When is MP3 loss detectable?

I think one is more likely to notice the stereo imaging on those gobbly-gook filled recordings like from Steely Dan and Boston, but you have to compare that to the LP or tape. Don't get 'ole Tom going on what digitizing did to his first Boston album : )

I did buy Tom's re-master for CD and I think he did good. My first CD was Rumors and I thought it wasn't as "ethereal" as the LP.. You have to compare everything, now days.

If you remember the snare level on the MONO light my fire, you can't always find that in digital. Like the DSD remastered The Doors.

Don't always assume you are getting what you want. hahah
 
I made a few changes to my sound system, and so far am quite pleased. I didn't spend a dime (well, at least not on equipment). I replaced the ear cushions on my Sony MDR-V600 phones, and compared to my Sennheiser HD-497, the Sony wins hands down. Besides that, I wired my Onkyo TX-SV313PRO receiver to my computer's Realtek analog outputs (no digital input on the Onkyo), lowered the output on the computer and set the Onkyo to a comfortable level and I was impressed. I get a cleaner sound with better highs and lows from the receiver. Of course I know that it is not possible for the receiver to fix any clipping or whatever distortion exists on the source (the computer), but I think because I can lower the output level on the computer, it helps keep its output in the linear range. I'm not pumping much from the Onkyo, which is good for 60W X2 on the speakers (Cerwin Vega) which I rarely listen on.

I also have a preamp that would work for the phones, and I plan to try it in place of the receiver - if only to save power. I have to wire up a 1/4" jack to the RCA output on the preamp (using a cable) which I just have to get around to. The MDR-V600 has a 1/8" plug + adapter, but I only use 1/4" when I wire anything, since I really don't like using 1/8" jacks or plugs if I can avoid it, and that is all I have at the moment. Not gold plated, but it will do.

So now I'm re-ripping my CD's to .wav, and whatever I purchase on iTunes gets ripped from its m4p protected to .wav as well. I don't expect the m4p files from iTunes to sound as good as the .wav, but I'm not going to purchase a whole CD just for one cut. It's good enough.

Everything gets converted to .mp3 for my Moto e 1st gen phone with PowerAmp Pro and the Koss KSC-75 phones. I was ripping at 172-210 variable using Lame, but I think I'll move to fixed at 192K or higher.
The phone has only the 32Gig Micro SD card, so I am limited there, but would rather sacrifice songs rather than quality. I can always switch out when I want.

I like to create "DJ mixes" using Audacity or another similar software on my PC, and this is the main reason I want to keep the .wav files, then compress to mp3 only after the mix-down (mix and render in Audacity terms).

I think Stevem5000 has a point about what you hear depends on how good your ears are, but let me extend that to say that what you hear depends on what you are listening for. Once you upgrade your system, you will start hearing things you never heard on the new system, as well as the old - so I believe you are more likely to hear imperfections on a system of lower quality after you have been listening to a higher quality system.

I am still going to replace my Realtek on-board sound system with something better - just have to wait a while for it.
 
mp3 encoding have been studied, tried and optimized for end-user music delivering. No modifications should be done after encoding, because encoding have already kept only essential information for human hearing, discarding all the ones that are not essential. Another encoding would affect essential information.
 
...."a point about what you hear depends on how good your ears are"

It's kinda the same with the ear/brain and the reproduction chain and the analog output. The last thing before the speakers and headphones are the amp section and they don't perform and sound the same. Commonly, each analog out in the chain will have op-amps, and, on some devices =- like Sound Cards, there are op-amp sockets so the users can get a new sound. Kinda like changing tubes in tube gear.

Doesn't mean the circuit will perform better. Switching to the Receiver is mostly the better performance - the circuit has more capacity to perform. The beginning of all that is voltage and current.
 
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