has anybody else noticed this about flac audio?

@guitarsam
   try out the foobar abx comparator to randomize the comparison between the versions.
http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Foobar2000:Components_0.9/foo_abx
See if you can consistently pick out which file is which. I only got 9/16 right which is pretty much close to a random coin flip.

Maybe I was not clear enough.  I agree that their may be streaming formats that play back exactly what is sent, but it is still compressed before sending.  That is why I favor D to D LP's, and even it is mixed down in the console before the cutting head, even if it is mainly for the the RIAA curve.  I would love to be proven wrong, then I would buy a streamer, but so far, people who have streamers I have heard do not have systems that show these flaws.  Garbage into the internet; garbage out.  I would love to hear streamed music that is beyond excellent, but even the stereo stores have not demonstrated it sufficiently for me.   Close is certainly not better, and if it isn't better, what good is it?  We don't all just want the algorithms used to suggest music for the masses to  define our listening experience.

It is not compressed.

Qobuz is better than anything on a CD when truly hi-res, but if you have a really good CD quality stream, you are not going to notice anyway. Either way, Qoboz, Tidal CD quality (not MQA), etc. are all not compressed.

Given this statement, you are pretty much saying that even when you don't hear a difference, there is a difference, so how will you know either way?

people who have streamers I have heard do not have systems that show these flaws.

All:
I noticed differences in FLAC. It depends on the system really. I have two high-end systems, where one system is light years more sensitive to any changes in the source, than the other. Like they say, "Your mileage may vary." 

Here is a question for everyone though. In the 21st century, where storage and bandwidth are dirt cheap, why for the love of Mozart, Frank Zappa, and The Who does anyone use ANY form of compression? 

That's like saying . . . here's some fresh squeezed juice, but wait you can't have yet. I must remove the water, freeze it, thaw it, and add the water back, only then can you have it. Not to worry, because it will taste exactly the same as fresh squeezed. Ya think? Weird, but that analogy is what FLAC does. 

There is absolutely no good technical reason to use any compression at all.

Eliminating all compression surprisingly eliminates any compression related issues. Amazing that. :)

The orange juice metaphor is massively flawed. Decompressing a losslessly compressing file leaves you with EXACTLY the same data as before the compression process.

There is absolutely no good technical reason to not use lossless compression. why waste bandwidth and storage needlessly?

The only compression issues with using FLAC versus WAV are what people want to hear.