Ran a test on a mixed set of files:
fast/loud music (rock/electro/orchestral)
old: 1,26 GB (1.355.082.551 bytes)
new: 1,25 GB (1.352.396.905 bytes) [-2,56MB]
new+e: 1,25 GB (1.351.271.462 bytes) [-3,63MB]
slow/quiet music (piano/electro/acoustic)
old: 2,05 GB (2.205.484.811 bytes)
new: 2,04 GB (2.199.431.091 bytes) [ -5,77MB]
new+e: 2,04 GB (2.192.955.490 bytes) [-11,94MB]
set of 812 files (contains some game music rips, 44100 Hz (99.3%); 22050 Hz (0.6%); 48000 Hz (0.1%)):
old: 15,0 GB (16.197.346.213 bytes)
new: 15,0 GB (16.127.938.889 bytes) [ -66,19MB]
new+e: 14,9 GB (16.063.133.511 bytes) [-127,99MB]
encoding speeds on a Phenom II X4 975@3.4GHz with foobar, 4 threads, 661MB wav:
in RAMdisk:
old: ~326-335x, 0:12
new: ~311-350x, 0:12
new+e: ~87-95x, 0:48
same HDD:
old: ~320-340x, 0:12
new: ~300-340x, 0:13
new+e: ~84-91x, 0:49
That must be one hell of a slow HDD, Case. That, or your encoding speeds are much higher than mine.