Hi,

Apologies for this being a naive query, but I am about to rip all my CDs to a lossless format and I just want to be sure.

I have chosen to use AutoFlac to rip to individual files plus cue sheet. I actually love iTunes and would prefer to use it, but it doesn't support Flac and I understand that Flac is probably the best, so I'm willing to sacrifice it.

However, I decided to compare a Flac file played on Winamp and an Apple Lossless file (of the same track) on iTunes. And you know what, the Apple Lossless sounded slightly better. It was a little brighter and had slightly better seperation. I made sure that both players had no EQ on or pre-amp.

So what I need to know, is this simply a difference in performance between Winamp and iTunes, or is it down to the file format. If so, then shouldn't I be ripping to Apple Lossless?

Shouldn't lossless formats kind of sound as good as each other?

Yeah. That's the magic of placebo. Did you verify your subjective results by doing a double blind listening test?

Do you have replaygain enabled? If the FLAC file has replaygain and has an adjustment of -6dB or more (more negative), then it's going to be quieter than the ALAC file, which might explain the difference.

Yes, I do have Replay Gain selected in AutoFlac. Should I change the setting, or is it not affecting the actual quality?

ReplayGain doesn't affect the sound quality. it just lowers the volume down automatically. i personally would suggest turning off ReplayGain.

more specifically: turning replaygain on in the player can affect the volume. replaygain values added by autoflac are just tags and only affect playback when used by a player. you can always get the lossless original back by not using them.

Josh

Any idea where I would find the option not to play the Replay Gain on Winamp?

mmmm, Is this a Winamp Pro feature? I don't seem to have this option on my download version.

Sorry, I just downloaded the latest version and it's there. My mistake.