So, I Took an ABX Test

[Chris Strellis]

Niall,

MP3 quality really does depend on the song material and obviously the listener as psycho-acoustic effects are taken into consideration meaning ear-shape (more accurately pinna shape - just ask a bat!) can affect the perceived sound.

What I notice most about mp3 compression is the reduction in ambience, mostly with reverb tails cut off quicker than uncompressed, and just less spaciousness and stereo width in general.

With pop music I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference at 192k.

Cheers

Chris