Song: "Rocky Mountain High -- John Denver"
Analysis: 01:45.000 --> 02:45.000
Ripped with EAC v0.9 prebeta9
Encoded with Lame v3.88 beta
Decoded from .MP3 with WinAMP v2.74
Original Wave (unencoded)
Lame Settings: -v -V0 -b64 -B320 -ms -h -k
Lame Settings: --r3mix -b112
The question: If you listen to MP3's with quality headphones or stereo speakers capable of reproducing frequencies above 20 KHz, do you *REALLY* want a high-frequency cutoff at 19.5 KHz, considering that LAME reproduces frequencies reasonably accurately up to 21.5 KHz?
Note: Even if you can't hear frequencies that high, those frequencies above 19.5 KHz generate *harmonics* that can be heard at lower frequencies -- so you're losing more than you think with a 19.5 KHz lowpass filter.
The conclusion: To this listener, the Ungrateful switches (-v -V0 -b64 -B320 -ms -h -k) create MP3's that *simply sound better*. Try the different LAME switches and decide for yourself (and also if the file size tradeoff is worth it).