Author Topic: Static in an MP3 file? WTF? (Read 4146 times)

Brad Johnson · « **on:** January 16, 2013, 03:53:06 PM »

I ripped a couple of my NickelBack CDs to MP3s yesterday and I notice that one song (Rockstar, one of my favorites, of course) has static in it!? Pops and crackles just like an old record. What's up with that? I've verified it's the file. It does it on everything I've played it with.

Brad

mtnbkr · « **Reply #1 on:** January 16, 2013, 03:56:25 PM »

CD drive not able to keep up with the data feed requirements or the system was overly busy during the rip? I had this problem back in the late 90s when trying to rip MP3s. The solution was to use my SCSI-based CD-R instead of my laptop's IDE CD drive.

I wouldn't expect this to be a problem these days.

Chris

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #2 on:** January 16, 2013, 04:00:20 PM »

Quote from: mtnbkr on January 16, 2013, 03:56:25 PM

CD drive not able to keep up with the data feed requirements or the system was overly busy during the rip?

Really? I would have thought that the data stream would be buffered, and the data error-checked, before the file was finalized. That's a new wrinkle.

Brad

Azrael256 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 16, 2013, 04:11:59 PM »

Depends on how it was ripped. Some rips are a digital copy that is encoded in the desired format. They should be pretty clean. You can also take a recording with the sound card from the analog stereo output from the drive. That would be subject to the usual analog problems.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #4 on:** January 16, 2013, 04:14:35 PM »

I ripped them right from the CD using Win Media Player.

Brad

mtnbkr · « **Reply #5 on:** January 16, 2013, 04:20:40 PM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson on January 16, 2013, 04:00:20 PM

Really? I would have thought that the data stream would be buffered, and the data error-checked, before the file was finalized. That's a new wrinkle.

Brad

Back then, the buffer could be emptied faster than the CD could keep up. Keep in mind this was 1998-99. I haven't had problems since CDRW became commonplace. The level of performance you need to rip a CD is the same as burning a CD without creating a coaster (more common years ago, almost never happens now).

Chris

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 16, 2013, 04:25:52 PM »

Could be just because it's, well, Nickelback...

mtnbkr · « **Reply #7 on:** January 16, 2013, 04:28:28 PM »

I don't think I could identify a Nickelback song by ear.

Chris

Marnoot · « **Reply #8 on:** January 16, 2013, 04:39:24 PM »

I don't remember the details, but I believe that due to the details of the Red Book standard that audio CDs use that error detection/correction is troublesome. That's why several CD ripping programs will actually run a checksum of sorts on the ripped MP3 and compare it to an online database of known-good rips (http://www.accuraterip.com/) to tell you whether the rip was good. I'm guessing the file in question would fail that check.

dbPowerAmp is a good program that will perform that quality check, and is what I use on the rare occasion I bought a CD instead of just buying the MP3 on Amazon.

RocketMan · « **Reply #9 on:** January 16, 2013, 05:17:14 PM »

Rip it again and kwitcher whingin'.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #10 on:** January 16, 2013, 06:14:49 PM »

Quote from: RocketMan on January 16, 2013, 05:17:14 PM

Rip it again and kwitcher whingin'.

I didn't know Media Player had a "whingin'" feature. Where is it and how do I set it to 'kwitcher'?

Brad

RocketMan · « **Reply #11 on:** January 16, 2013, 07:16:39 PM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson on January 16, 2013, 06:14:49 PM

I didn't know Media Player had a "whingin'" feature. Where is it and how do I set it to 'kwitcher'?

Brad

Lemee see, it was around here someplace.

Balog · « **Reply #12 on:** January 16, 2013, 07:41:14 PM »

God is punishing you for listening to Nickelback.

Fitz · « **Reply #13 on:** January 16, 2013, 07:54:39 PM »

Friends don let friends listen to nickelback

Doggy Daddy · « **Reply #14 on:** January 16, 2013, 08:09:18 PM »

Quote from: Marnoot on January 16, 2013, 04:39:24 PM

dbPowerAmp is a good program that will perform that quality check, and is what I use on the rare occasion I bought a CD instead of just buying the MP3 on Amazon.

+1 on the dbpoweramp. Been using it for years. I prefer buying the CD and ripping it myself. Typically I rip to FLAC, then using that as a source I maintain 3 libraries. One at a high bitrate using lame, one at a moderate bitrate using lame, and a third low bitrate wma. Gives me choices according to storage space and fidelity tradeoffs when loading up a phone, laptop, whatever.

sanglant · « **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2013, 08:42:22 PM »

EAC

there might be better, but it's what i'm used to.

bedlamite · « **Reply #16 on:** January 16, 2013, 08:46:41 PM »

I've always used Audiograbber and never had any problems.

BryanP · « **Reply #17 on:** January 16, 2013, 08:52:37 PM »

I used to use EAC, these days I just use iTunes.

Try a different program. If that doesn't work, try a different PC.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #18 on:** January 16, 2013, 11:28:24 PM »

Well dang. I bought and downloaded the song (that I already own on the darn CD) from Amazon MP3 downloads. The purchased download file is doing the same #&*@& thing. Different bit rate and all that jazz, too, compared to my ripped file. I guess the system in the truck has better taste than I do. I'll try the new file on my MP3 player and the computer tomorrow but I don't have high hopes at this point.

Oh, and it's also doing it on one of the songs I ripped from one of my My Darkest Days album, too. Hmph!

Brad

Phyphor · « **Reply #19 on:** January 17, 2013, 03:17:04 AM »

That sounds kinda like digital clipping distortion.

Pharmacology · « **Reply #20 on:** January 17, 2013, 04:13:58 AM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson on January 16, 2013, 03:53:06 PM

I ripped a couple of my NickelBack CDs to MP3s yesterday and I notice that one song (Rockstar, one of my favorites, of course) has static in it!? Pops and crackles just like an old record. What's up with that? I've verified it's the file. It does it on everything I've played it with.
Brad

Your audio system is having an allergic reaction to Nickelback

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #21 on:** January 17, 2013, 12:09:28 PM »

Quote from: Phyphor on January 17, 2013, 03:17:04 AM

That sounds kinda like digital clipping distortion.

I had a thought along the same lines so I dialed the head unit gain down 2 dB to see if it helped. Nope.

Brad

Fitz · « **Reply #22 on:** January 17, 2013, 12:13:43 PM »

if it's doing it on everything you're playing it on, then it's probably just a shitty song ;-)

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #23 on:** January 17, 2013, 12:14:30 PM »

Okay, I just tried the file on the computer here at work. Same thing. I switched Media Player to the o-scope display and you can see it going spastic. The signal goes from nice and smooth to strange jaggies that almost look like someone chopped the peaks and replaced them with a straight line. No idea what that means (I'm presuming it might be the aformentioned digital clipping) but the end result is the song sounds like crap.

*Edit to add* I hopped on Amazon to check and you can even hear it in the demo track.

Wierd thing is, I'm listening to it this very second on Pandora and it's clear as a bell.

Brad

Phyphor · « **Reply #24 on:** January 17, 2013, 12:51:35 PM »

Do you have a sound editor? Especially one with VU meters?

If not, you could load it into this -> http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/trials/soundforge

And play it, see what it does. If the song itself has the clipping, it'll show on the VU meters (at the top, it'll display the word CLIP in red boxes, if the song is actually clipping.)

If it's in the song itself, maybe some players automatically compensate for clipping whereas others don't.

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Author Topic: Static in an MP3 file? WTF? (Read 4146 times)