vocal encoder

[buckaroo]

Hiya folks,
can anyone suggest a good codec for recording speech? I was told about the Blade Encoder by someone. But couldn't find any info on it. I reckon it's now defunct.

[BrunoRepublic]

What are your needs? Will others be using the raw files, or just you? What's more important, sound quality or file compression? Are you using Windows or Mac?

[buckaroo]

I've got a PC. The files will be for my personal use and pleasure. What I want to do is just record chat shows/interviews from my Hi-Fi or the internet. The quality has to be at least better than the way it can sound squelchy in some MP3 codecs. But I do need the file size to be small, so I can fit a 2 hour or more show onto a CD.

MP3 recorded music sounds okay to me, as I'm not that fussy as long as the stuff is in stereo. So in essence, I'd like suggestions for an MP3 codec that can record speech without the squelch.

[BrunoRepublic]

For MP3, LAME works better on higher bitrates. The standard Frauhofer is more acceptable for 128kbps or below.

You may also want to consider Ogg Vorbis or AAC (but the latter is proprietary and you'll need to record to WAV first and then encode via iTunes).

[buckaroo]

Thanks.