Over the past couple of months I have noticed discussions of “V0″ MP3’s. Was V0 a new MP3 encoder or something else? Google searches for “V0″ didn’t turn up much info but I finally came across some info at the resourceful Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase.

As it turns out V0 is a newer command line setting for LAME 3.97. Lame, of course, is the MP3 encoder of choice for music fans looking to preserve as much quality as possible in a lossy format. V0 is a VBR setting which averages around 230kbps. The result is quality approaching the MP3 useable limit of 320kbps but with much smaller file sizes -making the V0 command line setting perfect for iPod owners. Like 320kbps MP3’s most people cannot hear the difference between the original CD source and the properly ripped V0 MP3.

Here’s the LAME command line setting for V0:

V0 –vbr-new

I have been playing around with the V0 setting and am impressed. It’s a great option for my iPod considering the excellent sound quality and space savings. Unlike Apple’s implementation of AAC on the iPod, I can play my V0 MP3 on virtually any portable audio device. I’ll continue to archive my CD’s using lossless FLAC but for music on-the-go there’s nothing like Vo.