Hi Thomas,

Yes, I would highly recommend using --alt-preset standard instead of --r3mix

--r3mix is the outdated command line used to achieve the best VBR quality. --alt-preset standard is what replaced it, and invokes certain code in the LAME encoder that other command lines don't use to achieve higher quality.

There is a huge quality leap between --r3mix and --alt-preset standard with very little file size increase.

You won't find anyone on any LAME, MP3, or EAC message board recommending --r3mix anymore, it's simply inferior in every way, except for speed. If you have a slow computer, --r3mix encodes faster.

Don't get me wrong, --r3mix was great, and by using it, you're probably making better MP3s than most people ever do, but --alt-preset standard uses a far superior psycho-acoustic model, and has been tweaked to fix artifact audio problems, and deal with every type of situation to make sure the audio is encoded properly.

I'm assuming you'll be listening to the MP3s on your Empeg, with your car audio system. Most people might never be able to honestly tell the difference between --r3mix and --alt-preset standard on their Walmart computer speakers, but with decent car audio equipment you definitely want to make sure you're encoding with the best available.

Hope this helps,

chris