Sound quality difference between players (e.g Roon, Foobar, Music app)

Curious…
Assuming we use the same file (say a Flac track) and the same equipment (e.g. a good pair of headphones + dac), is it reasonable to expect some sound quality difference between players?
I am unable to perform ABX testing that way but I find that a set of AIFF (lossless) tracks sounds different depending on the player I use to listen to them on my PC. Roon and Foobar sound the best to me (no difference) while the Apple Music app seems to reduce the liveliness somewhat. Psychological bias perhaps or is there any basis to explain the sound quality difference I perceive?
Cheers

Hehehe let the games begin. :nerd_face: let’s see how long before someone uses the M word (acronym)

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Love (and miss) Jon Stewart :slight_smile:

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The biggest difference I personally find between roon and the other players is low rez not high rez.

Live radio on a www.radiotunes.com MP3 320 stream sounds really good on roon compared with the native app. I have a vague memory that roon was optimized for lower rez streams but I cannot remember the reference.

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