Statistics have now been gathered, but I will leave the files in case anyone wants to ABX them. The key and statistics are in a spoiler at the bottom of this post.

1. Put your answers in SPOILERS. Do not read anyone's answers before listening and responding yourself.

Spoiler: Individual%20files(for%20those%20paranoid%20about%20zip%20compression%20%3A)%20)

Source: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?apisoaeabmjpbmn

A: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?kwoi8pi8hplea82

B: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?kxjbujfi135plpy

C: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wckkgtuk4t3l5c4



Spoiler: Individual%20files

Source: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?91i462ih79gnwae

A: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?j5g3dr31vvzasvw

B: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?c521p8rx2myu1c3

C: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?5clv3q643do8o2e



Spoiler: Individual%20files

Source: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?i9syghdbn62dfhe

A: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ebfuuvya2x3y74q

B: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?f7006wt04kc6w4f

C: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mz64z6d5i84tc7j



Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!%20Key%20and%20Statistics! KEY

Group 1:

A.320 B.Lossless C.128 Group 2:

A.Lossless

[size=inherit]B.320[/size]

[size=inherit]C.320[/size] Group 3:

A.128

B.320

C.Lossless

STATISTICS

Group 1

A(320kbps): 4/11(36%) were correct. Only 1 person said they were guessing, and they guessed right.



B(Lossless): 3/9(33%) were correct. 1 person said they guessed, and they guessed wrong. One person said that it was the opposite bitrate.



C(128kbps): 7/10(70%) were correct. Two people said it was the opposite bitrate.



Group 2

A(Lossless):3/9(33%) were correct. Two of the correct answers said they were guessing. Two people said it was the opposite bitrate.



B(320kbps):1/8(12.5%) were correct. The person who answered correctly said it was a guess. Two of the wrong answers were said to be guesses.



C(320kbps): 4/9(44.4%) were correct. Three correct answers were said to be guesses. One wrong answer was said to be a guess.



Group 3

A(128kbps): 7/11(63.6%) were correct. One person said it was the opposite bitrate.



B(320kbps): 5/10(50%) were correct.



C(lossless): 5/10(50%) were correct. Four people said it was the opposite bitrate.





One answer for each group said they couldn't tell a difference.



I also posted this on another forum, only a few people answered though.

One person guessed all of group 1 wrong, and they were unsure about their answers.

Another person guessed all of group 3 right, and they described what differences they heard.

One person said they couldn't tell a difference.

One person said they didn't give a schiit.







Conclusion



These are some fairly interesting results. Group 2 was a little weird, and not completely fair because I unintentionally lied about there being 3 types of file. But the largest amount of people said that their answers were guesses for this one, so hooray for you folks.



I found group 3 to be the most interesting. Almost half the people who ranked it said that the lossless file was 128kbps! At the same time, it was just behind the first group in the amount of people guessing correctly on the 128kbps.



So, what does any of this actually prove? Absolutely nothing statistically speaking, although there did seem to be a higher percentage of people guessing the 128kbps file right. Hopefully it gave some people a better idea of what compression really sounds like.

A(320kbps): 4/11(36%) were correct. Only 1 person said they were guessing, and they guessed right.B(Lossless): 3/9(33%) were correct. 1 person said they guessed, and they guessed wrong. One person said that it was the opposite bitrate.C(128kbps): 7/10(70%) were correct. Two people said it was the opposite bitrate.A(Lossless):3/9(33%) were correct. Two of the correct answers said they were guessing. Two people said it was the opposite bitrate.B(320kbps):1/8(12.5%) were correct. The person who answered correctly said it was a guess. Two of the wrong answers were said to be guesses.C(320kbps): 4/9(44.4%) were correct. Three correct answers were said to be guesses. One wrong answer was said to be a guess.A(128kbps): 7/11(63.6%) were correct. One person said it was the opposite bitrate.B(320kbps): 5/10(50%) were correct.C(lossless): 5/10(50%) were correct. Four people said it was the opposite bitrate.One answer for each group said they couldn't tell a difference.I also posted this on another forum, only a few people answered though.One person guessed all of group 1 wrong, and they were unsure about their answers.Another person guessed all of group 3 right, and they described what differences they heard.One person said they couldn't tell a difference.One person said they didn't give a schiit.These are some fairly interesting results. Group 2 was a little weird, and not completely fair because I unintentionally lied about there being 3 types of file. But the largest amount of people said that their answers were guesses for this one, so hooray for you folks.I found group 3 to be the most interesting. Almost half the people who ranked it said that the lossless file was 128kbps! At the same time, it was just behind the first group in the amount of people guessing correctly on the 128kbps.So, what does any of this actually prove? Absolutely nothing statistically speaking, although there did seem to be a higher percentage of people guessing the 128kbps file right. Hopefully it gave some people a better idea of what compression really sounds like.

Hey everyone,I converted and volume matched some files for a blind test. I'd appreciate your participation, but please follow these guidelines so we can eliminate some unwanted variables entering the test:This is so nobodies answer is influenced by anyone else.2. This is a LISTENING test. Not a looking test. No peaking. If you peak you are a bad person.3. Don't do any bizarre equalization or any other fancy tricks. Listen to them like you would normally listen to your music.When you listen to each group I'd like for you to answer the following:- How do you rank each of the files?- Were you guessing?- If you weren't guessing, what differences did you hear?- How difficult was it?On with the test!For each group, one file is lossless, one is a 128kbps mp3, another is a 320kbps mp3. They are randomly scrambled, so one group's "A" might not be the same type as the other group's "A".Group 1 - "Mighty River" by Railroad EarthZipped files: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?u44qxs3j43azgo7File 2 - "Fahrenheit Fair Enough" by Telefon Tel AvivZipped files: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?hpi9n4d2i3544diFile 3 - "Falling Awake" by ShpongleZipped files: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?aib6uc1hw1ng73oWhile I'd appreciate it if you listened to all three groups, if you don't have the time feel free to only give your feedback on one or two. I tried to make the groups pretty different from each other.Happy Listening!