https://apnews.com/article/spotify-layoffs-music-streaming-890ac173ccfb7097a5fab9bcd0d34870
Spotify says it’s axing 17% of its global workforce in the music streaming service’s third round of layoffs this year.
well, i am an audiophile myself and i do think having lossless out of principle is pretty reasonable, even if you can't tell the difference. especially with how fast the internet has gotten, we don't need to compress anymore. and with serious sets of headphones (even with DT770 pros) i can definetely tell a difference between an internal DAC and a 20€ external DAC. the better the components, the more expensive the product (plus audiophile tax).
edit: i read up on it and it turns out a properly compressed file is basically indistiguishable from an uncompressed one. (emphasis on "properly") so you may have a point, but if the people want FLACs, why not let them have them? and if you spend little money on audio equipment, good for you if you like it that way, but people are allowed to spend money on stuff.
Yeah, I'm not against spending money on audio equipment, but the vast majority of that money should go towards good speakers and headphones rather than things that don't make a difference. Not because it bothers me, because who am I, but because people would get more out of their money that way.
I really respect your edit, by the way. Rock on. And the DAC thing we can just disagree on and still be friends. With even a moderately decent sample rate, the DACs job is trivial, and it really makes no difference. If you can hear a difference, it's because one of the DACs is either doing something more than being a DAC or is broken and polluting the output.