Windows 7: i cant convert audio files to higher sample & bit rate

got a problem with converting audio into a more higher rate. am using total video and xilisoft audio maker of which versions works well with sp3 my problem concerns with WMA files to which upon choosing a bit rate of 320 and sample rate of 44800 makes these software unable to successfully convert them.

but.., this has come with a Windows 7 updated platform....
i too am with another Windows 7 of which contains no updates....

am asking if there is some updates required to enhance conversion of audio and video.....

or do i have to obtain newer software release...

will be responding to other queries too..

I don't know why you would want to convert audio files to a higher bitrate....if they are 320 WMA's, there's no point in making them higher than 320.....if anything, the conversion would make them lose a little quality.

You can't make an audio file "magically" have a higher bitrate, to get a higher bit rate you must re-sample from the source encoding (unless you have already matched its encoding rate, then its futile).

Use ImToo audio encoder (Audio Encoder: MP4 to MP3 converter, convert MP4 to MP3, M4A to MP3) to convert them in .wav, which have the large bitrate. But the program is not free.

Hi there
first --exactly WHAT do you want to do.
You are starting with a lossy Compressed file in the first place -- so ANY action on it that alters / edits the file will add more "Artifacts" / errors in to it.

It's a bit like increasing a small jpeg file (say your avatar for example) and expanding it to print on a full size A4 sheet -- it will look horrible --"pixellated" etc etc.

If you need WAV (or higher bit rates) then you need as a previous poster explained to start with the LOSSLESS SOURCE file.

(That's why I always keep my music in FLAC -- although compressed unlike mp3 it's a LOSSLESS compression which means the file can be restored 100% to the original source without ANY degradation).

From FLAC of course you can make mp3's (lossy compression) or WAV etc etc.

That's the main drawback with mp3 files -- a "CD quality" sound is a 16 bit 44.1 khz stream. Now you can get some really good VERY HIGH quality audio using 24 bit 96 khz (and higher) which really does sound fantastic on high end equipment -- BETTER than CD quality which is taken as the minimum benchmark for a quality audio stream.

I think now you are discovering the drawbacks with your average mp3 music downloads -- fine for ipods with small "bud type phones" and for listenining in crowded places like trains, buses etc but play through high end audio gear you'll hear the difference immediately.

With CHEAP LARGE disks these days it's easy to store music at very high quality on a computer and have a separate library for mp3 music for portable music players such as ipods.

Cheers
jimbo

Nice input , Jimbo !
Thanks a lot!

Good advice Jimbo

When I record, I always record at 24bit 96Hz. Although my source music is no higher than 16bit 44Hz, recording at a higher sampling rate from an analog source just seems to give the recording that extra bit of richness. I keep my 24bit 96Hz as my master file. I make a few conversion files at various mp3 bit rates for different scenarios.

thanks all for the reply......youve broadened my grasp on mp3 conversion.......