mp3 Heretic?

[Feanor]

I have read plenty of posts here, deriding the mp3 format and want some feedback here. Recently, I have started using a downloader that allows me to process files at 64 kbps. This is quite slower than the standard 128 kbps that I've seen used as a defalt setting. While the recording doesn't have the same lucidity of pristine CD's, the sound quality is not altogether horrible to my ears. I know that lossless formats are all the rage here, but for my limitations and puposes this seems a pretty good compromise.

What sayeth now, oh Brown Cows?

I refuse to pay for MP3 downloads in general. The cost per "song" is typically as high as for CD and this is gouge, IMO.

Granted the quality of 320 kbps or VBR Extreme is such that the quality of master rather than the file format is determinent of ultimate playback quality. However on principle I always take the CD. Admittedly it's tempting to download a Naxos (classical) recording in 320 MP3 format for US$7 versus $8-10 plus shipping for the CD but so far I've held out.

For my iPod I convert to 256 kbps or an equivalent VBR. I have a DVD at 320 kbps of music I listen to on my work computer. Both of these are quite satisfactory for their respective environments.