John
UPDATE: This poll is now closed. The file identities and poll results can be found here.
It’s not Christmas and it’s (probably) not your birthday but today I present a .zip file (you blinked, you missed it) that contains two 16bit/44.1kHz FLACs. What are they? It’s a mystery! (For now at least).
The two Dropboxed FLACs aren’t Tidal or Qobuz rips. Neither are they compiled from my local library. At least, not directly. In between the music – 4 x 1-minute samples of rock, electronic, female vocal and avant-garde – and the FLAC files sit two unnamed (for now) source devices, their analogue interconnects and an A/D converter. Can you guess what they are? Of course, you can’t — but you can hear their sound qualitative differences, right?
Which of the two FLACs sounds most natural to you? Which one has the greater low-end punch? Which one reveals more detail? Which one offers greater dynamics? Is there one that stands out to you as a subjective best? Or is there no clear winner? Let us know what you think in our YouTube poll. But don’t shilly-shally: this poll will run for 48 hours only.
I’ll reveal the identities of the source devices, their analogue interconnects and how I captured them next week. And try to keep in mind that this is just a bit of fun.
