Quote:
You won't be able to tell the difference between a really well encoded MP3 and the same song as FLAC.


Maybe so... but it sure is a hassle trying to figure out how to create a "really well encoded MP3". I've encoded my music library 3 times now and I can still tell the difference between a CD and my 320kbps EAC/LAME encoding. I use empeg w/ SPDIF out into a fairly high-end system. With FLAC I'd just be done with it once and for all... storage is cheap these days. Plus I could use the same files for home and car.

Regarding the "noisy" car environment where everybody seems to think mp3 distortion should be tolerated... here's my problem: road noise tends to be lower frequency. Audio compression artifacts tend to be very high frequency. My car audio system response is flat to 20KHz. I can be driving 80mph with the windows open and the music bass will disappear but I will still hear the high freq mp3 errors!

So to me they are compounded errors - I now hear road noise PLUS compression artifacts. I choose to fight both as much as possible.