Why do Wav and Flac Files Sound Different?

@moto_man We should separate two issues. Lossless, and recording quality.

WAV, FLAC, and ALAC should all be lossless formats, but I don’t do quality assurance on every algorithm out there which is converting from one to another, or used in CD ripping. It is technically possible that someone has a FLAC compression or CD ripping code that is not lossless, but if so it’s a bug.

The other part of this is the recording and playback quality which is affected by things such as the ADC, recording settings, digital filters on your DAC, etc. In an ideal world, of course, the playback is identical to the recording. If you are missing events there may be something going on.

There are a number of music analyzers out there that might be worth experimenting with to give you an answer.

Anyone who agrees with me that since WAV files are what nothing else is allowed to differ from, and are automatically reference listening compared to anything else, is already my idol, even before they agree that WAV sounds like it can’t be wrong another noisy way like FLAC does. I have to listen to heavy metal WAV’s only, because of what a slacker the correct untampered with copies make me. Streaming FLAC Beethoven is still why you’re dead, though. Oh, and from an SSD clearly beats reads with ecc from an optical disk. I’m stuck with USB for my I2S signal for the time being only, but the read sounds more confidently clear than my 80’s cd player ever gave me. After that, I can’t believe my DAC designer smoked my first Yamaha cd player with each separate balanced side for only that price...

@erik_squires, I think my point is slightly different.  When one is ripping from a vinyl album, I would think that the analog signal from the cartridge would be captured and converted "lossless" to FLAC.  That should mean that the FLAC so captured, when played should have the exact sound as if the signal was played from the turntable.  Therefore, if you are playing vinyl because of its "analog" sound, shouldn't that analog sound be captured bit for bit on a FLAC and then sound "analog?" I guess that the mere act of converting an analog signal to digital and then back to analog through a DAC might possibly change the sound so that the FLAC is not "identical" to what is coming out of the cartridge or phono preamp, but  . . .

@moto_man, interesting question. I did some analog recording from vinyl to a CD using a Pioneer PDR 04. The original vinyl recording does sound different compared to the CD recording ('better', to my ears). I could imagine that some 'parts' of the overall sound played by a TT including all the peripheral equipment used (including the pre amp and amp) is not transferred to the CD. This experience is supporting your guessing, it seems.

Mofi Quad DSD Controversy

“I know that this revelation of Mobile Fidelity cutting from transfers made to digital is sort-of anathema to some of our purest fans, and I understand that strictly from what you might read on a piece of paper.  But the truth is that us cutting from digital transfers that we ourselves made is not an example of us losing our way, it’s actually an example of us adhering to it adhering to the purest aesthetic and perfecting things beyond anything in the past and the past goes back now 45 years…. Preserving the tape.” 

—    Rob LoVerde, Mastering Engineer, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs