Just posting my initial impressions, in response to guruboolez' personal invitation to me. I've had a listen to S30 and will post further results on the other sample when my ears aren't as tired
NB: I'm far from being golden-eared.
Sample S30
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WinABX v0.23 test report
11/19/2005 22:57:23
A file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S30\001 S30 [4.2.1.0 VBR internet high].wav
B file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S30\001 S30 [iTunes v6.0.0.18, QuickTime 7.0.3].wav
22:58:16 1/1 p=50.0%
22:59:56 2/2 p=25.0%
23:00:10 3/3 p=12.5%
23:00:32 4/4 p= 6.2%
23:01:08 5/5 p= 3.1%
23:02:07 6/6 p= 1.6%
23:03:31 7/7 p= 0.8%
23:04:03 8/8 p= 0.4%
23:04:23 9/9 p= 0.2%
23:04:50 10/10 p< 0.1%
23:05:08 11/11 p< 0.1%
23:05:41 12/12 p< 0.1%
23:05:42 test finished
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WinABX v0.23 test report
11/19/2005 23:08:11
A file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S30\001 S30_OTHERS_Accordion_A.wav
B file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S30\001 S30 [4.2.1.0 VBR internet high].wav
23:09:13 1/1 p=50.0%
23:09:31 2/2 p=25.0%
23:10:32 3/3 p=12.5%
23:11:45 4/4 p= 6.2%
23:11:57 5/5 p= 3.1%
23:13:20 6/6 p= 1.6%
23:13:49 7/7 p= 0.8%
23:14:06 8/8 p= 0.4%
23:14:18 9/9 p= 0.2%
23:14:37 10/10 p< 0.1%
23:14:54 11/11 p< 0.1%
23:15:05 12/12 p< 0.1%
23:15:07 test finished
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WinABX v0.23 test report
11/19/2005 23:21:05
A file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S30\001 S30 [3.2.0.15 VBR internet fast].wav
B file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S30\001 S30 [4.2.1.0 VBR internet high].wav
23:21:36 1/1 p=50.0%
23:21:57 2/2 p=25.0%
23:22:37 3/3 p=12.5%
23:23:02 4/4 p= 6.2%
23:23:18 5/5 p= 3.1%
23:23:35 6/6 p= 1.6%
23:24:00 7/7 p= 0.8%
23:24:35 8/8 p= 0.4%
23:25:07 9/9 p= 0.2%
23:25:26 10/10 p< 0.1%
23:25:42 11/11 p< 0.1%
23:26:01 12/12 p< 0.1%
23:26:04 test finished
One ABX test I didn't include above is between iTunes AAC and the original. Basically I failed it and couldn't tell the difference without guessing, so I gave up.
Basically, there seems to be a sharp amplification of the change in notes between 1 and 2 seconds in the "4.2.1.0 VBR internet high" encoded file that was very apparent, which I didn't hear in either the iTunes, "3.2.0.15 VBR internet fast" sample, or the original sample, hence the perfect ABXing. The change is much more subtle in the other 3 files.
Sample S44
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WinABX v0.23 test report
11/19/2005 23:41:52
A file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S44\001 S44 [iTunes v6.0.0.18, QuickTime 7.0.3].wav
B file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S44\001 S44 [4.2.1.0 VBR internet high].wav
23:42:21 1/1 p=50.0%
23:42:35 2/2 p=25.0%
23:42:46 3/3 p=12.5%
23:43:30 4/4 p= 6.2%
23:43:40 5/5 p= 3.1%
23:43:51 6/6 p= 1.6%
23:44:06 7/7 p= 0.8%
23:44:14 8/8 p= 0.4%
23:44:25 9/9 p= 0.2%
23:44:36 10/10 p< 0.1%
23:45:02 11/11 p< 0.1%
23:45:12 12/12 p< 0.1%
23:45:14 test finished
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WinABX v0.23 test report
11/19/2005 23:45:15
A file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S44\001 S44 [4.2.1.0 VBR internet high].wav
B file: C:\Documents and Settings\stephen\Desktop\S44\001 S44 [3.2.0.15 VBR internet fast].wav
23:45:43 1/1 p=50.0%
23:45:50 2/2 p=25.0%
23:45:57 3/3 p=12.5%
23:46:01 4/4 p= 6.2%
23:46:10 5/5 p= 3.1%
23:46:19 6/6 p= 1.6%
23:46:30 7/7 p= 0.8%
23:46:46 8/8 p= 0.4%
23:46:55 9/9 p= 0.2%
23:47:30 10/10 p< 0.1%
23:47:38 11/11 p< 0.1%
23:47:45 12/12 p< 0.1%
23:47:46 test finished
Some more ABX results for sample S44. In the "4.2.1.0 VBR internet high", I heard some ugly distortion within the 1st second, which wasn't there in the iTunes AAC or "3.2.0.15 VBR internet fast" samples, hence the perfect ABXing.
Like the first sample I tested, there are some very noticeable issues with the "4.2.1.0 VBR internet high" encoded files that I didn't hear in the other two. A definite regression on these two samples (S30 and S44).
EDIT: Added ABX results for sample S44.