georgewburrows wrote:
On windows your best bet is our website player (chrome) or our stream links from an app like vlc.
Both allow listening to FLAC on Windows 10.

If you are using stream links in some other player. And our mp3 or AAC links work but FLAC doesn't. That likely means your player doesn't support our FLAC streams.
They require OGG container support.

 georgewburrows wrote:

The link seems to work.  I play Flac files via  ROON and other such apps.  I wonder if it is a Windows 10 issue?  But why does it work through another player?  I will give up Flac for the RP superb interface. 

 georgewburrows wrote:
It's possible it's not compatible.   The FLAC streams  are  in an OGG  container that not all devices support.
http://stream.radioparadise.co...

Why is Flac not working in RP dropdown stream options?  Windows  streams Flac through other apps and I use an Audioquest Dac out to the receiver. (This is my first post please excuse me if it incorrect.) George

 JRRClocks wrote:
It depends on the browser.     On windows most use Exoplayer under the hood.     As  far as I know the audio should be the same unless the decoder rounds some numbers to run faster.    More common on older mobile devices.    

 JRRClocks wrote: 
Using the RP browser web player works the same as if you listen to a Youtube video.  You're using the host's player, what ever it may be.

VLC is an excellent media player and should be better than either one of the two examples mentioned above.  If you have VLC on your phone, it is still dependent on the soundcard of the device and the built in DAC's.  I do know that foobar has an Android app.  Not sure about VLC.

I've never really done much to investigate actual differences, but I have often wondered how a YT video I've downloaded plays back differently using VLC instead of how it sounds playing on the video's webpage.  We do know that YT alters the audio somewhat, I long ago forgot in which ways, but when played back through VLC, it should sound different and more than likely better without the affects that YT uses.  Then again when playing a video that was downloaded should be better simply because it is on your hard drive and not subject to live streaming hiccups and what not.

If your PC will play through your main stereo you can listen to the webpage stream and the VLC stream and listen for differences that way.  Then again that will also depend on whether you send a digital signal from your computer to your stereo or use the analogue out from your PC.  The digital signal from your PC would be the most meaningful for making any comparisons imho.

Perhaps Jarro or William will see this and offer up more on this than I have.  My explanation is more of a conceptual understanding than a technical one and I may have missed some important considerations.

 kurtster wrote:

So when I click "Play" here on RP on my Windows PC, what player software is being used? As opposed to playing an RP stream through a separate program like VLC?

 JRRClocks wrote: 
That would depend entirely on the soundcard of your PC.  Should be better on a PC, but again, the soundcard matters as well as the playback software, such as foobar for example which is much better than Windows Media Player.

I know that the quality of my speakers or headphones matters, but is the fidelity of a particular music stream affected by the device I'm using? Will the fidelity of the FLAC stream, for example, be the same on my Windows PC as on my Android phone, or does one device reproduce it better than another?