How to Test Whether Lossless Audio Matters to You
Control volume, use the same master, randomize trials and decide with results, not file labels.
How can you test lossless audio fairly?
Run a level-matched, repeatable listening test to learn whether lossless audio is audible to you without expectation bias.
Controlled listening test checklist
- Confirm both files come from the same master.
- Match playback level and disable unrelated processing.
- Randomize labels across a preselected number of trials.
- Report the files, passage, device, score, and limitations with the result.
Control the comparison
Use files derived from the same master. A remaster can sound different for reasons unrelated to compression. Disable sound enhancements and match playback level; even a small loudness advantage can be mistaken for better detail.
Choose short passages with a reason: cymbal decay, dense applause, quiet ambience or complex transients. Familiarity matters more than choosing stereotypical audiophile tracks.
Verify the signal path before interpreting a result. Confirm that both options play through the same output device, that no spatial or enhancement mode changes between them, and that one file is not being resampled through a different application path. Use a passage you know well and can describe in advance. Searching randomly for a difference during the trial increases fatigue and makes the listening target change from guess to guess.
Blind the labels
Have software or another person randomize A and B. Include repeated trials and one known reference so you can check the setup. A single correct guess is not persuasive; look for performance that repeats above chance across sessions.
Choose the trial count before seeing the score. Stopping after a promising run or repeating until one result looks impressive gives chance more opportunities to appear meaningful. The page's ABX calculator can show how unusual a score is under its simple guessing model, but the calculation cannot confirm level matching, independence, or a hidden setup cue. Those conditions remain part of the result and should be written beside it.
Make a practical decision
Audibility is only one factor. Storage, data limits, catalogue consistency, device support and peace of mind may matter more. Report the conditions under which you tested instead of turning your result into a universal claim.
A null result can still answer the practical question. It may mean that under this device, passage, level, and session length, the listener did not identify the difference reliably. It does not prove that every listener and system will perform the same way. Decide whether the storage, bandwidth, catalogue, battery, and compatibility costs matter under your actual use. The best setting is the one supported by the test and the constraint you need to solve.
Confounders that invalidate the result
Comparing files created from different masters.
Letting file labels or loudness reveal the answer.
Selecting only the best run from repeated attempts.
Worked example: twelve trials and nine correct answers
In a two-choice test with twelve independent trials, nine correct answers can feel persuasive, but the chance of at least that score under random guessing is about 7.3 percent. Under a preselected five-percent threshold, ten correct answers would be required for that trial count.
That calculation does not prove audibility or explain the cue. Repeat on another day only if the new run was planned independently, and report both runs. Changing passages, volume, or stopping rules after seeing results weakens the inference.
Variables in the comparison
Same master
Controls a major source of file differences.
Level match
Reduces preference caused by louder playback.
Preplanned trials
Make the result easier to interpret honestly.
Strengthen the test
Before interpreting a file comparison, Loudness Normalization Explained for Listeners helps identify playback-level behavior that can reveal or bias a preference.
If two files still sound different after level matching, How to Identify Album Editions, Reissues and Remasters helps check whether they came from different editions or masters.
Test basis and limits
These sources support the factual context used in this guide. The listening exercise and worked interpretation are original editorial guidance.
We do not claim private access, completed laboratory testing, or universal results. Read the music research and review methodology for the publication standard.