• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Audio GD - bad rap in the past -new breed !!

Omar Cumming

Active Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
Messages
108
Likes
338
Location
New York
A DAC has one job and and one job only: to convert a digital signal to an analog one with utmost accuracy it is not there to sound "nice". Any distortion or noise detracts from its mission.

If a 10 dollar dongle can do it, it is beyond foolish to spend kilo dollars for something that can't do it.

Cheers

PS: RIP to Michael K. Williams the actor who portrayed my avatar
 
Last edited:

Grumpish

Active Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2021
Messages
148
Likes
143
take a minimum of 500 hours to get 95+% and another 500 hours to get that last few %

I think you lost most of the people on this particular forum with the 1000 hour burn in. A 10 minute warm up, maybe - at the most.

Having said that, I do still own an Audio-GD DAC (I cant remember exactly which one, it is so old that is has a Tenor USB chip that only goes to 44\16), I bought it cheap maybe eight or nine years ago from an online store that was going out of business. Built like a tank, the sound is a bit rough round the edges, but not that bad - it works better as a pure DAC than as a DAC\Headphone amp, and it does get used occasionally.
 

3125b

Major Contributor
Joined
May 18, 2020
Messages
1,352
Likes
2,204
Location
Germany
And then, of course, the performance is worse than a good smartphone.
Not even a good smartphone, pretty much any mediocre phone will beat the Audio-GD in terms of signal quality:
realme 7.jpg
Every smartphone or tablet (180€ realme 7 shown above), save for the very bottom of the barrel ones, I've measured so far did just about manage 16bits (96dB SINAD) at full output. Some a couple dB more, some a bit less, but never as bad as that 2500$ DAC.

Unfortunately their output voltage tends to be severely limited, that realme 7 ranks slightly above average I'd say.
 

Lupin

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Feb 11, 2021
Messages
574
Likes
958
first the USB (Amanero) is dodgy with Windows 10....it clearly needs drivers but I could not find any, and without them it works sometimes but randomly drops out.

Fair enough review.
However I just can't agree with the part I quoted above.
I tested my NFB-11.38 with various driver versions including the Microsoft provided generic UAC2 drivers. My unit works and is stable with the UAC2 drivers although you can select no options at all. Device configuration windows is empty and you can only select some odd bit and sample rates.

I don't understand how you can not find the Amanero drivers.
They're linked on the product page on the Audio-GD website and if you google "amanero usb" it is literately the first hit you get.
Finding, downloading and installing the drivers doesn't take more than 3 minutes.
 

SaberCat

Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2020
Messages
20
Likes
22
To me this is the audio equipment equivalent of a fake watch. It's clearly designed to be big and heavy and impressive looking to imitate audio gear which functions as a status symbol, but has none of the brand cache or desirability to go along with it.

The branding tries to imitate aspirational brands with hilarious slogans "Wisdom in mind, enthusiasm at heart"

It almost looks like high dollar equipment (Lamm, Kondo, McIntosh, MBL, whatever) but it's not as refined. Open it up, and it is indeed full of stuff.

And then, of course, the performance is worse than a good smartphone.
Yes I see your point, and agree to a point - however I dont think the vendor is a cynical purveyor of fake high end equipment, the cost of the devices is way too high for that. Unlike a Chinese fake Rolex the parts in an Audio-GD are largely excellent as far as I can see, its just that the design is very flawed.

So they sell something which is no less well built or specified in terms of component quality than a good hifi brand like Rega, or NAD or Denon or whatever (Ok the cap brand "Nover" are a little suss but I tested them all and ESR was very low and values were fine).....so profit margin won't be super high vs more established brands. I think this is just a small honest outfit but operating with a misguided design philosophy. There are lots of examples of hifi fakery, this is far from the worst lol.
 
D

Deleted member 36131

Guest
Measurements are great, they objectively tell us what we are really experiencing. By this we can assign true value to things as being high quality or low quality.

Imagine if we lived our lives this way in every regard?

Wife: Honey would you like to go to XX-Steak House tonight for dinner? I love the taste of their steaks and that salad dressing is great.
Husband: Well I took a spectrum analysis of their meat and its 10% less protein, 2% more fat and it has some properties that are well just off my charts. Let's go to YY-Steak House instead, their meat tests very well.

Friend A: Hey man I see you are hanging out with So-and-so a lately, you must like them a lot?
Friend B: Like is subjective, it has nothing to do with it, that persons objective measurements put them in the 90th percentile, they have x% body fat, has a 3.98gpa, and saves 51% of their earnings, this and other objective data shows they are an ideal mate.

Friend A: Hey I heard you went to XX-concert, this is the first time you went to a concert....wow did you enjoy it?
Friend B: I didn't actually listen, I recorded the concert and will run some measurements on the sound, if it comes back okay I'll have a listen.

:cool::D

If you want to live in an "Objective" world great...own it, live it, commit to it, don't straddle the fence. There is a word that describes someone who "acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings".....:rolleyes:
 

Veri

Master Contributor
Joined
Feb 6, 2018
Messages
9,596
Likes
12,036
Measurements are great, they objectively tell us what we are really experiencing. By this we can assign true value to things as being high quality or low quality.

Imagine if we lived our lives this way in every regard?

Wife: Honey would you like to go to XX-Steak House tonight for dinner? I love the taste of their steaks and that salad dressing is great.
Husband: Well I took a spectrum analysis of their meat and its 10% less protein, 2% more fat and it has some properties that are well just off my charts. Let's go to YY-Steak House instead, their meat tests very well.

Friend A: Hey man I see you are hanging out with So-and-so a lately, you must like them a lot?
Friend B: Like is subjective, it has nothing to do with it, that persons objective measurements put them in the 90th percentile, they have x% body fat, has a 3.98gpa, and saves 51% of their earnings, this and other objective data shows they are an ideal mate.

Friend A: Hey I heard you went to XX-concert, this is the first time you went to a concert....wow did you enjoy it?
Friend B: I didn't actually listen, I recorded the concert and will run some measurements on the sound, if it comes back okay I'll have a listen.

:cool::D

If you want to live in an "Objective" world great...own it, live it, commit to it, don't straddle the fence. There is a word that describes someone who "acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings".....:rolleyes:
While it is understandable that you find it hard to think in a '100% objective' oriented way, the painful thing is, at least on the audio side, a lot of why people like or prefer something is because of (expectation) bias, pretty aesthetics or new toy syndrome, so many here have had to admit the sound difference between a cheap well functioning box and an expensive, Hi-Fi recommended one tends to be nihil if the proper care was done to hold proper controlled tests.

If you want to like or prefer something for whatever reason be my guest, but this is not the forum to pander that conviction to others without anything to properly substantiate and back your beliefs. Otherwise it is just that. A belief.
 
D

Deleted member 36131

Guest
While it is understandable that you find it hard to think in a '100% objective' oriented way, the painful thing is, at least on the audio side, a lot of why people like or prefer something is because of (expectation) bias, pretty aesthetics or new toy syndrome, so many here have had to admit the sound difference between a cheap well functioning box and an expensive, Hi-Fi recommended one tends to be nihil if the proper care was done to hold proper controlled tests.

If you want to like or prefer something for whatever reason be my guest, but this is not the forum to pander that conviction to others without anything to properly substantiate and back your beliefs. Otherwise it is just that. A belief.

"people like or prefer something is because of (expectation) bias, pretty aesthetics or new toy syndrome"...I agree 100%

Everyone has their own reason to enjoy this-or-that, what ever it is, its a valid reason. Personally I value both the objective and the subjective, I find it gives me a well-rounded POV of things.

PS....its all in fun.

Lets retrofit this into the conversation between the Wife and Husband concerning going out to eat.

Wife: Honey would you like to go to XX-Steak House tonight for dinner? I love the taste of their steaks and that salad dressing is great.
Husband: Well I took a spectrum analysis of their meat and its 10% less protein, 2% more fat and it has some properties that are well just off my charts. Let's go to YY-Steak House instead, their meat tests very well.

Continued...
Wife: I just want to go out to XX-Steak House, I really do like their salad dressing and I don't care about what percentage of protein my steak has...
Husband: While it is understandable that you find it hard to think in a '100% objective' oriented way, the painful thing is, at least on the "Food" side, a lot of why people like or prefer something is because of (expectation) bias, pretty aesthetics or new "Restaurant" syndrome, so many here have had to admit the "Taste" difference between a cheap "Steak" and an expensive, "Restaurant-Magazine" recommended one tends to be nihil if the proper care was done to hold proper controlled tests.
Wife: I want a Divorce!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
D

Deleted member 36131

Guest
As I was returning home from my morning run while listening to Burning Spear I briefly thought to myself....I wonder how these IEM's test? The thought quickly faded when Burning Spear asked...."Are you feelin Irie??!!"....I thought YES!! I"M FEELING IRIE!!!!. In that moment I really didn't give a crap about measurements....:D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
D

Deleted member 36131

Guest
If you want to like or prefer something for whatever reason be my guest, but this is not the forum to pander that conviction to others without anything to properly substantiate and back your beliefs. Otherwise it is just that. A belief.

Are you sure?

Sign at the door says....."be ready to be teased and not take online life too seriously".

Bravo to Amir et.al for creating a forum which embraces the duality of life 'objective' measurements and 'subjective' fun.

asr.png
 

BlackTalon

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Apr 14, 2021
Messages
586
Likes
898
Location
DC
If Steakhouse A and and B both have equivalent aged bone-in ribeye steaks (components), and Steakhouse B cooks it a little better more consistently (measured performance), and the dish is $55, while Steakhouse A has fancy curtains and carpeting, but sells a the less consistent steak for $110 (cost), I am typically going to go to Steakhouse B.
 

617

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
2,403
Likes
5,296
Location
Somerville, MA
Subjectively the audio gd stuff looks like cheap crap. It's designed to look expensive. It doesn't quite pull it off. It's for people who can't afford the real thing.

I fully support people who want a cool looking stereo system. We've discussed this at length on ASR. People have very interesting and unique tastes as to what they think the most beautiful hifi equipment is. Technics SP10? Lamm amps? dartzheel? Dynaudio? Thorens? MBL?

I'm a designer by trade. I don't like fake stuff because I don't like fake people, and because fake stuff ends up in a landfill. Beautiful hifi equipment lasts forever. An audio gd dac with knockoff caps and poor grounding will not.
 
D

Deleted member 36131

Guest
Subjectively the audio gd stuff looks like cheap crap. It's designed to look expensive. It doesn't quite pull it off. It's for people who can't afford the real thing.

I fully support people who want a cool looking stereo system. We've discussed this at length on ASR. People have very interesting and unique tastes as to what they think the most beautiful hifi equipment is. Technics SP10? Lamm amps? dartzheel? Dynaudio? Thorens? MBL?

I'm a designer by trade. I don't like fake stuff because I don't like fake people, and because fake stuff ends up in a landfill. Beautiful hifi equipment lasts forever. An audio gd dac with knockoff caps and poor grounding will not.

"I don't like fake stuff because I don't like fake people,".....interesting correlation

"An audio gd dac with knockoff caps...".....are the caps fake???

What is it that you design, may I ask?
 

tmtomh

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
2,635
Likes
7,486
Measurements are great, they objectively tell us what we are really experiencing. By this we can assign true value to things as being high quality or low quality.

Imagine if we lived our lives this way in every regard?

Wife: Honey would you like to go to XX-Steak House tonight for dinner? I love the taste of their steaks and that salad dressing is great.
Husband: Well I took a spectrum analysis of their meat and its 10% less protein, 2% more fat and it has some properties that are well just off my charts. Let's go to YY-Steak House instead, their meat tests very well.

Friend A: Hey man I see you are hanging out with So-and-so a lately, you must like them a lot?
Friend B: Like is subjective, it has nothing to do with it, that persons objective measurements put them in the 90th percentile, they have x% body fat, has a 3.98gpa, and saves 51% of their earnings, this and other objective data shows they are an ideal mate.

Friend A: Hey I heard you went to XX-concert, this is the first time you went to a concert....wow did you enjoy it?
Friend B: I didn't actually listen, I recorded the concert and will run some measurements on the sound, if it comes back okay I'll have a listen.

:cool::D

If you want to live in an "Objective" world great...own it, live it, commit to it, don't straddle the fence. There is a word that describes someone who "acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings".....:rolleyes:

This is dumb. You are intentionally (at least I hope it's intentional) trying to make analogies between things and situations that are unlike each other (need it be said that liking another person is intrinsically not an objective thing?). Even if one were inclined to try to take your analogies seriously (which I am not and no one else should), you are intentionally (again, I hope intentionally) giving your straw-horse objectivists a laughably incomplete understanding of the criteria one would use to test various things in the world.

If one really wanted to create a proper analogy to liking someone, it would be something like, Friend A: "I like So-and-so a lot because he gives a major portion of his income to charity, and he mentors kids on the weekends." Friend B: "That's not true - So-and-so hardly donates anything to charity and I know for a fact he doesn't mentor kids."

Friend A would still be free to like So-and-so and want to hang out with So-and-so - but if the reasons given for liking So-and-so, based on So-and-so's claims about what they do, turn out to be false, then they're false, period.
 
Last edited:

Grumpish

Active Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2021
Messages
148
Likes
143
Subjectively the audio gd stuff looks like cheap crap. It's designed to look expensive. It doesn't quite pull it off. It's for people who can't afford the real thing.

I fully support people who want a cool looking stereo system. We've discussed this at length on ASR. People have very interesting and unique tastes as to what they think the most beautiful hifi equipment is. Technics SP10? Lamm amps? dartzheel? Dynaudio? Thorens? MBL?

I'm a designer by trade. I don't like fake stuff because I don't like fake people, and because fake stuff ends up in a landfill. Beautiful hifi equipment lasts forever. An audio gd dac with knockoff caps and poor grounding will not.

I only have one fairly old Audio-GD DAC\Headamp to go on, but it is solidly built, and does not appear to have knock off components - I have seen enterprise level computer equipment from first tier manufacturers in much worse condition after much less time (I have had to swop out more than few motherboards and PSUs, on servers and desktops, because capacitors have started to blow).
 
D

Deleted member 36131

Guest
This is dumb. You are intentionally (at least I hope it's intentional) trying to make analogies between things and situations that are unlike each other (need it be said that liking another person is intrinsically not an objective thing?). Even if one were inclined to try to take your analogies seriously (which I am not and no one else should), you are intentionally (again, I hope intentionally) giving your straw-horse objectivists a laughably incomplete understanding of the criteria one would use to test various things in the world.

If one really wanted to create a proper analogy to liking someone, it would be something like, Friend A: "I like So-and-so a lot because he gives a major portion of his income to charity, and he mentors kids on the weekends." Friend B: "That's not true - So-and-so hardly donates anything to charity and I know for a fact he doesn't mentor kids."

Friend A would still be free to like So-and-so and want to hang out with So-and-so - but if the reasons given for liking So-and-so, based on So-and-so's claims about what they do, turn out to be false, then they're false, period.

Sorry I don't understand what you are trying to say....could you summarize?
 

tmtomh

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
2,635
Likes
7,486
Sorry I don't understand what you are trying to say....could you summarize?

You absolutely understand what I am saying, but here you go:

1. Friend preferences and steak preferences are not comparable to audio component performance.

2. Anyone can like any equipment they want. If the vendor makes claims that are patently untrue, however, that's meaningful and it's useful to know that and point it out.

3. Your positioning of yourself as a reasonable person who appreciates both subjective and objective approaches is based on a dumb straw-manning of the objectivist ethos of this forum.
 
D

Deleted member 36131

Guest
You absolutely understand what I am saying, but here you go:

1. Friend preferences and steak preferences are not comparable to audio component performance.

2. Anyone can like any equipment they want. If the vendor makes claims that are patently untrue, however, that's meaningful and it's useful to know that and point it out.

3. Your positioning of yourself as a reasonable person who appreciates both subjective and objective approaches is based on a dumb straw-manning of the objectivist ethos of this forum.

Interesting....

Are these your thoughts? I really enjoyed reading your post...I like how you used numbers.:D

Thank you for sharing.
 

tmtomh

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
2,635
Likes
7,486
Interesting....

Are these your thoughts? I really enjoyed reading your post...I like how you used numbers.:D

Thank you for sharing.

Keep not engaging with the substance. It's working out really well for you so far.
 

617

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
2,403
Likes
5,296
Location
Somerville, MA
"I don't like fake stuff because I don't like fake people,".....interesting correlation

"An audio gd dac with knockoff caps...".....are the caps fake???

What is it that you design, may I ask?
Architectural designer with experience in high end retail or office interiors and historical restoration. Fake materials are an epidemic in the former, and scorned in the latter.
 
Top Bottom