Today [02/24/2005] we performed a reasonably scientific comparison of a few audio codecs using an oscilloscope and La Linea.
We acquired a framegrab from Google Image search and converted it into a list of points using a handheld vectorization device.
The vectorized Linea was then rendered into an audio file and displayed on a common oscilloscope operating in x/y-mode. In this mode the left channel controls deflection of the beam along the x axis, and the right the y axis.
(download audio) For comparison, this is the uncompressed signal, showing la Linea in a characteristic pose.
(download audio) Encoded with lame -b 160, to match the bit rate of the Vorbis encoded stream.
(download audio) Encoded by oggenc, using the default settings
As can be plainly seen, Ogg Vorbis (left) is the superior codec for vector imagery.
From the same lab, Pål's waffle machine.