MP3 Encoding

Gohan Records Online Store uses LAME version 3.98 mp3 encoder to produce Variable Bit Rate (VBR) MP3 files. The LAME preset used is VBR V2 (Fast Standard). This is a high quality VBR preset with a target bitrate of around 190kbit/s and a range of 170-210kbit/s. VBR encoding was chosen to give the best possible sound quality with the smallest possible file size.

What Is Bitrate and Variable Bit Rate?

Bitrate is the number of bits per second used in the encoding process. A higher bitrate usually means a larger file and higher quality sound. Gohan Records Online Store encodes its MP3s using VBR (Variable Bit Rate). VBR encodes different sections of a track at different bit rates, allowing a higher bitrate to be allocated to the more complex parts of an audio track while less space is allocated to less complex parts. This is different from Constant Bit Rate (CBR) which encodes all sounds at a fixed bitrate. The average bitrate used for VBR by Gohan Records Online Store is 192kbit/s.