So…I’ve only had one harvest. This current run has been dragging out for a minute. So this answer is based on my years of dispensary purchasing and general philosophy I’m approaching growing with:
I don’t notice a difference attributable to growing method, and I have had stuff grown a variety of ways, though I do not always know specifically which is which, if that makes sense?
However, I’m someone for whom growing in soil is just not going to happen, for a variety of reasons, so I am committed and determined to get hydro working for me. And I think I’m getting closer to having my shit together.
For Me: The best weed is the weed that meets my needs, so it’s going to be hydro weed.
I see soil growers adding tons of things, guessing about top dressings, dealing with pests, etc. I’m not going to say I will never have to deal with pests, I am not that delusional, but I do know I’m extremely unlikely to open a bag of hydroton and get a cloud of gnats, y’know? With hydro, if they’re not happy? Dump it out and reset. My hydroton / flood and drain I think is part of what gives me some buffer time, vs people whose roots are in their reservoir.
I mixed up my most complicated reservoir yet yesterday, and it had 6 things in it (7 if you count ph down), and that includes the 3 parts of the base nutrients. And then I won’t add anything else to any of it until it’s time to do things to the reservoir. Is that ideal for everyone? Probably not! For me? Absolutely perfect.
Long-winded answer aside: I don’t know, I’m unlikely to know, and any difference in taste will be far down the list of priorities because logistically, growing in soil is just not a thing I anticipate doing.
My setup is more complicated than hydro needs to be. It can be really simple, so don’t let my nonsense put you off the idea in any way.
Coffin_Dodger's Continuous Chronicles of Cultivating Chaos is a great read if you are curious about RDWC, Organical's not really organic, (mis)adventure's in growing! has some good hempy bucket stuff happening (in addition to soil), Cr0barron's Rambunctious Rumpus Room has (if I’m understanding the setup correctly) a big DWC situation (y’all should check this one out, he’s got a nice step by step in how he cleans and sets things up). There are a lot of people here on OG doing great hydro stuff, that’s just a sampling of a couple styles.
Anyway, as always I am happy to answer any questions about my setup, apologies if you get WAY MORE response than you might have wanted. 