10-21-14: Audioengr
"Barry Diament (recording engineer of some renown) did blinded comparisons of master files in either AIFF or WAV, and there was no discernible difference"
So what? Steve Nugent did the same comparison and found a significant difference.
This is entirely system and track dependent. Recording studios are notorious for compression and using inferior playback systems for their mixing.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Barry is an audiophile/engineer so that does not necessarily apply to him. His current hi rez recordings are some of the best I have heard. I myself go back and forth on this issue. I think AIFF is better than Apple lossless, and depending on my mood, I also think WAV is a little better than AIFF.
If you analyze people's opinions on SQ superiority of WAV versus AIFF or any other format, its a coin toss statistically. What does that tell us?
The next time you have a dinner party, do a blinded test for your guests and see what you get. I trust non-audiophile ears more....