Am I imagining my local FLAC sounds better than Qobuz?

[gsibble]

I have a lot of FLAC files I ripped back in the day. All 44.1/16. I know many tracks very well since I've listened to them hundreds of times through various media going back decades.

So, in my new listening room, I use an Eversolo T8 transport into an Eversolo Z10 DAC.

I mostly listen to Qobuz. All depends on the master but great masters sound amazing.

But every time I play a locally stored FLAC file......is it me or does it sound better than Qobuz? Theoretically, they should be the same bits. Even some albums which are at a higher sample and bit depth on Qobuz still sound better with the local FLAC file.

I know I can be susceptible to bias so am I just imagining this or has anyone else noticed it?

 

[tccalvin]

With all likelihood, it is placebo.

If you want to make sure, you can set up some blind tests.

I always recommend doing this (unrelated) test first since the files are level-matched and ready to go. For me, it was enough to stop putting so much trust in my experience (I can't tell the difference):

Is your audio system really ready for lossless?

Do an ABX test in your browser, and see if you can tell the difference between lossless and Spotify-compression quality audio

abx.digitalfeed.net

 

[kyuu]

It's also possible you aren't listening to the same release. Have you made sure the versions you're listening to on Quboz are actually the same as your local files?

 

[Svperstar]

It could be there is some kind modification happening to the audio coming from Qobuz vs your local FLAC files. Maybe check Windows sound settings? You could be using WASAPI in a local player but have something effecting the online sound via Windows enhancements or something

 

[fatoldgit]

I use an Eversolo T8 transport into an Eversolo Z10 DAC.

As suggested, it would be highly unlikely that you are comparing the same release and most certainly if you compare a local 44.1 to a Qobuz hi-res then they won't be the same.

I have been using Qobuz since 2008 and there are many instances where I have seen multiple versions of the same album (sometimes four versions) all sounding different, even if all the same resolution. That's not on Qobuz but due to the record label(s) providing different masterings (typically seen with famous albums that have undergone multiple remasterings over the years). I actually struck this yesterday with two releases of the same album from the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, which is hardly a famous band!!!!

Now, lets say the releases are the same then how could we get a difference.

The first fact to understand is Qobuz will deliver a perfect bit stream to your device from their datacenter (well actually it's an AWS datacenter)

However, the data paths inside the Eversolo will be different.

Qobuz is Internet based (tcp/ip, ethernet) which means the underlying programming model will be based on the Sockets api where as reading a local file will use a different api dedicated to opening and reading a local file. As an aside, USB will use another distinct api (with associated device driver) as will bluetooth etc etc

Thus the qobuz stream means the physical interface is an ethernet controller where as reading data from a local hard drive will use a different set of hardware interfaces (a sata controller plus the electronics inside the sata drive to read the required disk sector)

Now in theory, the use of these different api's/device drivers/hardware interfaces shouldn't make a difference but it is possible that different programmers developed each interface subsystem and as noted the electronic path that each interface takes within the eversolo will be different, to the point that maybe you hear a difference.

My money is on different masterings and while I am in the "bits are bits" camp, for me that only relates to the data delivery and not the downstream processing.

This is why, for example, some bluetooth headphones have better range and robustness than others: they contain different hardware and different people (with different skill levels) designed/developed the circuits and firmware. Or why some USB connected sata drives are faster than others.


Peter

 

[IsaacOscar]

I'd suggest your listening to a different release/master, the volume is slightly different, there's some effect turned on in Qobuz, or the difference is in your head.

Now, lets say the releases are the same then how could we get a difference.

The first fact to understand is Qobuz will deliver a perfect bit stream to your device from their datacenter (well actually it's an AWS datacenter)

However, the data paths inside the Eversolo will be different.

Qobuz is Internet based (tcp/ip, ethernet) which means the underlying programming model will be based on the Sockets api where as reading a local file will use a different api dedicated to opening and reading a local file. As an aside, USB will use another distinct api (with associated device driver) as will bluetooth etc etc

Thus the qobuz stream means the physical interface is an ethernet controller where as reading data from a local hard drive will use a different set of hardware interfaces (a sata controller plus the electronics inside the sata drive to read the required disk sector)

Now in theory, the use of these different api's/device drivers/hardware interfaces shouldn't make a difference but it is possible that different programmers developed each interface subsystem and as noted the electronic path that each interface takes within the eversolo will be different, to the point that maybe you hear a difference.

I guess if you have a slow internet connection and it can't download the file faster than you can listen to it... but you'll just hear pauses in the playback. Other than that, this data path stuff is irrelevant: the road they travelled won't alter the bits.

(technically, if it uses a bad communication protocol, bits can be inaccurately sent, especially over a network; but everyone uses error detecting and correcting stuff these days so that if this happens, it either fixes itself or it just fails to download)