ok, suppose I have a .wav file, and I convert it to alt preset standard. I later (for one reason or another) need it to be a constant bitrate 160, so I convert my vbr thusly (let's say using dbpoweramp). Would this MP3 be any worse off than a 160 that came directly from the .wav?
will it be a big deal? supposing i've got all these mp3's at alt preset standard, and I no longer have access to source disk or .wav file, and I want to load songs onto a portable mp3 player, and want smaller files, so i make a few at a time, to tote with me in constant bitrate......Is it gonna be so ugly It'll be hard to enjoy the music?
Well, every time you encode an mp3, you lose quality. When you convert from one bitrate to another, you also lose quality. You want to do as few conversions as possible for the best quality. It'll be ok....but not as good as it would have been. Next time, if you know you may need a constant bit rate, convert it as such the first time.
agreed everytime you convert you lose quality. the fact you have asked the question about "will i lose quality?" means you dont want to and if you do you will be able to tell. get a bigger disc for your mp3 player - or get an mp3 cd player - then you wont need to compromise Es
encoding audio takes like a few seconds, try it and see if your ears like it or not. we're here only to give our opinions
