Yes, MP3s are virtually identical. (Destiny)

by marmot 1333 , Saturday, March 21, 2015, 14:08 (3783 days ago) @ Funkmon

I'd be curious to read about how you performed your blind test.

I can definitely tell the difference between a 128k mp3 and a CD. Things like cymbal shimmer and hi hats are relegated to some noisey hiss on low-quality encodings.

One other problem with mp3 is not the encoding, but the decoding at play-time. Reconstructing the audio frequencies from bits that aren't truly represented in the mp3 creates some noticable differences.

All of this is negated by the fact that most people listen to music on tiny earbuds through their phones (both of which have limited audio fidelity) while traversing noisy environments with lots of background noise.

All that being said, I totally support the sale of physical CDs for the soundtrack.