OT: hard-to-find MP3 conversion settings

[Dave Labrecque]

Anyone know of a way to go from WAV to MP3 at 48KHz/stereo/96kpbs? No can do in dBPoweramp or Sound Forge. Doesn't have to be free.

[jmh]

I would download a new version of sox or lame. There are (windows) ports for both of these to run at the command line where whatever encoding parameters can be set. You mention 48k, by default they don't change the sample rate - but at least with sox, you can do that too at the same time if you choose.

There are plenty of command line examples using advanced parameters for either.

Lame is probably the most advanced (MP3) encoder there is now, since it has had ongoing development for decades. Many of the tools you could get may be wrappers around it (with varying levels of access to control).

Opus may be the very best codec out there - yet every time I use it, people still ask for a mp3. Very annoying.

[Reujonik]

I think this wee program can do that https://www.poikosoft.com/

[Ian Alexander]

I thought LACE could do this, but I was wrong. It will create an mp3 file that follows the SS MT settings at 32 kHz sample rate and 44.1 kHz sample rate, but at 48k, the mp3 file is still at 44.1k. Could this be a built-in limit for the 96 kbps bitrate? I've tried several ways to phrase this in a google search and get useless pages full of ads.

[Dave Labrecque]

I thought LACE could do this, but I was wrong. It will create an mp3 file that follows the SS MT settings at 32 kHz sample rate and 44.1 kHz sample rate, but at 48k, the mp3 file is still at 44.1k. Could this be a built-in limit for the 96 kbps bitrate? I've tried several ways to phrase this in a google search and get useless pages full of ads.

And now, Ian, you know what's it's like to be me.

Yes, it was quite strange the first time I saw my MP3s coming back at different sample rates than the session rate when using LACE. And so my search continues for a program that will give me what I desire...

dBPoweramp can't do it. Sound Forge can't do it...

UPDATE: I stand corrected. Today I can use dBPoweramp to convert a 48KHz, 16-bit, stereo WAV file to a 96kbps, 48KHz, 16-bit, joint stereo WAV file. Exactly what I've been wanting to do all along.

The "secret" appears to be to manually set the sample rate for destination MP3 to 48KHz rather than leaving it set to "[as source]" in the Advanced dialog. For whatever reason, that appears to be the ticket. In fact I can make 96kbps/48KHz MP3s with all the various stereo (as well as dual channel) settings. I don't know how I missed this before. Then, again, I did turn 60 in June. Maybe the party's over.

So we know that at least dBPoweramp can do this (so long as the user knows the "secret"). Still no can do in Sound Forge and others, though, it seems. The command line approach is interesting, but I guess I won't need that. For now. I did download the Poikosoft install EXE, but hadn't got to installing it yet, so that's another possibility.

Thanks to you, Ian, and the rest of the gang for once again forcing me to use my brain in new ways.

[Ian Alexander]

I hope the party's not over. Only a few months behind you. Hang in there, Mr. Labrecque. Sir.

[Dave Labrecque]

I hope the party's not over. Only a few months behind you. Hang in there, Mr. Labrecque. Sir.

Nice to see you respecting your elders.