MP3 (at 128 bps) started to announce the clack some 10 milliseconds early.

10 milliseconds is an eternity in audio terms. That's insane.

This may indicate that some of the loss in soundstage is not due to the empeg, but caused by MP3 technology.

"May indicate"? If those numbers are accurate, you don't even need to test the soundstage. There's no question it's been completely obliterated at that point.

My only question is:

Did "HiFi News / Record Review" test other bitrates besides 128kbps? I wouldn't have expected the soundstage to be anywhere close to preserved at 128kbps anyway, but I'm curious about other bit rates.

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Tony Fabris
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Tony Fabris