According to the Spectro app, the Archive files are 128 kbps MP3, which is fairly low bit rate. If they were the highest MP3 bitrate of 356 kpbs I would think that would be perfectly adequate for cylinders. Though even the 128 files are showing a high frequency cutoff of around 16 KHz, way beyond what any cylinder would have on it, it's all noise up there. I've never had much of an issue with the sound, even though they are not "raw" the amount of processing they do apply to the cylinders is tasteful, IMO.
I'm ordinarily no MP3 apologist when it comes to higher fidelity material. My personal music files are all FLAC, all the time. But, I'm not complaining about it too much. It wasn't so many years ago that - outside of amassing an enormous collection of cylinders yourself - one had to make do with spotty, infrequent LP reissues that often had far worse sound quality, AND, you had to actually buy them.
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