On Sun, Oct 5, 2014 at 8:47 AM, Chris Bannister <cbannister@slingshot.co.nz> wrote:

Spot on Ralf! You've said it way better than I ever could.
Once you've actually *heard* good sound, an MP3 coming from a computer
just doesn't cut it.

have you ever actually done a double bind test of 256kbps or 320kbps mp3 vs PCM data?

i challenge you to take one. almost nobody that has ever taken such a test can tell the difference (which actually means that when predicting which is which, they do not get the answer right more than 50% of the time, indicating that they actually have no basis for the supposed claim of being able to discriminate).

the hydrogen audio forums are a good place to read up on such tests, as is a google search, though most of the really solid double blind test papers are behind paywalls.