"Rob" wrote in message


Rule number one is that when you do comparisons like
this, you take the high sample rate file and downsample
it yourself, which is easy to do with free software that
can downloaded from the web.

Why's that - are Naim not to be trusted?

Nothing specific about Naim, just that major producers sometimes produce
different technical renderings or masterings of the same basic music work in
different formats. They may sound very similar, but never exactly alike
because they were slightly or significantly different (it varies by work and
format) prior to being recorded in the various audio formats. It is common
to re-master musical works for distribution in a new format.

Then you compare the two using a software ABX DBT
comparator.

Do you happen to know of a Mac variant?

I suspect that the Java ABX comparator will run on a Mac using the Sun Mac
Run Time Environment (JRE) for the Mac. It will if Macs are comparable to
PCs. ;-)

http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp is the general source of Sun JRE
for all hardware platforms but that page suggests that Macs with OS/X come
loaded with this software pre-loaded. Just make sure you have the
latest-greatest version.

The JAVA ABX comparator can be downloaded from:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/...e=post&id=5692

Just do a "save as" on the above Link and you should be offered a download
of

abchr_java_0.53a_bin.zip

Inside abchr_java_0.53a_bin.zip file are two files, one of which is
abchr.jar .

Extract and open the abchr.jar file, and after a few seconds you should see
the opening menu for the ABC/hr - ABX comparator. Select ABX and plug in
the names of the two audio files you want to compare. Post any questions
here.