Newb question.

[Steve Jones]

Hello,

I'm new to all this.

I have a mp3 file that says it's 192kbps. I ran it thru Spek and it shows the file as 22khz.

The file is only 5.3megs. So just from the file size 192 makes sense. My understanding is anything over 20khz is lossless ?

What is the true bitrate of this file.

Thank you.

[Jeremy Synz]

This is what's called a VBR or variable bitrate file.  What's great about VBR is that you can have frequencies above and below the bitrate median. First, let me point out the three visible lines here at 12khz, 16khz, and just below 20khz. The most profound line is at 16 with some highs going above which makes the median a 192khz mp3. This looks to me like a higher-quality file than what it says. Second, It may have been recorded using a tape or vinyl and those high frequencies could be noise considering the exact intervals between each line (vinyl/tape spinning).

Hope this helps!

[Steve Jones]

That actually helps a lot.

Thank you !

[Jeroen van Eijk]

The sample rate is fixed at 44100 Hz, so the highest possible frequency is 22050 Hz  (just above 22 kHz)

You can reach that with lower bit rates too.