Hi Paul,
I reviewed the original output from VinylStudio for 3 LP's:
1) Charlie - Lines From 320mbps CBR MP3 source, VinylStudio output 10 split tracks, 9 at 320mbps, 1 at 256mbps. I ran it through TotalAudioConverter to shrink it down, and it produced 5 tracks at 256mbps, 3 tracks at 224mbps, and 2 tracks at 192mbps.
2) Various Artists - Louie Louie From 320mbps CBR MP3 source, VinylStudio output 10 split tracks, 9 at 320mbps, 1 at 279mbps. After TotalAudioConverter shrank it down, it produced 1 track at 320mbps, 1 track at 256mbps, 4 tracks at 224mbps, and 3 tracks at 192mbps.
3) Various Artists - The Songs That Lennon and McCartney Gave Away (an interesting collection...) From 320mbps CBR MP3 source, VinylStudio output 20 split tracks, all at 320mbps. After TotalAudioConverter shrank it down, it produced 4 tracks at 320mbps, 5 tracks at 256mbps, 6 tracks at 224mbps, and 5 tracks at 192mbps.
The output was all so similar (though not completely the same format) that the variable bit rate was not immediately apparent to me. I believe that I should be getting something similar to what I am seeing after TotalAudioConverter produces, which is a variety of bit rates that is dependent on the tonal qualities of the individual tracks. I am guessing that this is due to differences in the audio encoder used. I don't know exactly what VinylStudio uses, nor what TotalAudioConverter uses, but this is probably easy enough to determine.
I am hoping that the next version will use different encoding to produce split tracks that more closely look like what I see coming out of TotalAudioConverter, which shows different qualities depending on the source.
I hope that this helps you understand what I am seeing, and I hope that this is consistent with your experience.
Thanks,
Neal Miller