Ones which have been measured and shown to perform much worse than other products. Much worse than other cheaper products. Which means this part of your post really isn't valid. just know they sound bad We know they have poor performance from measurements. Maybe not all of them, but a goodly number of their products. After learning that why would anyone give them the benefit of doubt even if they sometimes get it right?
1. just know they sound bad...it was soundArgument that said they sound bad without ever listening to any of them...not me.
2. why give them the benefit of doubt even if they sometimes get it right? Well...it's a long story but...I owned Sumo amps & preamps back in the day and liked their sound and value proposition. When I made the switch to headphones, I happened across Schiit and bought a Modi/Magni stack for $200. Sounded pretty good for that price and they held up well including daily use. That led to my Valhalla 2 / Bifrost purchase...sounds great to me with my high-impedance Senns & Beyers...btw!
You'll have to explain to me why you'd support a poorly performing piece of gear vs one that performs well. If it made no audible difference and was cheaper that would be one thing. If it has niceties and features not commonly found maybe that is something. But when it costs the same or more, performs worse, and is hair shirted in most cases, exactly at what point does a consumer say, "oh, they are bad mouthing that gear, that is the gear I want to own and no good reason not to get it". That frankly sounds retarded.
Retarded?...Well done! When in doubt this type of insult is a great discussion strategy.
So...first off, why does anybody have to explain to you (or others in this forum) why they make they buying decisions they do? Because they don't align with yours?
But since you
require it...here goes!
Because I like defying the odds I guess! As mentioned, in my earlier post, apparently I am the luckiest Schiit owner on the planet --- none of the Schiit products I've bought are poor sounding or unreliable...just like the ones I own from (iFi, Sony, Meridian, M-Audio, Fiio, etc.). Fortunately for me, my ownership luck not only continues, but I also had the good timing to make these purchases prior to the ASR reviews! Who knows, with all of the Schiit slinging, I may have been persuaded otherwise!
PS- in case you haven't noticed, the hear it with your own ears method isn't considered a reliable arbiter by most on this forum. Using that as some sort of criticism is not the devastating comeback you seem to think it is. Schiit gear has earned the opinion that until proven otherwise it likely is poorly designed.
Hmmm...thanks for the heads-up...
will try to be more observant! FWIW, I asked soundArgument about "
hear it with your own ears method" simply because he replied the way he did about the sound of Schiit DACs (i.e. sound like Schiit) without any first-hand listening experience. It's astonishing to me that people can claim knowledge about a sensory experience without partaking in the actual activity.
At no point have I advocated for
this methodology as the sole/primary way to evaluate equipment. If soundArgument would have asked a couple simple questions, s/he could have figured this out. Instead, s/he chose to bash an audio brand's sound with no personal listening experiences with their products (like many of the Beats haters on Head-Fi). Then he ducked out of the discussion with a weak deflection/insult regarding my reading abilities which was baseless.
That said, I'm of the opinion that very few of the DACs tested on this forum could be consistently differentiated in a DBT by any of its participants...which I've stated before on this forum. You won't see me buying an RME, Benchmark, Yggy, or a pick your $$$$ DAC.
This relative gear 'similarity', along with the arrogant posturing of some of this forum's members, is why it's so frustrating to those of us that have open minds regarding a balanced product evaluation/choice methodology. IMO, there is no significant, integrated linkage in the reviews on this site to measurements and how they relate sound signatures. Realistically, for much of the hardware tested, this may not be a viable ask compared to what Tyll accomplished with his combined headphone measurements and subjective reviews...especially given the minute differences in the gear.
TBH, some people on this forum seem to be Measurement Fanboys that like to denigrate others who don't agree with their viewpoints...very much the same as the Schiit Fanboys that they complain about on the other side of the coin.