OK. But this is absolutely unavoidable for folks who create, and who download to listen via MP3 format. That is, if I download a LibriVox audiobook, available only in [44100 Hz; 16 bit; 128 kbps; mono and so on], then I get to hear what is offered, and if WinAmp or whatever has to unbundle the MP3 file so that soundwaves can emit from my speakers, then that is what it is. We can’t change that, can we?
If you re-export as MP3 you are going through another generation of lossy compression and some “damage” does accumulate. You may not hear any quality loss but it’s something you should be aware of.
Folks listen to LibriVox audiobooks on the train, bus-with-passengers, on the bike and so on, so again, clarity is jeopardized at every step when listening to a LibriVox MP3, over and above whatever the player (“decompressor”) does. We can’t change that, can we?
As newcomer to LibriVox and Audacity I am restricting myself to a narrow window of recording and editing choice - WAV or MP3 - and audiobooks recorded by amateurs like me. Hence on my discovery of WAV vs. MP3 less than a week ago, I have elected to be “better than I was” and record and edit in WAV, and use MP3 only when exporting my audio files to the nice folks at LibriVox, so I think that the way I record and edit today (WAV) is better than it was when i was recording and editing in MP3. I recognize that it might not be ideal, only that it is an improvement.
Ideally, you should compress ONCE as the last step and otherwise try to minimize the number of times it’s compressed.
Good. This is how I operate today. The re-assurance helps me.
There’s no “philosophical” need to throw-away more information when it’s re-compressed so the accumulated damage is some kind of side-effect. AAC is immune to accumulated damage but of course lossy-to-lossy conversion isn’t ideal either and I don’t know if it’s better to convert from MP3 to AAC, or to go through another cycle of MP3 compression.> [u]Nine different codecs 100-pass recompression test[/u]
And with that I am way out of my depth!
I read the link (the sample file links seem to be broken, but at 75 years of age my ears probably wouldn’t detect the difference anyway).
I gather that AAC is superb and I see people using FLAC. If those options were available in Audacity (Audacity 3.1.3 File, Export, shows me only WAV/MP3/OGG) then I might use them.
In the end it seems to boil down to two issues.
(1) If WAV or OGG shows a distinct and human-detectable improvement over MP3 I should work in either WAV or OGG
(2) It seems to me that most LibriVox recorders are strapped for time, and I know from experience that that usually means “we will choose one method and stick with it; we have to get the job done”.
I am documenting my Audacity/macro techniques, and if I can recommend WAV over MP3 AND can show that it makes a difference, I think, “Why not mention it, in case someone pays attention?”
Thanks again, Doug. I appreciate your feedback.
Chris