Best workflow / tools for creating MP3s

Many projects I do end up with MP3s.  I don't produce MP3 directly from Sonar because I usually run the output through Ozone for mastering.
 
I have been using TAudioConverter to take the mastered WAVs into MP3s.  That is very fast because TAudioConverter can do multi-tasking while processing many files.  But there are problems:
 
1) It seems like almost all of the MP3 tools create invalid files if you use VBR.  The files work in most players, but they are lacking the length tag, so most players show the wrong play time for the file.
 
2) I load some of these MP3s to a Wordpress website.  Wordpress chokes on a a small percent of these files.  You can't even upload them into Wordpress.
 
There are various freeware tools out there that can fix the VBR length problem and various other common problems with MP3s.  For example MP3Diags But I don't want to add a step to my work flow.  If MP3diags can fix bad MP3 files, then why can't other products create valid MP3s n the first place.  It seems that almost every converter out there uses LAME, and I assume LAME creates these problems.
 
My question is if anybody has found a good program that will convert WAV to MP3 without these problems.

hi, just thought 'are you sure you have to make them mp3 ?'
Wordpress, Soundcloud, Youtube let's you upload the wav file..
 

I've been putting my main final mixing plugs on my 2-Buss... which is routed to my Master which has a brickwall limiter and dithering tool on it, and maybe an EQ.  When I render to FLAC or WAV, the Master is set accordingly, usually 24/44.1.  Then I can change some settings on the Master to render the dithered/EQ'd mix to 16/44.1 for MP3 right in Sonar.  
For a quick conversion, I use a free prog called freeac.  You can drag your files into the window and click to output them all to MP3.  Just set up the mp3 details in the interface before converting.  Then I check the tag using MP3Tag, which is a nice prog also.
 
Next time I'm gonna try a trick I saw using the stand-alone T-Racks interface for mastering and conversion.

Sheanes
hi, just thought 'are you sure you have to make them mp3 ?'
Wordpress, Soundcloud, Youtube let's you upload the wav file..
 

I want to use compression so it will load quicker for the user on Wordpress.  (It is possible that Wordpress will automatically put a WAV file into a compressed format.
 
I often do recordings of live concerts and make those available to the musicians on a file server.  MP3s are the best for that both from a size/speed standpoint and also for the best compatibility.  Some of these guy s are really low-tech, so I try to keep it as simple as possible.  I store them on Box.com.  That allows people to play the files using the player that Box.com automatically invokes, or they can download for their own use

scook
I believe it was fixed in Cambridge.

Hmmm.  I'll have to look into that.  The issue is not that VBR was unavailable.  The problem is that with most encoders, when you use VBR, the encoder fails to tag the total play length, and that causes media players to display the wrong play time.  If there isn't a length tag, then the player will typically look at the first few seconds of the recording and project the play time assuming the bitrate will be the same all the way through.
 
As a practical matter, if you have a 5-minute VBR-encoded file, it will show up in the media player as about 3.5 minutes.  The progress bar reaches 100% at 3.5 minutes and you cannot jump to a location in the last 1.5 minutes.

scook
I am aware of the VBR problem, see http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3208827

Thanks.

I use Gold Wave to batch process whole albums of live performances to MP3 it's free to try and cheap to buy. 
http://www.goldwave.ca/
 
 

I simply export a broadcast wav then open that in Audacity...it creates the MP3 in about 3 seconds!

joden
I simply export a broadcast wav then open that in Audacity...it creates the MP3 in about 3 seconds!

I'm pretty sure I have had the VBR length problem in Audacity.  I haven't tried it recently.

AllanH
For quick things, I use Audacity (which is free). Does a good job, imo.
 

Well that certainly takes audacity.

+1 Audacity

dimanle@aol.com
I've been using Sonnox Toolbox Manager.

I appreciate all the good suggestions on this thread.  Sonnox definitely looks interesting, especially for my workflow.  I also like the fact that it shows all the encoding properties very clearly.  I know there are other tools that do this, but it is nice to have it right where you are doing the encoding.  The clipping protection is also a nice feature.
 
It is selling for 35 pounds or $52.  That's probably the upper limit of what I want to spend for this solution.  Seems like a fair deal.