The whole MP3 debate I don't think will ever come to an end. I have been ripping with EAC and lame for years at 320 and to be honest, I can fool almost anyone who sits in my basement. I had the owner of a local high end shop over one night and I played a track by ZZ Top that was ripped per the above and had the same song going in my cd player. He could not pick out what was what. This guy is no slouch when it comes to having a good ear. He sells Dyna matched with Krells, so he's use to hearing good sound.
I'm sure there are some audible differences but the question is can the human hear pick them up? If the MP3 is of iffy quality sure. If you take a bad CD and rip it, you get a bad MP3. If you take a good CD and rip it, you get a better MP3.
