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Re-encoding MP3s following edit

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:30 am
by glieb
If I edit an MP3 file and then re-save it, do the lossy artifacts accumulate as a result of re-encoding?

Re: Re-encoding MP3s following edit

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 4:16 pm
by DougDbug
Yes. All "normal" audio editors have to decompress the MP3 before editing. You may not hear any additional quality loss, but it's something to be aware of and you should minimize the number of times you compress to a lossy format.

There are special purpose MP3 editors such as MP3DirectCut that can so some simple editing without decompressing & re-compressing the file.

FYI - AAC was designed to be more immune to accumulated damage from multiple generations of compression, but that doesn't mean you won't get additional loss if you transcode from MP3 to AAC.

Re: Re-encoding MP3s following edit

Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 9:30 pm
by JackA
glieb wrote:If I edit an MP3 file and then re-save it, do the lossy artifacts accumulate as a result of re-encoding?
I do it all the time. Compare both, see what you hear, if anything. Some good to fair remastering will sound ill when encoded at a lower bit rate, even when done at places like Sterling Sound.

Jack