any that do).

I like CDEX FWIW.

[celtic_druid]

Well if ripping from CD you have
1) The quality of the ripper
2) The quality of the encoder
3) The settings used for the encoder, also the ripper.

All of the above will effect quality. Also the drive being used can make a difference.

If you use a good quality ripper like EAC (Exact Audio Copy), LAME with say -V2 then you are going to get about the best quality possible, for the size anyway. If you are really concerned then you can always encode at 320k.

[laspis59]

You cant beat EAC and Lame 3.97b1 for ripping and encoding to mp3.Lame 3.97b1 is now officially the recommended version at HA.org

Use these settings with EAC and Lame 3.97b1

Select compression options from EAC menu.
Open 'External Compression' tab.

1. Check 'Use external program for compression'
2. Change 'Parameter passing scheme' to 'User Defined Encoder'
3. Set file extension to .mp3
4. Click 'Browse' and locate 'LAME.exe'
5. Change 'Additional command line options' to one of the following commandlines
6. Check 'Delete WAV after compression'
7. Uncheck 'Add ID3 tag'

Good Quality

ID3v1:
-V2 --vbr-new --id3v1-only --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tg "%m" %s %d

ID3v2:
-V2 --vbr-new --id3v2-only --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tg "%m" %s %d

ID3v1 and ID3v2:
-V2 --vbr-new --add-id3v2 --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tg "%m" %s %d

High Quality

ID3v1:
-V 0 --vbr-new --id3v1-only --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tg "%m" %s %d

ID3v2:
-V 0 --vbr-new --id3v2-only --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tg "%m" %s %d

ID3v1 and ID3v2:
-V 0 --vbr-new --add-id3v2 --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tg "%m" %s %d

Best quality

ID3v1:
-b 320 --id3v1-only --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tg "%m" %s %d

ID3v2:
-b 320 --id3v2-only --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tg "%m" %s %d

ID3v1 and ID3v2:
-b 320 --add-id3v2 --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" --tg "%m" %s %d

[Cunhambebe]

Thanks so much for the input, Luke!