LAME MP3 Encoder by Open Source Developers

Now considered one of, if not THE, best MP3 encoder around, LAME started as an open source development project to improve psycho-acoustics, noise shaping, and encoding speed (for more on psycho-acoustics, see our MP3 Codec section).  It wasn't technically an encoder (hence the name) and was built as an open source license patched against the ISO source and patent held by Fraunhofer Gesellschaft to avoid legal trouble.  In 1999, they developed their own psycho-acoustic model called GPSYCHO that sought to improve upon the ISO demonstration model.  Finally, in May 2000, anything resembling ISO source was replaced and LAME emerged as its own encoder, shaped by the creative genius team of open source developers.

The LAME MP3 encoder has sought to put quality first.  As noted above, the GPSYCHO model was created to improve upon the standard one ISO was using.   Most of the encoder reviews I have read around the Internet have rated LAME very high in comparison with other encoders.  It is also the better choice is you are using VBR encoding.

LAME is still being developed and refined as we speak.  Speed and quality improvements are being made to produce a better encoder.  On my personal tests, the LAME v.3.89 encoder encodes an average song at 192 kbps in about 1 minute 20 seconds on a Celeron 400 mhZ processor with 192mb of RAM compared to an average encoded speed of 40 seconds with the Xing MP3 encoder.  Even if the Xing Encoder is roughly twice as fast, I believe there is major quality differences. Xing at 128kbps produces very noticeable flanging and will be unacceptable to most who listen to music closely.  However, this is a subjective review and each person should encode at the same bit rate at conduct a test themselves to see which encoder they prefer.

Next:  How to get the LAME encoder