Re: mp3 audio specs?

Brooks - I infer from your comment that you used the Sound Blaster for recording / playback that you didn't "rip" the CD Audio direct to wave. That can have a signficant impact on audio quality both for the uncompressed wave file and the MP3. The soundblaster cards (even SB Live!) don't have the best DAC's in the world. To get a really good digital audio file you need a better audio card. (I need to take my own advice on this very soon now)

However, I've had much the same experience in testing encoding rates. MP3 never sounds as good as a well produced CD played on a good system. However, it's good enough for sure for lesser systems at 128KB and up, and the higher bit rates do help a great deal.