Whats the Best Podcast Bitrate?

By October 29, 2014February 28th, 2016Discussing Podcasting, Podcasting Questions

This is a sound quality vs. file size optimization question.

If you have insight please let me know. I studied this a while back and found 128 kbps to be the optimal bitrate. When we drop to 64 kbps I can hear loss in audio quality when musical elements are mixed with spoken elements.
Above 128kbps I can’t hear any difference.
This leads me to the conclusion that 128 is the optimal bitrate for podcasts with musical elements.

If you have insight into this issue, please share it in the comments below.

Exploring Bitrates of Top Podcasts:

  • This American Life – 64 kbps – Sample Rate 44.1 kHz
  • Ask Gary Vee – 128 Kbps – Sample Rate 44.1 kHz
  • Serial  – 112 Kbps – Sample Rate 44.1 kHz
  • Marc Maron – 40 kbps – Sample Rate 22.050 kHz
  • Mixergy w/ Andrew Warner – 128 kbps – Sample Rate 44.1 kHz
  • Freakonomics – 96 kbps – Sample Rate 44.1 kHz
  • The Adam Carolla Show – 64 kbps – Sample Rate 44.1 kHz
  • Hardcore History – 128 kbps – Sample Rate 44.1 kHz
Ian

About Ian

Ian started producing podcasts for clients in 2010. He now focuses on making Freedom Podcasting awesome. He's working on the Freedom Podcasting App, making videos about podcast studios or doing whatever else to work for Freedom Podcasting.

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