i did tests many years ago and found that 128kbps mp3 music didn’t sound pleasant and artifacts were very audible. At 192 kbps mp3 the music sounded pleasant with little in the way of audible artifacts, however it sounded like the highs were lacking something. To hear the difference between 256kbps mp3 or 320 kbps mp3 and the original CD, I had to concentrate on the high frequencies only, and not listen to the music normally.
I therefore ripped my CDs years ago at 256kbps mp3. If I was ripping CDs now, I would probably use 320 kbps,as card memory is so much cheaper now. I am not tempted to use FLAC though, or to bother reripping my CDs. Of course the headphones used and the quality of one’s hearing(especially of high frequencies) are major factors.
In a quiet room, concentrating on the high frequencies, I managed to get 4 out of 6 right on this test.
