Thanks for the link. The error was in fact in the Ulaw to Alaw Encoding, The output audio now sounds identical although the samples are different. I will have to look into this I assume it could be do to endianness.
It's not pretty in the bowels of the engine room. I refuse to play the game that our code is perfect. My code looks the same as what I look like on waking in the morning. It's a bit rough and needs a shave.
cheers Chris Maunder