I hardly think that 192kbps mp3 is white noise but I appreciate the point youre trying to make.
I too would like an option of FLAC, like the
Soma Records store where you can download mp3@192kbps or a FLAC for £1.09. For 12" releases this is great, if a little expensive for albums with many tracks, but I like the choice.
What you have to understand is that right now, we have only had one downloadable release and that its very much at the experimental stage. Who knows if we ask nicely that we may get FLAC in the future, but I'm not exactly criticising the mp3's as they sound ok to me. I remember when they were trying to tell us that mp3@128kbps was "cd quality", so this is a great improvement.