LAME MP3 Encoder Old Version for Download

LAME MP3 Encoder

LAME is an MPEG-1 audio layer 3 (MP3) encoder. The name LAME is a recursive acronym for LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder, reflecting LAME's early history when it was not yet a complete encoder in itself.

At one time, LAME was simply a set of patches against the separately distributed ISO demonstration source, hence the claim that it "ain't an encoder". The ISO code had a restrictive license but was available without charge. In May 2000, the LAME project reimplemented the last of the ISO source code, and thus LAME was then a totally new implementation — compiling recent versions of LAME no longer requires the ISO source code. As recent LAME releases are no longer a patch against ISO encoder code, LAME is now itself an MP3 encoder and the LAME acronym has become a misnomer.

As of 2004, the consensus is that LAME produces the highest-quality MP3 files for bitrates greater or equal to 128 kbit/s. In a public listening test early in 2004, LAME MP3 files were the best 128 kbit/s MP3 files compared to the uncompressed original audio.

Released under the GNU Lesser General Public License, LAME is free software.

Download LAME MP3 Encoder Older Versions

• LAME MP3 3.93.1 (0.4 MB)
• LAME MP3 3.97 (0.5 MB)