Do I need to re-rip?

So...isn't ALAC apple lossless? If so, then I don't need to go thru the bother of re-ripping - right!

Some people report hearing a difference depending on format and even on ripping software. They report that a WAV file ripped with dBpoweramp sounds different than a WAV file converted from Apple Lossless (for example), even if the files are the same. My suggestion is to do a few new rips yourself directly to WAV and compare that to your Apple Lossless file converted to WAV. If you hear a difference, then you may want to re-rip a portion or all of your library. If you hear no difference, then just converting your existing files is probably OK.

Dtc is giving you really useful advice.

In my experience, there are improvements converting from ALAC to WAV. I am quite sure ripping directly to WAV is best as Simon puts it, although I have not done so simply because I started ripping to ALAC many years ago, and my CD library is too big to re-do ripping all over again. Total file size becomes a concern also for large libraries. When using computer audio, I convert ALAC to WAV files those I listen to for the day and delete them after - both steps are just a matter of seconds to implement. Furthermore, computer audio is not my primary source. I use it for background music only.

You should consider DTC's comment by first listening to familiar songs of various computer audio formats. I see that you have a turntable. If computer audio is not your primary source, and if you find there is not much improvement between formats in your set up, I would not bother to redo all the ripping.

If you ripped ALAC with iTunes, I would try ripping one track with XLD and see if sounds better on your system.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio