William, welcome, but you put your question into a thread where it was probably least likely to be noticed by our members who have major experience in such matters. A new thread in Technical Questions may have yielded a different response.

As to "accepting that there is a difference?", that isn't generally the way we operate, especially in an area so clearly defined as not being audibly different as ripping to FLAC. Your listed equipment appears to be excellent and no "weak link" appears to be present.

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Enjoy the music, not the equipment.