This section of the FAQ answers questions about hardware and software for folks interested in MP3s.

What CD-ripping / MP3 encoding / MP3 decoding software should I use?

You can ask around in absm.d or visit http://www.mp3-converter.com/decoders/, the Utilities section of this site, http://www.dbpoweramp.com/, or www.mp3.com for information on software. But keep in mind that there is no 100% "right answer". When looking for an encoder, opinions of what's "best" vary person to person. When looking for a ripper you might have problems with a piece of software that somebody else loves, all depending on your particular hardware setup. It would be easy to recommend CDEX. It's free, and it works well. Having said that, there is probably someone who hates it. Try a lot of things, and see what works best for you.

What .wav file software should I use?

Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) is the best freeware/open source software sound file editing program. It is cross-platform and edits in native formats, including MP3. There are copies of Cool Edit Pro that can still be found around. If you need a licensed semi-professional program that has more functions, like click and pop removal for recording from vinyl, it is hard to beat Goldwave (http://www.goldwave.com/).

Do I need a special soundcard to play MP3s?

Most decent quality soundcards will play MP3s well. Newer and nicer boards can do more, however. Use your friendly search engine to look for comparisons and reviews. A recent search does not show much in the way of unbiased comparisons of new products. Try ZDNet: http://reviews-search.zdnet.com/index.php?q=sound+card.

Some of my MP3s play louder than others. Is there a way to set the volume levels so I don't have to change it for every song?

What you are looking for is something to normalize your MP3 playback. There old utilities like AudioStocker Pro that will do this for you. Personally, I wouldn't recommend anything except MP3Gain: http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/. The last thing you want is to convert from MP3 to .wav and back to MP3 again. That process guarantees a significant loss of quality.

What other cool software will enhance my MP3 enjoyment?

Beyond what was already mentioned, some useful utilities are:

• Catalogers/Databases: to keep track of your growing MP3 collection
• ID Taggers: to automate or simplify setting your ID Tags
• File Renamers: to simplify your personal renaming tasks

DailyMP3.com: http://dailymp3.com/otherutil.html is a good place to look for these and other MP3 utilities. Try http://tucows.com or http://download.com. See also the Utilities section for other useful software.

How can I convert from one bitrate to another? Or from Real Audio to MP3? Or MP4 to MP3? Or from/to another format?

These certainly are Frequently Asked Questions. One of the best all-around conversion utilities is dBpowerAMP Music Convertor found at http://dbpoweramp.com/. Hard to beat, and the price is impossible to beat. It's free. If you install additional CODECs, it does .wav, .mp3, Windows Media, m4a/mp4, RealAudio, iTunes, FLAC, Monkey's Audio and Ogg Vorbis.

Some folks have a need to capture and encode Real Audio files to MP3. A free solution can be found at http://www.gromkov.com/faq/capture/record_real_video_audio.html.