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If you are hearing huge differences in the OS

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In Reply to: RE: Windows 11 versus MacOSX versus Linux posted by boogyman on March 12, 2024 at 06:36:36

IMHO if you are hearing big differences in the OS something is not quite right and you probably have too many variables in play on each platform. For one thing you shouldn't be doing any sample rate conversions (like upsampling) in the OS. Leave that to the DAC and/or player software.
For Windows you want to load the USB driver provided by the DAC maker. For Linux and macOS this is not necessary.
In my experience it is the DAC itself that makes a much much bigger differece in sound quality vs any OS.
In my setup I run Roon software on the Mac Mini M1 or Roon Bridge on my Raspberry Pi (DietPi Linux) as a network streamer. If I use the same DAC on each computer (Mini or Pi) I hear practically no difference in sound quality.

Edits: 03/12/24 03/12/24

Follow Ups:

RE: If you are hearing huge differences in the OS - MylesJ 11:39:24 04/05/24 (0)
Abe - it has been many years since I have needed to find an audio driver for Windows. UA2 shipped with Windows 10. I bought a Qutest that came with information about downloading a driver and a program to convert analog video to digital that said it needed a download but they worked properly and worked with exclusive mode without additional software.
RE: If you are hearing huge differences in the OS - boogyman 11:56:17 03/12/24 (3)
Yes I hear differences in the OS.

I'm sure this is nothing new. I'll try FreeBSD this week.

I'm not sure of any other x86-64 Intel OS that has USB Audio support.

Then can you hear architectural differences between ARM and Intel?
- RE: If you are hearing huge differences in the OS - AbeCollins 22:10:01 03/12/24 (2)
  "I'm not sure of any other x86-64 Intel OS that has USB Audio support."
  I'm not sure what you mean by "Intel OS".
  In addition to my Apple Silicon M1 based Mac Mini I have an Intel Core i7 based Mac Mini that also runs macOS. Does that make macOS an "Intel OS"? ;-) Both Macs support USB audio as do Windows machines. But are all Windows machines Intel based? No. There is Windows for ARM but I can't tell you if it supports USB audio. Intel based computers running Linux also support USB audio.
  "Then can you hear architectural differences between ARM and Intel?"
  No I cannot. Not unless I start messing with OS based sample rate conversions and equalizers. I leave them all OFF.
  As an aside, nearly all commercial 'music servers' and network streamers run a Linux variant as their OS whether the underlying computing platform is Intel or ARM based. Some commercial network streamers even use the cheapie Raspberry Pi [ARM] board as their compute platform. There are a couple 'music servers' that run Windows but most of those are 'mom and pop garage shop PC's' advertised as 'highly optimized' music servers. You can 'highly optimize' on your own and save thousands of dollars! The commercial music server makers don't own any special magic but their literature will have you believe otherwise.
  - Windows for ARM systems (Open in New Window)
  Edits: 03/14/24
  - RE: If you are hearing huge differences in the OS - boogyman 05:07:36 03/13/24 (1)
    Intel OS. Meaning what operating systems run on Intel 64bit.
    
    As pointed out in the thread unless you have the same exact hardware to do a comparison it doesn't make sense. I can compare Windows VS. Linux VS. Any other Intel OS besides Apple.
    
    Apple is a walled garden of software and hardware.
    
    What everyone is saying is it sounds the same. To me it doesn't.
    
    The differences are subtle.
    
    As I describe the sound it is me as my observer in quantum physics. This is not a science other than what I perceive, so a sample size of one doesn't matter.
    
    Regardless I will try FreeBSD to see what that sounds like. I can't think of anything else to try. So far Windows sounds better to me.
    
    I can see why most people prefer Linux.
    - RE: If you are hearing huge differences in the OS - AbeCollins 12:58:08 03/14/24 (0)
      Normally Apple is a walled garden of hardware and software but if you want to open it up to Windows OS you easily can.
      
      Intel based Macs will run Windows natively as Apple provides the necessary drivers for their hardware. Apple calls the setup "Bootcamp". This allows dual-boot into one or the other, Windows or macOS.
      
      Newer Macs based on Apple "M" Silicon will not run Windows natively but it's easy enough to run Windows in a virtual machine. I run Windows on my Mac when it's absolutely necessary for little utilities that only run on Windows.... like various tools I use to program features and memory channels into my portable Ham radios.
      
      You might hear very subtle differences in various OS's but you will hear much bigger differences in the DACs you attach to the computers. That is why I find little need for me to try different OS's as the DACs matter more in my experience. But it's always fun to experiment.
      
      Run Windows on any Mac (Open in New Window)

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