LameXP, Always the Efficient Frontend

LameXP is a great looking frontend for a bundle of audio encoders. Basically it is an instrument designed to help you easily transform music from one format to another. The list of supported output formats comprises the most popular audio types.

The application doesn’t cost a penny and installs pretty quick, with no fuss at all. However, there might be some trouble at the first launch as it tries to search for updates and it may not succeed to connect at the first attempt.

It comes with almost all the tools it needs to perform the necessary encoding, but in the case of AAC encoder, since it cannot be redistributed freely, it needs you to download the files yourself and place them in the LameXP installation folder. The task is not too difficult to carry out as everything is provided for the job: link to the download file, folder location and step by step instructions.

If WMA decoder is not present on the system LameXP will notify you and offer to download and install the component. Again, it is an effortless procedure that involves minimum effort from your part. Just like in the case of updating the program the job may not be successful the first time; we insisted several times for a successful operation.

Compared to the last version we reviewed, the interface has changed a bit, but it preserved its initial layout. All the elements are visible and handling a conversion is intuitive enough for an amateur to carry out.

The list of supported output formats is not too large, but covers all the popular types, from MP3 to FLAC, AAC, WAV, AC-3 and OGG Vorbis. As far as the supported input formats are concerned the bundle is more extensive, as LameXP can process any of the above mentioned types as well as Apple Lossless (ALAC), APE or TTA.

Having drag and drop enabled, loading up the items you want to convert is a painless procedure in LameXP. The application also sports a sort of intrusive floating dropbox on the desktop screen, which can be used to drop files into and then automatically pops up the interface for further configuration. Fortunately you can make it disappear by right clicking on it; to make it visible again visit the “Tools” menu in the main application window.

The program transfers the metadata of the source to the output, so you won’t lose anything in this sense. But you can make it append different information to the resulting file by punching the desired text in Meta Data tab in the main screen. This lets you change the name of the artist, the album, the genre, release year or add a personalized comment either for the entire batch or for each file.

When it comes to the compression format, LameXP does not put you in a difficult position, either. You will be able to select your encoder and pick a quality level for the task; the better the quality the longer it takes to complete and the larger the resulting file. For some of the formats you can even choose a rate control method: variable bitrate (VBR) – which also stands for better quality, average bitrate (ABR) or constant bitrate (CBR).

The last tab available in LameXP’s frame is reserved for the more powerful settings, which include sampling rate, selecting one of the predefined profiles for AAC encoding, volume normalization and tone adjustment settings as well as defining custom encoder parameters.

Multi-threading options are also available in the lower part of the screen and allow you to enable the number of parallel processing instances. By default these are enabled according to the number of CPU cores detected on the system, but a powerful processor can handle even the maximum of 16 instances.

The time LameXP requires to process a batch of tracks depends directly on the power of your CPU. However, given the present hardware this should not take too much. We timed it encode 4 WMA files (73.9MB) into OGG with maximum quality settings in one minute and eleven seconds. As expected, It was a CPU intensive operation.

Except for the minor nags popping up immediately after the installation (request for update check, downloading Nero AAC encoder and the WMA decoder) the application is quite comfortable to work with. The floating file drop area is also annoying if you’re not constantly converting audio files, but you can hide it.

The Good

All the options are presented in a clear and easy to access manner. You get to carry out the job by going through different, easy to understand steps.

Notifications for missing encoders can be disabled, just like the various sounds included in the program. Under “Advanced Options” you get to set the number of instances that can be processed per job. Volume normalization, tone adjustment, or defining custom parameters for the supported encoders are also found in this area.

The Bad

Some annoying notifications may pop when launching the application and solving the issues is not always successful at the first attempt.

Keeping the sounds enabled in the program may not be too good of an idea, especially if you’re looking at it from a more functional perspective.

The Truth

Overall LameXP makes for a very good converter, with no downside that can't be mended. Apart from the brief nagging with the notifications and the file drop area the application is impressive.

On the bright side, it is easy to use, comes with plenty of advanced options as well as configuration settings for beginners.