I hate my Altecs

[Altec Best]

How does this compare to Apple Lossless?

I don't like Apple because they are so proprietary.Everything has to be done through iTunes.If you only have iPods and iPhones than your fine.You can't buy anything in itunes other than a 256 Kbps AAC file..But most songs or albums are only 128Kbps. That is very low quality IMO.

This was done with me changing the files being played and my 'subject' (who has very discerning hearing - even though I do not quite share his tastes in how music should sound) never knew which file was being played.

"I am not surprised that [uncompressed] AIFF is better than compressed FLAC, but on most machines uncompressed FLAC has been a little better than AIFF to my ears. WAV sounds a little better than AIFF for me but I can't hear any difference between WAV and uncompressed FLAC. When I say sounds better, the difference with such comparisons is usually a greater sense of ease and flow - the reduced sense of a silent scream."[/i]

Uncompressed files will always sound better than compressed at any level..Just for the reason that compressed files remove some of the music to reduce file size.

I like .wav files too but they are 10 times the size of .flac files.I would need 25-30 external hard drives to rip to .wav so for me it's a no brainer.Everyones tastes are different.So what may work for me may not work for you...You can rip .flacs at a higher uncompressed bit rate and they still will be a lot smaller file size than a .wav.. With this My recommendation is to experiment on it and choose what works best for your preference and storage options.

Another thing that will change the sound of files is the dynamic range compression...Most new CD's and remasters sound awful,but not all.For good reason, Loudness ! They try to introduce loudness (Engineers) at the cost of sound quality.This is a good read on Wiki. I have a lot of older CD's and Vinyl albums so I rip my own and use the .Flac file and Foobar2000 they are both FREE ! But nothing sounds better than my MFSL vinyl LP's on my turntable.. Files I use for convenience.But as they say, garbage in garbage out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war