For now, quality 0 is roughly equivalent to 64kbps average, 5 is roughly 160kbps, and 10 gives about 400kbps. Most people seeking very-near-CD-quality audio encode at a quality of 5 or, for lossless stereo coupling, 6. The default setting is quality 3, which at approximately 110kbps gives a smaller filesize and significantly better fidelity than .mp3 compression at 128kbps.So... I guess I'll try orchestral music at level 6 or more; it's gonna be tough to get a 80 dB range with triangles on through double-bass. MP3 (hearsay) fails that pretty much.
But hearing is believing.
Ashton