Hardware Reference
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Figure 6-64. Ripping and encoding an audio CD with K3b and LAME
We did some listening comparison tests, putting the original WAV files up
against MP3 files compressed with the LAME encoder set to use the “insane”
preset, which encodes MP3 audio at 320 kb/s VBR (variable bit rate). Listening
with a high-quality receiver and speakers, we couldn't tell any difference at all
between the uncompressed files and the MP3 files. So we re-encoded all of
those tracks to MP3 files, reducing our storage requirements from 500 GB to
about 125 GB and at the same time quadrupling the number of tracks that fit
on Barbara's MP3 players.
If you decide to rip and encode your audio CD collection, we strongly recom-
mend that you encode your tracks as MP3 files for maximum compatibility
with portable players and so on. And, if you decide to encode to MP3, don't
even think about using any encoder other than LAME. Nothing else comes
close to LAME in audio quality. Use the LAME “insane” preset for the best pos-
sible audio quality.
Unfortunately, installing K3b does not install the LAME encoder by default. To
get LAME, click on the Ubuntu Applications menu and run Add/Remove Appli-
cations to install the Ubuntu Restricted Extras package, as described previous-
ly. Once LAME is installed, put an audio CD in the drive, run K3b, and choose
Rip Audio CD from the Tools menu. When the CD Ripping dialog appears, click
the gear tool next to the Filetype drop-down list, and configure LAME to your
preferences. Figure 6-65 shows the LAME command-line options we use.
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