BitPerfect

You are absolutely correct that Bit Perfect or its competitors will make no difference if you're not invested in the machinery to accompany it. But for those who do have higher-end systems, it's important to give this program its due. So I want to offer some perspective from that standpoint.

I use a different bit perfect player for several reasons, but I have tried Bit Perfect, and it does work. Indeed, from what I've read, the developer created this because of the exceptional cost of so many competitors. (Compare $10 to Pure Music's $129 price tag.)

I'm pushing 60 and also have hearing degradation. I am not trying to disparage you, but it may be important to see an audiologist. I spent years with way-too-loud music that damaged my ability to hear higher frequencies, and hearing aids have made an exceptional difference in my quality of life.

And since music is so much a part of the quality of my life, I appreciate bit perfect players of any kind. I've had to learn to listen to music in an entirely different way. I now have to keep the volume levels low, so being able to squeeze exceptional sound out of my system is critical to me. Bit perfect quality is a major part of that.

I know that people have done all kinds of analyses, comparing file types, bit perfect vs. non-bit-perfect, etc. using wave form readouts and the like. Ultimately, the subjective experience is the only deciding factor. I'm a very picky listener, and for me, bit perfect quality simply sounds better.

The primary factor to be considered in whether one wants to go with bit perfect and high-end audio systems is summarized nicely in a quote I found (but can't attribute because I don't recall the source):

A music lover listens to music with his sound system.

An audiophile listens to his sound system with music.

Bit Perfect and the like depend on which camp you're in. Your review makes total sense for the first camp. I'm in the second and have to evaluate it as such.

I wish to add that, compared to my 96 kHz DAC, when I enable BitPerfect, I hear brighter, more clearly defined percussion, such as high hats, cymbals, snares, bells, as well as strings and other high frequency sounds. BitPerfect sounds more clear than using just my outboard DAC alone. Perhaps it's due to BitPerfect's sample rate conversion and/or all it's refinements. Seems like a better audio engine than iTunes and Mac. You can easily do listening comparisons yourself by disabling, then enabling BitPerfect on the same segment of music.

I'm now using "Hear." Great app! It takes some trial-and-error because there are so many options... but once you get it set up... EXCELLENT!

It claims to have a "bit perfect" output - think of it as a "pure direct" setting on an amplifier: no fiddling around with sound, as close to the recording as possible. So disabling everything which alters the sound is done by purpose. You will want this if you have decent speakers in an optimal setup. Hear is a complete different story; hundreds of filters and effects to change the audio to something which might sound better on your (limited) setup, but which has not to much in common with the original recording you are listening to.

True, but have you bothered to find out what iTunes settings need to be disabled or tweaked to ensure bit-perfect output? For that matter, spend 10 minutes looking into what benefits features like automatic sample rate adjustment, hog mode, and integer mode provide, and which pretty much any audiophile-grade player supports? If you're going to keep trolling all these apps, at least get informed or, if you have access to some secret knowledge the rest of us are lacking, back up your ridiculous claims with some evidence or explanation. Your first claim requires qualification, and your second claim is simply false. Go away and stop clogging up these pages with your nonsense.

What is iTunes' own "Sound Enhancer" feature for, then? (Preferences -> Playback)