Quote Originally Posted by cl_out
Yeah, but Winamp comes with the mp3 plugin in the first place, so that hardly counts as a seperate thing to fetch and install As far as I know, all recent Windows installation include full mp3 decoding support too. Maybe you're getting mixed up with AAC or another format? Even then though, I'm sure if you can get a plugin for Winamp, you can also get a DirectShow based plugin so MS players (or any DirectShow based player) can also play it.

Not sure what you're getting at saying the quality of the AACs were better, but had static so you didn't like them. Seems like a contradiction to me
Yeah, I got confused. WinAMP has an AAC plugin. When I recompressed the 256kbps MP3s to 56kbps, the sound was pretty soft. When I compressed them to 56kbps AACs, the sound was definitely more sturdy and stronger.

But when I ripped my CDs into 56kbps AACs, the sound had a lot of static. When I ripped them to 56kbps MP3s, the sound was pretty good. So I may need to do a bit more homework on to why that is.