AAC vs Vorbis vs FLAC blind test (can you hear the difference)

[spartaman64]

the first one in dango sounds tin-y but i cant really tell between the second and third

[tripwiredUK]

Wow, seems pretty clear to me on the test... the 'Moon' track; the difference is night and day to me, number 3 sounds substantially better than the other 2, this must be the FLAC. I am using Audio Technica ATH-M50's connected via 3.5mm jack to my PC with the built in soundcard.  

 

Here's the download link for the Moon track for those that want to try the test: https://mega.co.nz/#!jo5XjRwC!WfVCChnl-VU92JsLF8-u7ih4c-wVTMhOCVZ7Mmj-1oc

 

I've also just downloaded Tidal on the 30 day trial to compare against my Spotify subscription. Is it just me? It sounds tangibly better, like the CD - but I'm having trouble defining exactly what is better. It just sounds like it should do, like the CD version. It's noticeable on tracks I used to listen to on CD a lot, like Thriller or Beat It by Michael Jackson.

 

I'm not a format snob, I just want my music to sound as good as it can, and to me, so far it sounds like Tidal has noticeably better quality audio, with the caveat that you need decent headphones to tell the difference. If you can't tell a difference then that's great! You can be happy with the tenner per month for Spotify, but I've now got the awkward decision to make: does the FLAC quality audio justify the extra tenner? £19.99 per month for Tidal compared to £10 for Spotify? For me? maybe... but I do really enjoy the Spotify interface and social/sharing aspects. We'll see. I'll give the Tidal trial period a go, will aim to update this thread with some feedback if you're interested folks

[SSL]

Wow, seems pretty clear to me on the test... the 'Moon' track; the difference is night and day to me, number 3 sounds substantially better than the other 2, this must be the FLAC. I am using Audio Technica ATH-M50's connected via 3.5mm jack to my PC with the built in soundcard.  

 

Here's the download link for the Moon track for those that want to try the test: https://mega.co.nz/#!jo5XjRwC!WfVCChnl-VU92JsLF8-u7ih4c-wVTMhOCVZ7Mmj-1oc

 

I've also just downloaded Tidal on the 30 day trial to compare against my Spotify subscription. Is it just me? It sounds tangibly better, like the CD - but I'm having trouble defining exactly what is better. It just sounds like it should do, like the CD version. It's noticeable on tracks I used to listen to on CD a lot, like Thriller or Beat It by Michael Jackson.

 

I'm not a format snob, I just want my music to sound as good as it can, and to me, so far it sounds like Tidal has noticeably better quality audio, with the caveat that you need decent headphones to tell the difference. If you can't tell a difference then that's great! You can be happy with the tenner per month for Spotify, but I've now got the awkward decision to make: does the FLAC quality audio justify the extra tenner? £19.99 per month for Tidal compared to £10 for Spotify? For me? maybe... but I do really enjoy the Spotify interface and social/sharing aspects. We'll see. I'll give the Tidal trial period a go, will aim to update this thread with some feedback if you're interested folks

 

The real question is, can you tell the difference between a thread started in the last month and a thread started two goddamn years ago.

 

Lemme know.