Sure that I hadn’t missed something I have just gone through the thread from beginning to end and whilst I haven’t re-read every word (not reading subsequent detail by individuals who made it clear that they do recognise at least the possibility that .wav and .flac can sound different even if they don’t hear a difference in their system, and I believe not a single person has posted in this thread that .wav and .flac can’t sound different, let alone the multiple people you suggest! Maybe in a different thread?
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On a properly configured digital playback system, WAV and FLAC sound identical because they decode to the exact same PCM audio data .
This thread has got me thinking a lot about this, so im still looking through my music where I have a WAV and a FLAC file of the same song, which I have not yet found , but have found music I forgot I had so happy days, when I find that song I will copy both files onto the same SD card from my MacBook
Going to be doing a blind test with m8’s next week, also my m8 is bringing his windows laptop to copy same files on to same SD card.
Maybe they sound different, but I would say most of us cannot hear any difference.
Like a lot of forum arguments, it is all about splitting hairs, in this case miniscule differences.
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This basically overlooks the fact that it is the actual process of decoding FLAC itself that can result in different sound quality, as the decoding can add noise into the digital stream.
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Yes, I saw that post, and read it carefully. It did not say they cannot sound different- I read that as @DJFox saying that if they do sound different then the system is not properly configured, which would be a not unreasonable interpretation of trying to play flac tgrough a renderer with inadequate processing capacity to unpack without the load affecting its processing in some way, or causing timing differences or creating noise that then affect the DAC.
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WAV and FLAC sound identical
Well. If they sound identical, they cannot sound different. 
As I said in last post it says sound identical in a properly configured system, and not that they cannot sound different.
Oh well, never mind - I was surprised at you saying “we still have people posting that they can’t sound different” when that doesn’t actually seem the case, and the only example you quote doesn’t seem to me to be as categorical as you suggest. But it is of no consequence.
I have always preferred WAV to FLAC. There have been occasions when I have downloaded files and not been entirely happy with the sound balance, only to discover that I had accidently downloaded FLACs. I don’t know why FLAC sounds inferior to WAV to my ears and I don’t care. I just go with what I like. Each according to their personal preference. I can’t see a problem.
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Just wanted to clarify that WAV was created by Microsoft and IBM to make things like bell sounds and beeps all manner of different sounds on Windows PC’s . Whereas AIFF was created for music. One reason AIFF handles metadata so much better than WAV.
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So explain me sweetie why all the big top streamers as MSB, DCS, Wadax….recommend just Flac or DSD? Or maybe it’s only Naim who knows what works best ?
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It’s like true twins. They are identical but different. With time, one will inevitably have more metadata than the other.
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Perhaps the others can extract FLAC to PCM without introducing any noise or jitter? Maybe it’s the impact of the Streaming Unlimited section in the Naim streamers. Maybe the ND555 is more revealing than the others due to the large ND555 PS. Who knows?
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What replay system do you have? Perhaps the reason for the difference you hear, as has been suggested in this thread, is that the processing load in a streamer can affect the sound and yours is more susceptible to this than others, such as a gen1 Naim streamer?
I am beginning to suspect the Streaming Unlimited board as the limiting factor. With an ND555 and two power supplies, Naim would appear to have gone to great lengths keep the digital and analogue sections apart, so you would logically expect this setup to be the least impacted, yet if ‘firmware-gate’ is anything to go by, the opposite is true. This seems to have led many to using a different off board renderer to feed the Naim streamer via BNC/SPDIF. Going this route seems to largely bypass the NP800 section.
I suppose as I have a lowly ND5 XS2, which contains the same board, my initial reaction is shock at the ‘waste’ of the streaming function, but I guess if I look past that, what you’re paying for in an ND555 with dual outboard power supplies is actually centred around DAC performance and the analogue section. So even if the NP800 accounts for say £1000, that ironically is just noise in the context of such a setup…
Do Naim need to source a different streaming solution that doesn’t appear to be as noisy as the current one? Should they also invest ‘more’ in ethernet port isolation in their streamers too?
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In chronological order since file type became important, my sources have progressed through HDX, HDX/XPS2, HDX-SSD/XPS2, HDX-SSD/DAC/XPS2, HDX-SSD/DAC/555PS, NDS/555PS, NDS/555PS-DR, NDS/2x555PS-DR, ND555/2x555PS-DR. Amplification was Audio Innovations 500, Audio Innovations 500/Boarder Patrol PS, Graaff GM50, 252/Super/300, 552/300. 552/500, 552-DR/500-DR.
On PCs, through MUSOs and in the car, WAV always sounds best to my ears. There would have been a time when I would delve into the technicalities and experiment but I’m so happy with how my main system sounds that I’m more interested in enjoying and expanding my music collection.
I believe I was a committed fiddler when I wasn’t entirely happy with some aspect of the presentation, even if I didn’t realise it. There came a point when it became so perfect for my needs and taste that my priorities changed and my curiosity turned entirely to music.
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Or maybe the problem is how Naim have implemented the Stream Unlimited network card. Naim equipment might simply be more sensitive to noise.
Apparently other manufacturers are using Stream Unlimited without a problem.
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Thanks, that’s helpful.
If they sound different, the difference is not in the file — it’s in the playback chain’s behaviour while decoding.
That’s the correct interpretation