ALAC sounds bright/harsh compared to FLAC?, Moderation: Closed until OP reviews the TOS. Options

[JamesBentley1]

Hello,

A few months back I took on the task of converting some of my CD collection (about 200 discs).
I converted each disc into iTunes and then into MediaMonkey.
I use iTunes for convenience, but seem to enjoy and listen longer to FLAC recordings.
To me it just sounds better.
Going back and forth with listening tests, it seems the ALAC recordings are very bright and harsh compared to the FLAC.
The only setting I can think of in converting the CD's in iTunes was to check the box for error correction (and Apple Lossless, of course).
I am pretty sure I chose default settings in MediaMonkey (convert to FLAC).

Has anyone else noticed this playback trait from iTunes compared to the same track on a FLAC player (same disc/track converted for FLAC playback)?

My budget allowed for this basic audio rig:
AudioEngine D1 external DAC
Sony MDR-V6 headphones

Any thoughts, suggestions or links are appreciated.

Kind regards,
James