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Topic: EAC's Sound Quality vs foobar2000 w/Kernel Streaming (Read 2672 times) previous topic - next topic
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EAC's Sound Quality vs foobar2000 w/Kernel Streaming

For some reason I'm convinced that when I load a WAV file into EAC's CD Layout Editor and play it back that the sound quality is slightly better then that of foobar2000 with/without Kernel Streaming output enabled. And yes, as far as a I know, my soundcard fully supports this feature. It may not be apparent to most people and you'd have to listen very closely but there's something about the CD Layout Editor that seems to have a more "natural" sound to it.

Anyway, this is just my opinion, I'm not trying to shake anyone's beliefs that foobar has the best sound quality. Perhaps, though, a fresh pair of ears might yield some interesting results.  Can someone please test this and tell if they notice any slight differences in sound quality?

Oh and please don't flame me. It might just be my imagination.

EAC's Sound Quality vs foobar2000 w/Kernel Streaming

Reply #1 –
Foobar2000 doesn't claim to have the best sound quality.  From the FAQ:

Does foobar2000 sound better than other players?

No. Most of “sound quality differences” people “hear” are placebo effect (at least with real music), as actual differences in produced sound data are below their noise floor (1 or 2 last bits in 16bit samples). foobar2000 has sound processing features such as software resampling or 24bit output on new high-end soundcards, but most of the other mainstream players are capable of doing the same by now.