improving a 96kbps stream

[systrum]

have been streaming for a few months now with various applications...sc_trans, audion, and now nicecast.

my most recent endevour has been trying to get my stream quality up to a higher standard. i am currently streaming at 96kbps. have been comparing my stream with other stations, ie. static beats (56kbps) which sounds great for a 56k stream, and digitally imported (96kbps). [both listed in shoutcast]. of course the stream would sound great at 128 kbps but it costs more if u are paying someone to host your stream like i am.

these streams sound good and have a surround sound quality that won't distort if u set your player to a baseier / dance preset.
i have been playing with the effects in nicecast searching for this kind of quality but am often overwhelmed by the number of options available. have toyed mostly with a combination of eq settings and the processors and compressors.. does anyone have a recomendation for what is the best effect (or combination of effects) to use for improving quality? i realise that it is relative to the music being played. i'm streaming IDM and it's listed in the stream tracker if anyone wants to check. please let me know how it sounds from your end if u do.

any help is appreciated

[DJ Killer]

convert your mp3s to 96kbps and normalize them. You could also go mono which improves audio alot if its under 128.

[djmastermind]

Are you sure that it'll sound better at mono at 96kbps? If I recall correctly, it's about 64kbps that you should set it to mono.

[DJ AmPs]

96k mono will have better accuracy and frequency response than 128k stereo.

If you can live without the stereo effects, mono is the way to go for lower bitrates.

One other thing is to stream your files directly without re-encoding them if possible (you will need something other than sc_trans or shoutcast DSP). Then rip them direct to 96k streo/mono and stream right from the files with 0 cpu usage and no quality loss.

[Jay]

problem with no re-encoding is no crossfading, I would totally be all over writing a tool to do this, but how can I crossfade if I am just sending without re-encoding?

[systrum]

excuse my ignorance ....i don't get it. i thought the higher the bit rate the better the quality. why are u telling me to lower it? won't that make my stream sound crappier? and mono?? i want stereo effects very much.....

[djmastermind]

No.. lowering the bitrate doesn't always mean a station of less quality. I've heard 48kbps stations sound better than some 128kbps's, merely because they configured their sound settings properly.

[Jay]

well alot of that has to do with the type of audio being broadcasted, grunge music can sound ok at 48 but instrumental will never sound good at that bitrate, unless it's mono.

[systrum]

kxrm ...u stream electronica (like i am doing) how do u think it would sound? did u lower your bitrate down to 96k?

[Jay]

nah, it's always been 96kbps, it sounds fine to me but I am not an audiophile.

[systrum]

i meant, did u encode your files at 96k?

[djmastermind]

I had a really good sounding stream at 48kbps mono with songs encoded usually at 192k.

[systrum]

that's what i'm getting at... how did u make it sound really good?.....my files are encoded vbr with a standard minimum bitrate of 128kbps.

[DJ Killer]

im an audiophile :P

[Jay]

my files are encoded at 192kbps

[systrum]

ok...thanx guys. i'll try the suggestions and see how it all goes.

[systrum]

oh ...nearly forgot...

im an audiophile :P

as an audiophile then i would really value your opinion regarding my stream...i think it sounds bad for a 96k stream. what do u think? what can u recommend?