WAV vs. AIFF

I have done extensive listening tests on rippers, ripping specs and options and playback software comparing WAV vs. AIFF vs. FLAC......hours of testing....hours upon hours as I was convinced WAV or AIFF has to sound better since it has no compression. (techincally, they should ALL sound identical since they are bit perfect at the output, but I wanted to test it to make sure)

Reality: FLAC sounds no different than either WAV or AIFF. WAV is a pain in the a** to deal with as it does not hold tags, sounds no different and takes more space than FLAC. AIFF is like WAV but it can hold tags. Reality is there is no reason to use WAV or AIFF....if you Must use WAV or AIFF, use AIFF....it holds tags. But you should really just use FLAC.

Tbg, please don't believe my assertion as it is not one, but more so my actual results. There is nothing to disbelieve other than an honest guy who actually A/B'd this and is sharing the outcome hoping to save others the headache of what I went through. Yeah we can start the age old argument of do transports make a difference, 'they are just bits.' But you would be preaching to the choir as I know things are not just 'bits'.....I am a long time believer in and owner of many different high end transports.

But please try comparing different file formats yourself and report back the outcome. Let's not worry about a mat for ripping and focus on the file type. Try comparing FLAC to WAV to AIFF and let us all know what you find. I am sure your mat has an affect, now just try your mat with a different file format. I wanted to rip everything in WAV and fully intended to until I did extensive A/B testing ripping in EAC, dbpoweramp and everything else under the sun. Disc space is a non-issue for me, so I had no reason to rip to FLAC unless it sounded the same. If you can hear a difference between WAV and FLAC, by all means rip away in WAV.

Not to extend the thread into a different area but the RME sound cards are every bit as good as the Lynx.....I A/Bd those as well.