I had songs in both those formats when I ran both WinAmp and iTunes on a PC and I don't recall any difference between them. If there is a difference I imagine it would be pretty subtle. Apple DACs have changed over time (and not for the better according to some) and that may influence whether you'd hear any differences between Apple Lossless and FLAC using an iPod or iPhone.

I have the FLAC on my ipod and pc. I will be using a pc via USB as flac/apple lossless server to my stereo. I just ripped a CD in both formats.

I doubt there is a difference as well, if none, apple is my choice. Apple rips fast and recovers all the song information. I don't want EAC's slow pace to appear to be a sign of superiority. If that was the case, winamp FLAC and EAC FLAC would sound different.

EAC does the album info too. But if you want to remain an Apple zombie thats fine.

Faster almost always = less quality

slower almost always = best quality

Well, if the compression is lossless either way, slower may mean "less efficient algorithm" rather than better quality.

That's pretty insulting "Apple zombie" Nice little troll there. good job on that sucker punch. That was a very immature thing to do. In case you missed my headline, I have both at my disposal and intend to objectively compare them, irrespective of speed or codec maker. Your comment reflects the very snobbish, one-sided and cocksure attitude that disgusts me about so called "Audiophiles". "My way is perfect, anything else is a compromise, just because I said so." That kind of thing.

apple is proprietary. thats all.

good job calling me an ass a bunch of times though, much better than a zombie.

Ill keep in mind how sensetive you are in the future. sorry

No worries, after I post this, I just place you on the ignore setting. We shall have no further interactions...thanks to the forum controls.

"Proprietary" is a worthless argument. Magnepan, VMPS, Thiel and velodyne all use proprietary drivers. That's what makes them great. So what if apple makes a proprietary codec? Great is great.

Girls, Girls, Girls lets not get our panties in a wad over being an Apple Zombie. We may not like to admit it but they make some great stuff. Its easy to use and usually functions better than most I have used.

This place really is a forum consisting of FIVE posters. No matter how many members...there really are only FIVE posters. Sad.

- I should probably take some form of offense at that, since I'm certainly one of those five and the tone of your post is comes across as pretty rude (almost as if you were waiting for someone to make a post that seemed trollish so you could react to it), but I choose not to. The forum has ebbed and flowed over the years. Regular posters have come and gone and come back again. It isn't the most frenzied forum around, certainly, but it doesn't try to be. It was set up as a resource for customers and potential customers, a purpose for which I dare say it has been successful. We try not to be obnoxiously overzealous in our support of the company and its products (something that can't always be said of company forums). Instead, we try to help. At present, Outlaw's in between surround processors, so most of their products are pretty straightforward things to set up and use (power amps, speakers, subs).