Perceived SQ differences playing local files

[the_bertrum]

Files are read from storage and transferred to host memory buffers using bulk data transfer protocols and thus with data integrity. The buffers are then read and transmitted to the audio device over USB or I2S connections using either Isochronous Transfer Mode or I2S serial transfer and thus with best effort delivery and no error correction or retransmission.

Streaming media protocols are a bit different and are designed for low overhead data transmission between hosts over a network connection. Small amounts of packet loss, packet sequence errors and and data corruption are expected and can to a degree be compensated for using various methods. Typically Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) is used over a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) transport. UDP doesn't provide any error correction or retransmission but RTP does provide some amount of data integrity, timing and delivery handling.

moOde's Multiroom Audio feature is based on an RTP/UDP stack.

Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_...t_Protocol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Datagram_Protocol

'Tis as I thought, files are files until they are streamed, and in my day to day use case that streaming is between memory and the DAC.  I shall continue to temper my experiments with that knowledge.