“People are getting confused, believing bits are being manipulated by streaming services when in fact it’s the interaction between the music player software and their streaming hardware that's causing variable sound quality. ”
True, most of us have a solid grasp of what really causes variations in sound quality. Beyond playback interaction between software and hardware, it’s also important to consider the provenance and mastering of the recording itself. That alone can explain why the same track might sound better on one streaming service than another.
