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Am I correct in my understanding that the scientific evidence tells us unequivocally that there will be no audible difference between a hifi system that uses a Yamaha A-S3200 for amplification and one that uses a Yamaha A-S701 (using phono inputs)?

The perpetual debate about the “sound” of different amplifiers has echoes of the current Post Office scandal here in the UK. The sub-postmasters said that there were no cash shortages, only to be told that they were thieves because the computer said so. Here, thousands of people say they can...

Ironically there is a tendency, even on ASR, to accept a self-evident audiophile truth that more power is better and sounds better, without any empirical evidence. Hence the obsession with AVR preamp output and power amp advice.

Although it is a 7 channel avr, the Denon is great as a stereo amp, it just has far more features and flexibility than similarly priced 2 channel amps. Few of us use all of the features in an avr, but they basically come free compared with stereo amps (even the extra 5 amp channels come free!).

I still struggle to understand the objections to the Denon AVR-X2800. It has 95w into 2 channels, TI PCM5102A dacs, usb input, Audyssey MultEQ XT room correction, network streaming, Spotify, HEOS, Roon support, Air Play 2, the list goes on. However, if you want a silver box I guess it’s a...

The different dac won't make any difference to the sound and the Denon power supply has a higher wattage than the A-S701 (which doesn't have YPAO or usb input or streaming support). I'm not sure why you think the Denon won't last as long as the Yamaha.

The Denon will not "sound" any different, has essentially the same power, needs no external dac or streaming add ons and can manage subs and room correction as well. It's a no brainer. Stream or stick a usb in the front it'll play any file format, job done.

Why choose this over a Denon AVR-X2800H?

AVRs are much better value than stereo amps and provide more features and flexibility.

I have 2 pairs, both 4 years old now. I have no intention of ever changing them. They need subs because they roll off quite early.

ASR has distilled hi-fi down to any dac or amp that has the right features or power, with Revel or Kef speakers and SVS subs. Job done, nothing more to see here. Why do people keep posting?

I assume that double blind tests are also required because expectation bias can occur after room correction, for example, as much it can when getting electronics boxes which measure even “better”.

Your target curve should reflect your hearing and differences in left and right ears in order to hear what the musicians / engineers intended. It’s easy to do an audiology test to get a curve for each ear.

This thread is a fascinating exposition of bigotry and bear baiting. Measuring hi-fi is terribly first world, so why is ASR so toxic?

Sad.

There is an analogy to these tedious attacks (they can’t be called discussions) in the motorcycle world over the choice of engine oil. I just buy the cheapest oil that meets the required spec, others buy expensive branded oil with “race pedigree” or expensive packaging, or doubtful fuel economy...

I fell for the hype and bought a couple of top of the range Topping dacs that measured brilliantly without properly realising that cheap dacs would have sounded just the same. Ditto with Nord Hypex amps, when I could have just bought Yamaha A-S 501s. I guess you live and learn!

Testing dacs results in some measurements which can be ranked, but the link to the sound that comes out has not been established. The presumption is that two dacs measuring the same will sound identical, but this hasn’t been tested or proven.

Yes, you paid too much for a dac!

If all DACs sound the same, why keep testing them?