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When you upload a track to soundcloud, they automatically convert everything to 128K MP3, regardless of what you upload (even if you upload your own 128K MP3 the file will still go through their conversion engine)
Because of this automatic conversion, they recommend uploading WAV files for best sound quality, which I always do.
In addition to soundcloud I also upload songs to reverbnation. I only have the free account on reverbnation, which limits me to uploading 128K MP3s.
So, you would think they would sound the same, right? soundcloud is playing a 128K MP3 that they generated from a WAV file I sent them, reverbnation is playing the 128K MP3 I sent them.
But they don't, the file over on reverbnation sounds MUCH better! Has anyone else come across this and figured out how to optimize the file sent to soundcloud so that it will sound better?
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A couple of things to consider....
Sometimes the player used by one site is better or worse than the players on other sites.
If the site runs a compression algorithm, which most do that convert to 128kbs, that can really screw with the end result as well. One site, SoundClick, I think does that. I uploaded a 128kbs and the piano was all phasey sounding. I reloaded it with a 320kbs and even though the site changed it back to 128kbs, the result was that the piano was no longer phasey but sounded nice and crisp. So the lesson is to upload the highest quality mp3 that the site will allow.
Some have file size limits which by their nature can force you to reduce the resolution from 320kbs to something more compressed just to get it in under the 10MB limit. At 320kbs, I think the length of the song that will fit is somewhere around 4 minutes.
Use a site like Box and they play exactly what you upload without any file size limit, conversion or compression on their part. You can load wave files if you wish and they will stream.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 08/05/16 01:27 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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So the lesson is to upload the highest quality mp3 that the site will allow. This is what I do. I gave up long ago trying to mix for a specific site (or radio airplay).
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So the lesson is to upload the highest quality mp3 that the site will allow. This is what I do. I gave up long ago trying to mix for a specific site (or radio airplay). Well, as I mentioned in the original post I am actually uploading WAV files to soundcloud, which they then convert to 128K mp3. This should in theory give the best possible result. I did some research after I posted, lots of complaints over on the soundcloud forums about the poor playback quality there, going back a few years. Not a big deal, I'll just start using reverbnation more for uploads.
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FWIW - an article addressing this discussion: https://www.justmastering.com/article-mixingformp3.phpAnd here's what Izotope has to say about it: Mastering for SoundCloud SoundCloud transcodes uploaded audio to 128 kbps MP3 to prepare the audio to stream from the site. If an audio file on SoundCloud is made available for download, the downloaded version will be in the original format. Uploading an MP3 is redundant since SoundCloud will transcode it anyway, which could in turn introduce more artifacts to audio that’s already compressed. Therefore, the best practice is to upload an uncompressed, 24-bit .WAV file and allow SoundCloud to process it. Here are some recommended settings when mastering audio for SoundCloud: Use a True Peak limiter, such as Ozone 6, to ensure that the margin is set to –0.3 dBFS. This is an acceptable threshold to mitigate most of the clipping that occurs during the encoding process. However, depending on the source material, you may find a margin of –0.5, –0.7, –1.0, or –1.5 dBFS sounds better, with less distortion. In these cases, you simply have to perform trial and error, perhaps by uploading several versions and deleting all but the best sounding one. SoundCloud does not have a feature like Apple’s SoundCheck, so an audio master destined for SoundCloud has more freedom to raise the overall RMS level for competitive loudness. Consider this a practical and aesthetic choice. Make sure to use volume matching, such as the ‘automatically match effective gain’ feature in Ozone, to evaluate loudness increases objectively. Using a stereo imaging tool, narrow the high end between 5–20%. 128 kbps MP3 is the lowest commonly acceptable audio quality. As such, a lot of information is lost during encoding and an extremely wide mix is more susceptible to noticeable artifacts. Ironically, some pre-emptive narrowing can help avoid perceived loss of energy and width.
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Good article. Thanks! 
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