HDTracks Downloads vs Qobuz/Tidal Streaming

[firedog]

25 minutes ago, dontheriault said:

Thanks guys.  I was questioning the version of DSOTM which is why I compared a couple of tracks that I knew were the same version (Jethro Tull Aqualung Steven Wilson Remix and Dave Brubeck's Take Five).  The difference was not nearly as clear, but the HDTracks WAV files always sounded marginally better.

 

I am streaming via a 1GB fiber connection to an Allo USBridge running Volumio (via ethernet).  The HDTracks files are stored on a shared drive that is plugged into my router, so the files are not local to the Allo.  

 

I don't want to go deep into the rabbit hole, but it leads me to believe that FLAC has more loss than I previously believed.  Given that FLAC files are smaller than WAV files, it only stands to reason that some data would be lost.  I just had no idea that the sound quality would be as noticeable as it is.

 

Just this guy's $.02

No data lost with FLAC. Zero. That's the whole point of it. 

Convert a flac file to wave and you will see. 

[firedog]

31 minutes ago, dontheriault said:

Thanks.  What I find interesting is that when you convert from WAV to FLAC you can set up the level of compression.  

 

I am going to download the same version of two albums from Qobuz and HDTracks and do a comparison and then compare both to a Qobuz stream.  Believe me, I don't want the Qobuz stream to sound inferior... I don't want to spend more money on downloads than I have to.  I was just taken aback a bit doing some anecdotal back to back listening our of curiosity.  

You need to set it up so you don't know which one is being played and make sure the volume is set the same for all playback. 

Otherwise it's not a good test.