Apple Logic Express 9 - Manual (Page 827)

Select the MP3 name (and select its checkbox) in the Destination pane to access the
following options:
• Bit Rate (Mono/Stereo) pop-up menus: MP3 bit rates are available between 32 kbps and
320 kbps, but default to 80 kbps mono, and 160 kbps stereo. These rates offer acceptable
quality and good file compression.
To enhance audio quality, provided you can afford the extra file size, choose:
• 96 kbps for mono streams
• 192 kbps for stereo streams
You can choose higher rates, but the quality improvement afforded by bit rates above
96/192 kbps is nominal.
• Use Variable Bit Rate Encoding (VBR) checkbox: Variable Bit Rate encoding compresses
simpler passages more heavily than passages that are (more) harmonically rich, generally
resulting in better-quality MP3 files.
Unfortunately, not all MP3 players can accurately decode VBR-encoded MP3s, which
is why this option is turned off by default. If you know that your target listeners can
decode VBR-encoded MP3s, you can turn this option on.
• Quality pop-up menu: Keep this set to Highest (the default) whenever possible. Reducing
the quality accelerates the conversion process, but at the expense of audio quality.
• “Use best encoding” checkbox: Like the Quality parameter, if you deselect this option,
you gain encoding speed at the price of audio quality. This should always be selected,
unless conversion time is an issue.
827 Chapter 29 Bouncing Your Project