Quality parameters for downloadable music files

[Gaylord]

I am not sure what to make of the Bitrate values in the search screen.  I am sure it is indicator of the quality of say music that one wants to download.  I assume the higher the bitrate, the better the quality of the downloaded music file is.  Am I wrong?  I noted that the majority of the available files of a given artist have relatively low bitrates.  What else in terms of quality should I be looking for before choosing a particular file to download?

[KM]

bitrate is just data rate, it is true that often a higher bitrate means higher quality but only because it means there is more data to store the audio in, bitrate doesn't take in to account things like how well compressed the audio is to fit in to that bitrate

and btw, most people can't hear the difference between 128k and 360k... although a few people claim they can even those can't hear the difference between 192k and 360k

i drop all of my music down to 128k simply to save space as it has no detectable loss of quality at that bitrate (so i can fit more on to my mp3 player)

of course using VBR means the average bitrate of a file can be even lower and with higher quality, as it can use a higher bitrate for bits that need it to make it sound better, but lower quality for the bits where there is no difference

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much for providing such a quick response.

[jszma]

hi there I am seeing more and more VBR anywhere from 160 to 220. I usally look for 192 CBR but this VBR is confusing. What do you suggest is a good number VBR to look for? Or will the sound quality be no different weather you download a 165VBR, then download a 209 VBR. Thanks John who is confused

[jszma]

if anybody can help on my problem i would appreciate it thanks John

[KM]

with VBR the advantage is that the bitrate can reduce when not required - for example a quiet part of a track can be very low bitrate, so generally the bitrate has no indication of quality, as it could be that there are a lot of parts of the song that don't need the higher bitrate so it has a lower average, or it could be lots of parts of the song need high quality but are actually low quality... there is no way to know unless you know what sort of song it is

[SamSeeSam]

There Will be a difference. But I don't think it does make much difference in VBR's. Because the thing is anyway changing. Generally, it's a balance between Quality and size. a 320 kbit file needs approximately 40 KB of space for 1 second. seemingly small.
But for a 5 min song, that means 11.5 MB of space. So it is better that you choose 128. There is really not much difference. Like KM said, if you want to squeeze more songs on a player, then it's better to have lower bitrate songs. But if you have a really big harddrive, then that space won't matter much

So finally >>>>

"165VBR, then download a 209 VBR"
I really doubt you'd be able to notice the difference in sound quality in these two cases. If you just want the song, then download 165. Less time (to download) and less space occupies. But if you want the best quality then settle for 209. But the difference will almost be impercitable. best advice: try both and see which suit you

Cheers