As little as a year ago, when the MPEG Layer 3 (mp3) format was still an emerging technology, Mac users had very few options when it came to taking advantage of this format. Encoding was possible through a tedious process using Macromedia's expensive SoundEdit 16 and the SWA Shockwave plug-in or with Rafael W. Luebbert's easier to use but lower quality MPecker Encoder.
Fast forward to today and it seems like a week doesn't go by that a new tool for mp3 encoding, playback, or organization isn't released. Keeping that in mind, many users have been overwhelmed by the choices available, price ranges (from free to $50), and of course features.
Both AudioCatalyst from Xing Technology and N2MP3 from Proteron are strictly mp3 encoders, meaning they will only convert your audio CDs to the mp3 format. When it comes down to encoders, the two most important factors are quality and speed, but not necessarily in that order depending on your needs. The bottom line remains the same regardless, though, you want your mp3 files to live up to the promise of comparable audio CD quality and you want them converted as quickly as possible without a loss in that quality.
AudioCatalyst was the first mp3 encoder for the Mac that offered both speed and quality in an attractive package.Released just over a month ago, N2MP3 is the new encoder on the block that, while similar to AudioCatalyst, offers a couple very compelling features.
Both AudioCatalyst and N2MP3 offer an array of encoding options, including support for bitrates from 32 to 320 kbit/sec and variable bit rates. The lower the bit rate the lower the quality of a file, but it also consumes less space and takes less time to encode. Both encoders are set by default at 128 kbit/sec, the most common bit rate to encode mp3s at. Many users prefer to encode at 160 kbit/sec, which provides a noticeable enough improvement in quality to warrant the larger file size. Dedicated audiophiles take it one step further, usually encoding at 192 kbit/sec, although I, like many, are unable to notice the difference at that point.
AudioCatalyst and N2MP3 take two entirely different approaches to encoding audio files, and that's where the differences between the two applications becomes apparent; AudioCatalyst is your typical stand alone application while N2MP3 offers tight integration with the Finder.
Both applications feature CDDB support, which allows them to connect to the internet to retrieve and automatically enter a CD's title and track information. Whereas AudioCatalyst only does this once you load it up and select that option, N2MP3 will automatically perform that task when a CD is inserted into the drive. Of course, you need an internet connection to use this feature so users who do not have a dedicated line to the internet will see less benefit with N2MP3s approach than others who do. N2MP3 can be configured to only retrieve listing when an internet connection is already open, or you can have it automatically dial in and open one for you.
The difference in interfaces really becomes prevalent when you begin to encode files. With AudioCatalyst you must load up the application, select which audio files you would like to convert, and then you can begin converting.
As mentioned before, N2MP3 offers very tight integration with the Finder; you can simply drag and drop files from a CD to the desktop to encode, or double click them within the CD. The Finder integration is both impressive and flawless. When you select a file for encoding a dialog box appears where you can fine tune the encoding and other settings. Next, another dialog box with a status bar that closely resembles what you see when copying or deleting files comes on the screen and the encoding process begins. On top of that, you can also choose to have the file play as it is encoded.
When it comes to quality, both N2MP3 and AudioCatalyst produce seemingly identical mp3s with excellent quality at both 128 and 160 kbits/sec. The Variable Bit Rate option that both encoders feature have various quality levels and finding the perfect one for a certain type of music is pretty much a matter of trial and error, although whenthe right quality setting is found the files come out equally well sounding and, true to the promise of VBR, smaller in file size. Personally I never encode with VBR since the savings in file size often aren't worth the hassle, not to mention that not all players support VBR encoded mp3s.
As far as speed is concerned, nothing can touch N2MP3. On a PowerBook G3/400, N2MP3 encoded at a speed of 4.8x (every 4.8 minutes of audio took 1 minute to encode), while AudioCatalyst managed a slower, but still impressive, speed of 3.5x. For reference, SoundJam MP (a fully featured, commercial mp3 player and encoder) clocked in at 2.9x.
Besides the differences in interfaces and encoding speeds, there is one other difference between N2MP3 and AudioCatalyst: price. At $34.95, N2MP3 is $5 more expensive than AudioCatalyst. With a nicer interface and faster encoding, it goes without saying that you get what you pay for with N2MP3 but if price matters and you can afford to wait a little longer, AudioCatalyst makes a fine mp3 encoder.
The aforementioned SoundJam MP also shouldn't go unmentioned. While there are free mp3 players (such as QuickTime Player and GreyAMP), quality mp3 players can set you back up to $25. At $39.95, SoundJam MP combines one of the best players with an encoder that's comparable to AudioCatalyst, albeit a bit slower and without VBR support. However, if you plan on doing a good deal of encoding, N2MP3 is a worthy investment that can't be beat.
