Different Programs, Different Quality Playback...

[bcgood]

I've noticed this before but I thought I would finally share what I think is pretty important concerning audio quality on different software programs. When using three separate programs playing the exact same song, (WAV file of Babylon Sisters by Steely Dan) I hear a noticeable difference in sound quality. I notice the difference on my NHT monitors and on my Sennheiser headphones.

Here are the three programs I listened to the reference song on.

1. iTunes 7.0.2.16

2. Wavelab 4.0

3. Adobe Audition 2.0

Here's the things I wrote down while listening to the song carefully on the different software programs and my NHT monitors/Sennheiser headphones.

1. iTunes - Somewhat dull and thin.

2. Wavelab 4.0 - Clean, clear, present, full, detailed...

3. Adobe Audition 2.0 - The highs sound a little thin, overall a little dull and thin; like too little butter scraped over bread.

Those are my thoughts. What are your thoughts on this?

P.S. By the way all three programs where running on a PC running Windows XP. I don't have Pro Tools so I couldn't compare that.