FLAC Files do not seem to play 7.1 surround sound to my Onkyo-txnr818 Receiver

[astuartmills]

When I play my actual CDs from the Sony CD Jukebox to the Onkyo Receiver, the sound quality is way better than when I play the Ripped FLAC file from my Computer to the Onkyo Receiver. To try and rule out the Source settings on the Receiver, I used the same input source for both to test and the sound quality is so much better coming from the CD Players. Is there anything I can do to fix this issue e.g. can I rip FLAC files with a different Setting? Is there a way to rip them to 7.1 or does that not make any sense? Is there something I can add to convert the 2 Channel sound to 7.1 as it plays from the CD Players through the Receiver? I apologize; I am not a stereo guru but trying to troubleshoot why the two sounds are so different. Thank you.

[garym]

Re: FLAC Files do not seem to play 7.1 surround sound to my Onkyo-txnr818 Receiver

Very odd. Nothing to do with rips. They are bit perfect (identical) to CD. My flac rips sound identical to playing my CDs. Ripping to 7.1 not possible and makes no sense. These CDs are not 7.1. They are 16/44.1 pcm two channel. Maybe your cd player has some sort of DSP built in that you prefer. Also be careful with volume. Even slightly louder volume can make us think something sounds better. Some CD players are hotter in terms of volume than some streamers.

[garym]

Re: FLAC Files do not seem to play 7.1 surround sound to my Onkyo-txnr818 Receiver

What streamer are you using to play flac files.

[astuartmills]

Re: FLAC Files do not seem to play 7.1 surround sound to my Onkyo-txnr818 Receiver

Not sure if these are "streamers" but I have tried both MediaMonkey and Foobar2000. My receiver may be doing something different for different input types (FLAC files versus CD Player) to the same source.

[GBrown]

Re: FLAC Files do not seem to play 7.1 surround sound to my Onkyo-txnr818 Receiver

Not sure if these are "streamers" but I have tried both MediaMonkey and Foobar2000. My receiver may be doing something different for different input types (FLAC files versus CD Player) to the same source.

Are you actually streaming the actual FLAC file to this receiver? Or are you using Foobar2000 and MediaMonkey to play the file from your computer internally? You can tell if they are connected by an audio cable or through a network connection. If it is an audio connection, you are heading the quality difference in your computer sound card.

[garym]

Re: FLAC Files do not seem to play 7.1 surround sound to my Onkyo-txnr818 Receiver

Are you actually streaming the actual FLAC file to this receiver? Or are you using Foobar2000 and MediaMonkey to play the file from your computer internally? You can tell if they are connected by an audio cable or through a network connection. If it is an audio connection, you are heading the quality difference in your computer sound card.

excellent point. How are you connecting the computer running foobar2000 to your stereo? USB or SPDIF, optical or hdmi out to a DAC? Headphone jack to analog input to your stereo or ?????