I was a Debian Linux user then due to work I went back to Windows.

I recently got a spare PC and I put Linux (ubuntu 9.04)
on it and noticed my MP3s sounded better.

Hmmmmmmm,  I thought it must just be the sound card.

Then I decided to just switch my Main PC over
to Linux and use the spare as a windows box.

Well wouldn't you know it my MP3s now sound Better on my Main PC
running Linux and they don't sound as good on the Windows box.

It is not a huge difference but it it definitely noticeable.

If it's the same bitrate you're playing, I doubt it. Unless it's a defect in a soundcard driver.

Same song (same file) two different PCs and the same result.

When the PC has Linux loaded on it the song sounds better.

I can only think it is the Codec.

I'd have to say no.

Then again I use a ASIO or Kernel driver for playing back MP3s in Windows instead of crummy DirectSound. There is a notable difference.

I don't know how you guys can tell the difference. If you can, I believe you, and I'm gonna have to say its gotta be the codex codec. Edited - I must be in the MechWarrior universe or something.

MP3 format is pretty lossy.  It kinda sucks for quality if you're an audiophile.

Here's what I think is going down.

The primary mp3 codec used on linux is LAME (Lame Ain't an Mp3 Encoder), and has some optimizations that make playback quality a little bit better.

There was also a plugin for XMMS in the past that accomplished the same thing by post processing effects.

ETA:

I'll bet that if you install the LAME libraries on Windows and playback using the LAME codec, it will sound better.

Moar ETA:::::::

Check out ogg and flac.

To my untrained ear, ogg sounds better than mp3, but is a smaller file size.  Flac is lossless, so you don't lose any quality at all, but it keeps the file size down a bit too.  Of course if you guys have music players that don't support these formats, you won't be able to use them.

I can belive it, windows slowing things down.

Damned if that don't look like english.

But I didn't get a single word!

I got most of it, but I have no complaints with my high bitrate mp3's.

Let me try to break it down.

mp3 is a file format for music.  It was pretty popular because instead of having raw audio files that were huge, it compressed the audio data into about one megabyte per minute.  You could expect about 10-20 megabytes a minute with a raw audio format like what is found on CDs.  The one drawback as I've been told, is that the quality of the sound suffers some because of the compression.  Now the official mp3 software was developed by a private company, and isn't free.   When you rip a CD into mp3s, you are paying for it, but it's usually hidden in the cost of the operating system.

The GNU open source software community began a project to replicate the official mp3 software.  This project was LAME.  When you use LAME to encode audio into mp3s, they make perfectly legal and usable mp3s.  You can also use LAME to decode mp3s.  Why I think the OP's mp3s sound better to him when he's running linux is because when you use LAME to play the file back, it "fixes" the quality of mp3s.  Windows by standard, doesn't use LAME, but rather the official software to write and read mp3s.  LAME does work on Windows, but you have to install and configure it yourself.

Good replies, Thank you!

I screwed up my hearing working around aircraft in the
Navy but it amazes me what I hear and others don't
(I hear subtle sounds but cant hear in a crowded room)

I figured it had to be something with the Codec or decoding

The LAME explanation makes perfect sense.

––––

Now for the other point that must be purely psychological.

This is odd but whenever I'm on a Linux box I
feel "Free" and on a windows box I feel confined.

It is odd but even my physical body I'm more tense
running windows, but running Linux I feel relaxed.

Interesting. For me, its exactly the opposite. I enjoy using and tinkering with Linux, but I feel more... "at home" in Windows.

I always feel confined, in windows.

Need a new command in Linux, just write it

use winamp /thread

moc = the best media player evarrrrr

I don't notice any difference, and I dual boot so I switch back and forth often.