<i>Most people do not have the ears (most people over the age of 12, sorry) to tell an MP3 from a playback directly from the master.</i><p>Most people don't have the speakers to reproduce the sound. (iBuds just don't cut it.) Maybe it's because I'm a musician, but with a decent pair of cans, I can definitely tell the difference between an MP3 and lossless format. It mostly shows up in the lows and highs (ie: bass and cymbals).