PS: and regarding whether differences in bitrate etc are audible or not, here's my own personal opinion.
I've listened to the same songs on 16bit and 24bit FLAC (correct terminology? not sure lol).
I felt I could hear new details with the latter. Could simply be that the latter was ripped with better equipment? Could be all sorts of things.
But equally, having read the scientific explanation as to why we are 'unable' to hear a difference, I am not entirely convinced.
As a science-y/engineering type of person with an interest in biomedical engineering, I can say that there are countless examples of new research uncovering mechanisms that we had no idea existed, or finding causes behind the effects. The current 'science' about hearing was referring to the internal shape of the ear and the tiny 'hairs' that vibrate (and their length).
But there could easily be all kinds of other factors that have simply not been discovered or focused upon yet.
So my attitude is more like:
a) some people have naturally more sensitive hearing than others (other factors affect this too, such as age, loud music exposure, etc)
b) hearing sensitivity can be trained and improved, just as taste sensitivity can for wine/whisky/coffee tasting etc
c) doubtless some people experience placebo effects (but who cares, if you really feel it sounds better?) lol
d) the scientific understanding of this whole area is less than comprehensive or definitive at present
With all this in mind, as I said before, live and let live
And now for something *not* completely different lol.. Just wondering if anyone has raised the occasional wobbly headphone socket issue with Onkyo?
It seems like they've been made aware of other software/firmware issues and are acting on it, which is great
