External HD VS Flash Drive Sound Quality Question

Especially in different systems. Though something interesting: The other night I got the chance to compare on my system (Oppo 95 McCormack Line Drive Deluxe, MoCormack DNA 1 ("mod 1" done by CJ), NHT 2.5-I's & old style Quality Aara Cables (Omni, Pandora, Super Analog, add on power cords (can't remember he brands right now, & 2 Adcom power conditioners) the new 96/24 vs 192/24 HD Tracks Gratefuk Dead studio remasters (on the Flash Drive only (Lexar) in the front USB port. I hear a bigger difference between the Flash vs HD I did between the 96 & 192.

When originally writing about this on another board, I also acknowledged that my system & or ears may just not be good enough to hear some of the subtle differences. I heard some small differences between the 96 & 192 but they were nowhere near as dramatic as i expected. I especially expected a much wider sound stage at 192 that at 96; that was not the case. Main differences were more bass at 192 (actually too much with the NHT's, a bit more detail & the 192 was subjectively louder (Foobar's DR meter does not show any DR difference); compared to a BIT more analog ease at 96.

Other than again my againg ears (mid 50's) & or entry level high end system without enough resolution I don't have any other ideas why I heard what I did. Supposedly the original hi def mastering was at 192 & than down sampled to 96 for the lower price point.

As far as not getting more done in the testing, I do feel a bit bad as I brought up the issue.

"Aara" should have read "Tara"; I spent 10 minutes proofing hat post but it wasn't enough..........

I have read a number of times people saying that the difference between 96 and 192 is subtle in most cases. Some people say that 96 sounds better than 192.

I think that for many people the differences between 96 and 192 or between thumb drive and HD are not significant. Sometimes these differences are different but not better or worse. I think that we would often be better off just enjoying what we have rather than trying to chase down a small improvement in sound quality.

If eventually you come to the conclusion that hard drives sound better than thumb drives or vice versa, then great, start using hard drives or thumb drives exclusively.

So don't worry about this thread and let us know if you do come to a conclusion one day. Then be ready for someone to disagree with you.

By the way, Sony is gearing up to sell DSD downloads and gear to play them starting in November. I'll be interested to see what becomes of that. I do like the sound of SACDs. Check out their website:

http://discover.store.sony.com/High-Resolution-Audio/

I learned last night that the 95 will not play raw dsf files (I dl'd a couple free samples from Bluecoast & the BDP-95 wouldn't even acknowledge their existence on the flash drive). It will play them after they've been converted by Foobar, but wondering if there is a loss of quality? I don't have the fancy software that the folks distributing the SACD'R iso's do.

AP did tel me that the 103 & 105 will natively play the various raw DSD files, though.

This is slightly off topic, but I din;t want to start a new thread.

I just discovered a frustrating issue with my 95 -it wont recognize USB hard drives over 2 TB.

Also discovered it's not real happy with some Kingston & Sandisk USB drives that Amazon has been blowing out lately (blu-rays on the drives won't won't load & 192/24 glitches). It's only these 2 crummy drives. The real surprising thing is the Kingston is USB 3.0. The Flash issue isn't the Oppo, as all my older drives still work fine; including those with full Blu-rays on them.