Many moons ago, I ran extensive listening tests, comparing the different MP3 compression standards to the CDs I was ripping (44.1K/ 16 bit). I could hear slight differences between 192K .mp3 and CD .wav. Rates below 192K were obvious. 128K was terrible. 320K sounded like the CD to my ears. The only difference between 256K and 320K that I could hear was on a high-end home theater system with a really good subwoofer The 256K rips lost just a touch of really low end definition, but I really had to listen for it. On the other audio systems I tested on, the 256K rips sounded like the CD. Since there was a major file size increase between 256K and 320K, I ripped everything at 256K. With today's huge external SSDs, I'd have used 320K. But for streaming, I don't think anything over 256K would justify the increase in data.

Last edited by TheMaartian; 07/27/24 06:45 AM.
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