I can't tell the difference. I listen to alt preset standard. I do have rips of all my CDs in FLAC, though. I store them on the comp and then leave the real discs at home, never to be touched. Burning a CD from MP3, while "transparent"... could in theory lead to generation loss if I have to rip the CD again and what not. It's just good to have "master" quality in easy access.