Which Operating System Sounds Best?

The answer to that is simple.  I have no clue.  What I do know is that I am running on-going head to head comparisons and this will be a list of my thoughts.  My current top 3 are as follows:

1. AP-Linux also known as Audiophile Linux
2. Windows 7 64 bit with Fidelizer 4.0
3. Windows 8

Windows 7-32 bit is my got standard these days.  It's great for daily use and provides decent audio.  There are also many choices for playback software. I've tried WinAmp, Music Bee, JRMC, Foobar, Jangle, Itunes and more than a dozen others.  I personally think this is all a matter of choice.  Many folks claim that Foobar is best, I cannot hear it as better than JRMC and JRMC is just plain easier for me to use and enjoy.  Jremote for my iphone is the best remote control app I've used.  From here on out if I am in Windows then I am using JRMC.

Windows 7-64bit should not sound different than 32 bit but for some reason I hear it as better.

While not operating systems both Jplay and Fidelizer are pieces of software which change the OS into a more audio focused setup.  I personally tried Jplay and didn't like it at all plus it's not cheap.  Fidelizer on the other hand is free and is easy to use, removes itself on reboot and I like the changes it makes.  Basically it stops non-audio processes.  Since it's free and easy to use, if you are running Windows then you should try it.

Windows 8 is hard to use for those of us used to XP or 7.  I won't go into my hatred of the changes here.  Does it sound better than Windows 7?  I was unable to hear a difference myself.

AP-Linux is a free distribution of Linux Mint that is supposedly tweaked for music.  I have not tried a regular version of Linux Mint to compare.  I will also state that I did not install AP-Linux, my review is strictly based on the Live version run from a USB stick.  While I'm a little confused as there are several choices included for music playback so I'm not sure which one is recommended.  I will say that I was unable to get Deadbeef or Audacious to work with my DAC.  Out of the other choices, VLC sounded the best and easily bested my Windows 7 & 8 trials.  I have no doubt that with a proper installation and one of these more hi-fi focused players, this solution is quite nice.  

Jaguar Audio Design or Jaguar as I call it is a free Linux based OS that is advertised as being better than all other Linux setups.  I have no idea because no amount of tweaking could get sound out of my DAC from it's live DVD.

Ubuntu is probably the most well known Linux based operating system.  It's easy to use and if marketed properly would give Windows and OSX a real threat.  Some argue that even a non-audio tweaked OS such as this will beat Windows.  It may but it does not beat Windows running Fidelizer.  Please note that I was using a Live USB stick and not a full installation but the same was done with APLinux and it sounds much better.

Lubuntu is a stripped down version of Ubuntu and some argue that it sounds even better than Ubuntu.  I was unable to reproduce this claim on my own system.  Again this was via USB Live.

Windows Server 2012 is next on my list to try.