Depends both on the track and the hardware you use.

/edit
sometimes it's noticeable.

1. Thanks for the awesome reply. Not sure if GoG can request CDPR to release uncompressed lossless format for their customers?

2. I understand GoG version has no DRM which i can install the game anywhere without connecting to the internet. That is the sole reason i'm purchasing the GoG version. I would appreciate if they release a standalone patch solely for GoG customers only as that is purely the intention of the version, based on my interpretation. If the GoG version still requires me to be connected to internet for updates, then i would gladly buy the CE retail version instead. Appreciate if you could confirm this.

3. I don't like any of the 5 free title that i can choose 1 for my GoG version. Is it possible i can choose other title? Thanks

Many thanks.

Yes (with all the tracks I've tested anyway). In my experience, it's easiest heard when using hifi audio equipment and listening to the tracks in succession or while switching between them. The first thing I notice is that usually the bass sounds just sound different, but frankly I couldn't tell which one is which in most cases, they're just different. Sometimes the difference is clearer, and the instruments/sounds are easier to distinguish as sole components in the FLAC files.

I hear the program you use also affects which parts of the music the mp3 compression cuts out. Dunno if that's true, as I'd imagine they all use that same LAME (its name, not name calling) encoder thing or get sued to the max (this is "I guess" class information).

Anyway, it's a matter of taste/perversion if the slight difference in perceivable sound quality is worth the multiplication of the file size by a rational number greater than 2. I prefer FLAC myself and spend hours ripping a single cd to get those perfect, uncorrupted files.

There's also that thing that you can do whatever you want with the lossless files. You can burn a proper audio cd if that's what you fancy, or even compress it into those 320kbps mp3s. It adds to the 'tis mine, U no can tell me what to do sensation/experience.

Bah. Auto-updaters aren't DRM. Also they'll probably release patches as well seperate from the updater i'm guessing.

I also would like a loosless format for my tracks.

I don't understand the problem with auto updater, how's that even close to DRM?? You don't need the internet to play and it saves us time looking for the latest patches. But they should have seperate patches on the site so that people who don't have internet would be able download a patch at they're friends house and install it when they get home.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. I use iTunes set to highest quality mp3 with bit rate adjusted to 320kbps, on an ASUS gaming laptop, and rip from the CD. (Maybe not the best software, but the sound seems good and it organizes my library without being too intrusive, plus I need it anyway for my iPod). Perhaps I'll do a bit of reading about FLAC and perform a few test rips from my CD library to compare sound quality.

FLAC is ok for audiophiles and those who work with and notice miniscule differences in sound quality, and that's about it. To me, using up all that extra space on one's system to store uncompressed audio to get maybe a 2-5% sound quality boost(over 320 kbps MP3 or similar) isn't worth it......nor is buying those cables some buy which run in the hundreds which claim "better sound transfer" but which are in reality not much better than cheapo cables.

Just my two cents.

You could try Apple Lossless (ALAC) as well, which is readily supported by Itunes and the Ipod (FLAC works on most Ipods with custom firmware, and I think there's a plugin for Itunes, but ALAC is simply easier with those two).

If the game requires an internet connection in order to update, the whole "DRM free" thing kind of rings hollow. (Please, no smartass comments from anyone about needing an internet connection in order to download the patch in the first place, you know exactly what I'm talking about).

It is lossless. Anything lossless is superior to lossy compression. And the difference is most noticeable on properly mastered tracks, not the crap you hear on TV every day.

I guess if it allows you to play the game un-patched (unlike steam) then it is still DRM free. But this depends on whether you see having the non-patched version as not having the full game, or if you see the patched version as having more than the base game if that makes sense.

But I do agree that it would be good to have the patches as stand-alone downloads as well as the install being updated with the new patches.

If they don't want to release the patch as standalone for whatever reasons, they should at least update the GoG installer with the latest version (like they do with other GoG games), this way we would have the choice, either update the game using the launcher, or download a fully patched fully DRM-free version.

AFAIC, DRM only pertains to checks and measures put in place to limit who can use a game and when/where....including but not limited to things like online only play/limited activations/etc.

You can play the game unpatched anyways and as long as patching isn't mandatory to continue playing then it's not DRM.

For people whose gaming rigs (or whatever machine they want to play it on) are not connected to the internet, this is definitely not the most convenient solution. That doesn't apply to me, but I still think the concept "DRM free" includes the option to install patches without an internet connection. Telling someone "the DRM free game you bought will need to connect to our server in order to fix this game-breaking bug that the vanilla version contains" is not an option. If you advertise a game as DRM free, you go all the way. Otherwise, you should advertise the "very lenient DRM scheme" the game uses.