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Optimal mp3 quality/filesize for voice recordings?

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tranglos:
Sounds almost like he's having some kind of clipping problem.
I think I might try scatter shot approach and just pick 3 free audio tools at random from Softpedia and see if any produce clear output.
-MilesAhead (June 25, 2010, 05:42 PM)
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It's not clipping. The initial volume I get is actually pretty low, so I have to bump it, but that's not a problem. The problem is with typical mp3 artefacts that give you the impression of the voice coming from underwater, as well as "fuzzy", kind of rustling higher frequencies. You'll hear both in any music compressed with a low bitrate, 96k or less. It's just that I'm hearing this unpleasant effect at any bitrate below 160k, while it's absent from typical podcast recordings done at 64k.

It's nothing that would make the recordings unlistenable, but since I'm already doing it, I want to get it right, and keep the file size small, too.

I'm using RazorLame, which is LAME, or Sony Sound Forge, with very similar results. This is why I suppose I should preprocess the wave files somehow before compressing them to mp3.

tranglos:
As far as I know the general human voice uses the 3KHz band as a carrier. Which is why VPI and VCI settings from adsl modems  start with 3x (to mark the 3000Hz band). If I remenber correctly that bit of info was supplied to me while in the being in training for the communications section of the Dutch army.

Trimming/cutting away the rest of frequency bands in the wav file should already reduce the size of them significantly. 
-Shades (June 20, 2010, 06:49 PM)
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That makes sense, thanks, Shades. I'll be making new recordings over the next two days and will try your advice when processing them.

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