Audio CD

[src2206]

Hi Friends,

I am interested to convert some songs from my MP3 disc to a audio CD. I tried to use the inbuilt converter of burning programs [eg CD Burner XP pro, Ashampoo, Power2Go] but I was not at all satisfied with the results.

So could any one please tell me how best I can convert my Mp3s to Audio CD format [this should be .wav format - right?].
and secondly, is there any specific burner which gives best result while burnin gAudio CDs [like VCDEasy for VCDs]?

Generally all my MP3s are at least encoded at 128kbps.

Please help.

Thank you.

[bobkart]

Yes CD format is WAV format (LPCM, stereo, 44.1KHz sample rate, 16 bits/sample).

When you say you weren't "satisfied with the results" what do you mean? Because it's likely that converting before burning will give you the same result as converting during the burning process.

When you play back the results you weren't satisfied with, how did the quality compare to that of the original source files (MP3)? They should have been indistinguishable, because all a conversion to WAV format is doing is uncompressing the MP3s, the same thing that happens when you just play the MP3s.

[mats.hogberg]

Yup, what you use to decode the MP3s is hardly of any significance. What you feel missing in your Audio CD version of your MP3s went missing when whatever was encoded to mp3.

/Mats

[Noahtuck]

Yup, what you use to decode the MP3s is hardly of any significance. What you feel missing in your Audio CD version of your MP3s went missing when whatever was encoded to mp3.

/Mats

Exactly!!! when you start with mp3's you won't get back what was lost when they were made, period!! and you always lose something going from an original cd to mp3, espc. to 128kb mp3's, and most mp3's i've heard that i did not make you could definately hear the diff.!!

O.T.
I remember reading a post not long ago where someone was bitching about some flac files... they were pissed and asked what stupid format that was and to use mp3's like everyone else

[src2206]

Thank you very much friends for clearing the air.
Basically, the last audio CD that I burnt using CD Burner XP pro, the CD did not play flawlessly and I also felt that the quality was not perfect too. The original MP3 was though encoded in 320kbps.

I know that there are some stand alone programs [do not know the names really] which are designed to convert audio. So I was hoping if you could guide me on that. Or should I use more known burner like NERO [the ver 5 and 6's original CDs are with me though I do not use NERO as I do not like the resource heavy softwares].
I have original Ashampoo burning studio installed too.

One thing I misinformed here is that I never used Ashmpoo earlier as I got the latest version this month only.

Thank you again.

[guns1inger]

CD Architect from Sony is very good for creating audio CDs.

However I have to agree with Mats. - you gave up any notion of quality preservation when you chose MP3 compression. Even at 320 kbps it is an ugly, destructive form of compression.

[Alex_ander]

It is important what you use for decoding to wav if you want to keep the remaining quality. One-click applications are the worst choice for this. There's a good decoder called MAD 0.15 (MPEG Audio Decoder) that processes audio in 32-bit (output is standard 16 bit). The reason for working in higher bit-depth is minimizing rounding errors at intermediate calculations and some good sound editors (like SoundForge) offer 64-bit for this.
MAD decoder is originally a command-line tool but it can be found inside WinLame frontend (http://winlame.sourceforge.net)

[slacker]

guns1inger,

That is plain NOT true. 1 in 100 individuals can tell the difference between an original and an mp3 recorded at 320 using the latest LAME encoder. And that one lone individual would be Dumbo the ELEPHANT. Gotta love those ears!

src2206,

Given that most new cd players and dvd players support mp3 and wma playback, why even bother converting?

[celtic_druid]

I'd suggest foobar2000. Uses Nero's API for buring, but does the decoding itself. Can also apply replygain, etc.

[bobkart]

Basically, the last audio CD that I burnt using CD Burner XP pro, the CD did not play flawlessly and I also felt that the quality was not perfect too. The original MP3 was though encoded in 320kbps.

Again I have to ask (you didn't answer the last time I asked), when you say "the quality was not perfect", are you comparing that to how the MP3 plays back? It should be the same assuming you're playing them on the same hardware. If not then yes, there is a problem.

[src2206]

Well yes. I was not quite happy with the audio CD output while I played it on my PHILIPS 1500W PMPO music system. Unfortunately it can not play MP3s, so I can not exactly compare both.

Sorry that I missed this question last time .

thank you.

[bobkart]

Try comparing them on a system that can play both formats back, like your PC.