Notes by ff123
12/09/00: Using Grado SR325 headphones.
The Fatboy clip can be found at the Lame Test Samples Page.
At 128kbs, all codecs sound markedly different from the original, but FhG 1.263 is definitely the worst sounding, with FastEnc close behind. It's a matter of preference for me to decide which among the remaining is least objectionable.
At 160kbs things are still bad. Ditto at 192kbs, but the FhG codec within Liquid Audio Liquifier 5.0 surprises and turns out to be the best.
At 256kbs, I am extremely surprised to hear mp3enc and the Alternate codec produce warbling at the beginning of the clip. There was no trace of this at the lower bitrates. Weird, and it also strengthens the suspicion I have that these codecs have a similar pedigree.
| Encoder | bitrate | settings | ABX results | Comment |
| Lame 3.87a (RH) | 128 | j-stereo, -h | didn't bother | |
| FhG 1.2 build 63i external codec (Radium) | 128 | j-stereo, hq | didn't bother | definitely the worst |
| FhG "Alternate" codec (MusicMatch 6) | 128 | j-stereo, very high | didn't bother | |
| FhG mp3enc 3.1 | 128 | j-stereo, qual 9 | didn't bother | |
| FhG "FastEnc" codec (Cool Edit Pro 2.1 with MP3 ME plugin) |
128 | j-stereo | didn't bother | second worst |
| Liquifier 5.0 mp3 | 128 | j-stereo | didn't bother | |
| Lame 3.87a (RH) | 160 | stereo, -h | didn't bother | |
| FhG 1.2 build 63i external codec (Radium) | 160 | j-stereo, hq | didn't bother | still horrible |
| FhG "Alternate" codec (MusicMatch 6) | 160 | stereo, very high | didn't bother | |
| FhG mp3enc 3.1 | 160 | stereo, qual 9 | didn't bother | |
| FhG "FastEnc" codec (Cool Edit Pro 2.1 with MP3 ME plugin) |
160 | j-stereo | didn't bother | still second worst |
| Lame 3.87a (RH) | 192 | stereo, -h | didn't bother | |
| FhG 1.2 build 63i external codec (Radium) | 192 | j-stereo, hq | didn't bother | worst |
| FhG "Alternate" codec (MusicMatch 6) | 192 | stereo, very high | didn't bother | |
| FhG mp3enc 3.1 | 192 | stereo, qual 9 | didn't bother | |
| FhG "FastEnc" codec (Cool Edit Pro 2.1 with MP3 ME plugin) |
192 | j-stereo | didn't bother | |
| Liquifier 5.0 mp3 | 192 | j-stereo | didn't bother | best |
| Lame 3.87a (RH) | 256 | stereo, -h | 16 of 16 | |
| FhG 1.2 build 63i external codec (Radium) | 256 | stereo, hq | didn't bother | worst |
| FhG "Alternate" codec (MusicMatch 6) | 256 | stereo, very high | didn't bother | warbling! |
| FhG mp3enc 3.1 | 256 | stereo, qual 9 | didn't bother | warbling! |
| FhG "FastEnc" codec (Cool Edit Pro 2.1 with MP3 ME plugin) |
256 | j-stereo | 16 of 16 | best |