The Lossless Video Game Soundtrack Thread (Links on First Page)

[Antraxx]

Thx for the heads up, I'll check it out.

Update: yeah I only see that Mario album in MP3 there, however I DID find this:

[PrinceMarth]

I have all the Sonic Adventure(s) vocal albums as well as the American Sonic Heroes soundtrack that contains all the vocal music from that game.

Was planning on putting those up a bit later after I fill some other requests first.

I'd be interested to know if anyone has the music from Sonic Unleashed though (360 or PS3 version). But I wonder if they even released a soundtrack for that yet.

Thanks!

What about the [Hidden link. Register to see links.]? I don't have it nor have I heard it, but perhaps it has what you're looking for.

[Antraxx]

That indeed looks like it would suffice

I'll add that title to my sig

[Leon Scott Kennedy]

Thx for the heads up, I'll check it out.

Update: yeah I only see that Mario album in MP3 there, however I DID find this:

Alundra Original Game Soundtrack

Hmm... try to check it with Adobe Audition... I know for sure that the one hosted on emuparadise it's a fake lossless rip

[Antraxx]

Hmm... try to check it with Adobe Audition... I know for sure that the one hosted on emuparadise it's a fake lossless rip

It most certainly is. Cuts off at 16khz, even worse at other times (probably VBR). Thanks for letting me know.

I just don't understand the people who think FLACing an MP3 will ever do any good. It's a horrible idea because the next person to get it could assume it's lossless and then recompress it back to an even worse MP3. And then a complete cycle of evil is born.

And to be honest, you're better off just downloading the PSF file, as opposed to this lossy crap.

Well, at least I have the PSF file. I'll report this false lossless album to the mods there.

[PrinceMarth]

That indeed looks like it would suffice

I'll add that title to my sig

EDIT: link removed - not lossless

Checking this out myself at the moment. Again, I can't check for real/fake lossless... or rather, I don't know how to on a Mac. I guess I can dig up my old computer...

[Antraxx]

I'll check it out too.

However I already doubt it. That filesize looks too small for a lossless 3-disc set.

Ok yeah these are just MP3s, but they'll have to hold me over until I get the real thing.

They're high-quality (320) MP3s tho.

[Teratism]

+

[Antraxx]

It might not exist (I mean I haven't found it yet in MP3 either)

That would be such a shame though.

Thanks for checking that out for me.

Maybe I'll have to rip them myself someday...

[KaFaraqGatri]

But I think all Mario 64 osts would be out of print by now.

Maybe but that doesnt mean anyone here isnt going to have them necessarily

[KaFaraqGatri]

>>>

[PrinceMarth]

So I've downloaded the trial version of Adobe Audition to try and check some files from [Hidden link. Register to see links.] site on my own, but I honestly don't know for sure what I'm looking at. I've compared them with the spectral analysis of some rips here, but I think it's the synthesized tracks that are confusing me.

Can anyone who knows what they're doing verify the lossless rips there as real or fake?

[Sirusjr]

Read the guide [Hidden link. Register to see links.] on the first post of the thread.

[PrinceMarth]

Read the guide [Hidden link. Register to see links.] on the first post of the thread.

I've been using that as my guide all night. But I'm completely new to spectral analysis and don't feel 100% sure about making a call. For example, I'm looking at the "True Blue" Sonic soundtrack from that site, and it looks pretty good, but the guide shows a FLAC file that hits around 21kHz, whereas the 320 CBR underneath it says 320 cuts off under 22kHz. That's confusing to me.

Granted, the True Blue rip resembles the FLAC example more than the 320 CBR example, but I don't think I can say for sure after having only a few hours experience with this.

BTW, I don't want to flood this topic with questions on how to check lossless files, so if anyone doesn't mind questions over PM, let me know.

[KaFaraqGatri]

PM me, I'll help you out.

[steven_24]

x

[KaFaraqGatri]

Thanks for another great video game score!!!

Thanks Steve, its nice to see its appreciated. I do tend to post some pretty unique stuff, dont I?

[steven_24]

x

[KaFaraqGatri]

Hey, I like that! Thanks! Got another gem of a video game score coming up next

[steven_24]

x

[KaFaraqGatri]

@PrinceMarth:

Its rare that 320k MP3s go over 20khz. It depends on the encoder used, and LAME is the most robust and most popular. That never goes above 20khz.

As for blockiness, you are looking for solid black blocks (or gaps) in the signal. Heres a side by side comparison for you from the same file. Its from two seconds in time. The first is FLAC, the second is a 320k MP3 (encoding using LAME).



Notice the black gaps in the MP3 signal? Thats due to the MP3 encoding, i.e. lossy encoding.

On a side note, everyone seems to think 320k is the best, but I get better results encoding with LAME on Extreme VBR setting. In fact, LAME are focussing their efforts on making better sound quality at VBR a priority in future versions of their encoder.

[Antraxx]

Maybe but that doesnt mean anyone here isnt going to have them necessarily

Yeah I just wonder if the Nintendo Club one you're talking about is any different than the Nintendo Power one I have. I've seen NP cut the Zelda: OoT soundtrack to one disc, but honestly Mario 64's music would fit on one disc I should think.

The NP disc even contains a little piano remix, so I think they had room to spare.

UPDATE: yeah they're the same soundtrack, slightly different title names though:

[Hidden link. Register to see links.] (Japan)

[Hidden link. Register to see links.] (American NP)

[TheAxeGrinder]

@PrinceMarth:
On a side note, everyone seems to think 320k is the best, but I get better results encoding with LAME on Extreme VBR setting. In fact, LAME are focussing their efforts on making better sound quality at VBR a priority in future versions of their encoder.

Well put. To put it in a better perspective of CBR (constant bitrate) versus VBR (variable bitrate), look at it this way:

In a CBR stream, the encoder uses the same amount of bits for every second of audio. That is, for every second in an mp3 encoded in 320k CBR, you get 320 kbps throughout. While this may sound good in theory, the problem is that not every second of that song warrants 320k.

For example, if a track encoded at 320k CBR starts with hi-hats playing for 10 seconds before the beat kicks in, there is little point encoding that part of the song at 320k. Obviously, once things get busy, you benefit from the high bitrate, but those quiet moments waste the added bits, effectively ballooning the size of the MP3.

Things obviously get worse when you encode at something less than 320k.

As for VBR, it allocates a determined amount of bits to each second of music, so that bits aren't wasted in spots that don't need it, effectively managing the size of the MP3, depending on your chosen VBR preset.

Regardless, keep in mind that MP3 is still and will always be a lossy format, which is why threads like this one exist.

[TheAxeGrinder]

I have all the Sonic Adventure(s) vocal albums as well as the American Sonic Heroes soundtrack that contains all the vocal music from that game.

Was planning on putting those up a bit later after I fill some other requests first.

I'd be interested to know if anyone has the music from Sonic Unleashed though (360 or PS3 version). But I wonder if they even released a soundtrack for that yet.

Hold off on putting up those Sonic OSTs for the moment, as I think I can get a few more from my friend's collection. Keep posting other stuff, though.

[Antraxx]

Sure, no problem: go for it