AB Test head to head Topping D30 vs Modi Multibit. Wires are fun!

[Svperstar]

So with lockdown and working from home I need something to pass the time lol.

My Gilmore Lite Mk2 has two inputs and a switch which toggles between them.

I am running the Topping D10 as a transport it will output to its optical and Coax at the same time.
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So Laptop USB -> Topping D10 -> optical cable -> Topping D30 -> Gilmore Lite mk2
Topping D10 -> Coax cable -> Modi Multibit -> Gilmore Lite mk2

Then I flip the switch on the front of the Gilmore Lite mk2 while music is playing.

To my ears the D30 just sounds fuller. With crazy bassy songs the bass is fuller and has more slam on the D30(FLAC just Youtube for comparison):

Stuff with more dynamics the D30 just sounds cleaner:

The thing is tho these are small differences. The headphones I am wearing make a much bigger difference.

 

[Svperstar]

I promise you that you imagined everything

That is very possible.

 

[ReaderZ]

I promise you that you imagined everything. Any perceived hightened clarity, more bass “slam”, added depth to the soundstage or more air and sparkle between the instruments is simply a byproduct of psychoacoustics and sighted listening tests.

I’ve tried this test too, by the way. And I actually did my test blind AB. There are so many reasons why these tests are not reliable in a domestic situation, most notably because you probably aren’t a trained listener and wouldn’t be able to pick up variances in treble or bass if there even was variance. But also because sighted listening will literally trick your brain into hearing something that doesn’t exist. It’s like voodoo magic at times. The brain is a wonderful (and scary) thing. And if you consider it as part of the whole musical chain, it’s the most unreliable and poorly measuring musical instrument.

Not true, speaker or headphones are way worse as it’s been shown that people can easily tell the difference in blind tests.

 

[gpv]

Does anyone have a reference to the Soundavo hd-dac1?