Recommended
Performance build
Visual Studio build with SSE2, AVX2 and OpenMP optimisations.
Manual LAME setup
How to install LAME for Exact Audio Copy.
This route is for users who want to choose and install LAME themselves rather than use the EAC Codecs installer.
Downloads
Choose a LAME build
Performance is the recommended build for most systems. Solid State remains available as the compatibility-focused alternative.
Alternative
Solid State build
Compatibility-focused MinGW build for systems where the Performance build is not preferred.
Project information and additional LAME material: lamemp3.co.uk.
Step by step
Manual installation
You only need the command-line encoder executable for normal EAC external-compression use.
Download a Windows LAME build
Download the LAME build you want and extract the archive. Locate lame.exe. For most users, the Performance build is the recommended starting point.
Place lame.exe in the EAC installation
For a normal manual installation, place lame.exe in the Encoders folder inside your Exact Audio Copy installation. On a typical 64-bit Windows system with EAC installed in its usual 32-bit Program Files location, this is:
Recommended manual location
C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Encoders\lame.exeIf you are specifically replacing an existing/default LAME executable, you may instead find it directly in the EAC installation folder:
Existing/default location
C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\lame.exeUse the path that matches your EAC installation. Do not create or replace the root-level file unless that is the LAME executable your existing EAC setup is already using.
Open EAC's external compression settings
In Exact Audio Copy, open the compression options and select a User Defined Encoder. Set the output extension to .mp3 and browse to the lame.exe you installed. For a normal manual setup this will usually be in the Encoders folder; if you replaced an existing root-level encoder, select that file instead.
Example configuration
What the LAME settings look like in EAC
This example mirrors EAC → Compression Options → External Compression for a typical manual LAME installation. It is an illustration only; your own EAC path may differ.
Example path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Encoders\lame.exe. If you are replacing EAC's existing root-level LAME executable, the program path may instead be C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\lame.exe.
Use the verified LAME command line
The current EAC Codecs recommendation is:
-V0 -b 192 --vbr-min-strict --bitrate-boost 3
For this LAME setup, enable EAC's Add ID3 tag option and enable deletion of the temporary WAV after successful compression.
See the maintained LAME EAC reference →Test one track before a full rip
Rip and compress a single track first. Confirm that EAC creates an MP3, the file plays normally, and the expected artist, album and track metadata are present. If that works, the external encoder path and command line are being accepted.
Troubleshooting
If EAC cannot find or run LAME
“Encoder not found” or path error
Open EAC's compression settings and browse to lame.exe again. Do not assume the example installation path matches your own EAC installation.
No MP3 is created
Check that the encoder type is user-defined, the extension is .mp3, the command line is valid for the selected LAME build, and the executable runs normally on your version of Windows.
MP3 has no tags
For the current LAME configuration on this site, EAC should have Add ID3 tag enabled. This differs from several of the other encoders documented here, which write their own metadata.
Unsure which LAME build to choose?
Start with Performance. Use Solid State as the compatibility-focused alternative if required.
Compare LAME builds →