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Best DACs of 2018
- Thread starter NorthSky
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Yet again the most expensive products win in the shootout. 
I'm not against subjective reviews but most of the writers on that site are know nothings with a talent for verbal diarrhea.
I know close to nothing but I'm happy to admit it and I can make out BS when I see it. Arranging components in price order. What critical listening talent!
Will any of these most likely half deaf people ever admit to not being able to hear a difference? That'll be the day!
They have to win, otherwise the whole stinking mess comes tumbling down.Yet again the most expensive products win in the shootout.
Thank God for Archimago , yourself and the enginerss who actually have some integrity .
Keith
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NorthSky
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Honestly, what should I make of what you just said if you aren't bringing any circumstantial evidence to corroborate your findings.
Without real substance no amount of scientific data would lead to concrete truth in the world of audio engineering.
Am I right?
Without real substance no amount of scientific data would lead to concrete truth in the world of audio engineering.
Am I right?
They are just confused about audio science Bob. They go into an evaluation with full knowledge of price and look/feel of the product. That in turn guarantees false outcome as our intuition tells us that lots more money must get something better in return. As a result they "hear" better fidelity and report it as such.
All they have to do is do an AB test without knowing which is which. An AB switch costs so little. Level matching is also relatively easy with programs like Roon that allow you to gang play multiple DACs with different volumes.
That said, those tube DACs may be modifying the sound in a pleasant way. If so, that needs to be pointed out.
The one subjectivist reviewer who does that is "Z." Check out his review of a couple of tube DACs (or is it amps?):
Warning: language is NOT work or family friendly.
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You said it...AB blind tests.
And nothing can take away audio preferences, the same with everything else in life...cars, homes, jewelry, watches, vinyls, compact discs, cassettes, tapes, aluminum, paper, gold, diamonds, steel, Bob Dylan, Brigitte Bardot...all that jazz.
The most accurate perfect face in art for a woman is only visible to true human art connoisseurs.
It has some scientific lines; the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the cheekbones, the hairline, the eyebrows, etc.
The perfect DAC that measures almost perfect, is not always the one audiophiles prefer to listen to; humans love euphoria...it's like sprinkles falling from the sky similar to slow-motion snowflakes. Music is like that, you can't argue, or you're lost in an ocean of tumultuous waves.
It's a natural phenomenon, a force of nature, an irreproducible science.
Life is a balance, and in that balance is the universe all around.
And nothing can take away audio preferences, the same with everything else in life...cars, homes, jewelry, watches, vinyls, compact discs, cassettes, tapes, aluminum, paper, gold, diamonds, steel, Bob Dylan, Brigitte Bardot...all that jazz.
The most accurate perfect face in art for a woman is only visible to true human art connoisseurs.
It has some scientific lines; the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the cheekbones, the hairline, the eyebrows, etc.
The perfect DAC that measures almost perfect, is not always the one audiophiles prefer to listen to; humans love euphoria...it's like sprinkles falling from the sky similar to slow-motion snowflakes. Music is like that, you can't argue, or you're lost in an ocean of tumultuous waves.
It's a natural phenomenon, a force of nature, an irreproducible science.
Life is a balance, and in that balance is the universe all around.
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I wonder if anyone matched levels at all?
That is not true Bob. Those opinions are formed again based on other factors than sound. Once we take those away, audiophiles will not be able to express such preference.
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- #33
Amir, that video reminds me of my electric guitar pedals. It's for creating the sound I want and like, in the moment, and perhaps even after.
Some perdals I prefer more than others @ the time when I look for a specific sound that suits my mood.
This is personal, it's private, nobody can tell wrong or right, I am right, and nothing is wrong.
If someone said it's wrong, I'm gone where there is peace, serenity, comfort, relaxation, no stress, happy life.
I don't know how else I could explain the simplicity of life in music listening. ...Without extreme prejudice.
Some perdals I prefer more than others @ the time when I look for a specific sound that suits my mood.
This is personal, it's private, nobody can tell wrong or right, I am right, and nothing is wrong.
If someone said it's wrong, I'm gone where there is peace, serenity, comfort, relaxation, no stress, happy life.
I don't know how else I could explain the simplicity of life in music listening. ...Without extreme prejudice.
There is a difference between you expressing an opinion, and someone creating a website, saying there is a shoot out, and then potentially mistreating one of the participants due to bias and improper testing:
How is this fair and proper to Border Patrol if it was shown that in blind test, such impressions went right out the window??? People writing for the public have a responsibility for fair and correct reporting. Daming that companies product when neither is in play, is not good. Not for consumers, not for our society at large.
Does anyone believe that a DAC can make that final transformation on how conducted that music??? That statement alone indicates improper evaluation of music and people who lack critical hearing to even correct explain differences heard.
How is this fair and proper to Border Patrol if it was shown that in blind test, such impressions went right out the window??? People writing for the public have a responsibility for fair and correct reporting. Daming that companies product when neither is in play, is not good. Not for consumers, not for our society at large.
Does anyone believe that a DAC can make that final transformation on how conducted that music??? That statement alone indicates improper evaluation of music and people who lack critical hearing to even correct explain differences heard.
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NorthSky
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If you can come up with universal proof I'm all ears and eyes. I know what's coming up next...trained listeners.
In normal life, that group is a small minority, most likely the happiest people on our planet.
If everyone would be happy, there wouldn't be DACs to talk about, but only music to enjoy with all our heart, soul, gear and medium.
It's a simple way to put it; some days are like dac; needed to expand our simple joy of life. /// To me anyway it certainly is, and I am 100% certain, that I am not alone. Proof in time and space? The two lovers in my mansion.
That is not what is coming next. What should come next is that these people at least once, let a friend switch between devices while they listen and match levels. It is not hard, and they need to experience this at least once. The proof you want will fall right out of that experiment.
I would do it for them but I don't have access to the same products. For the ones I do have, as I have reported, once levels are matched, differences disappear.
Ultimately the problem with what they state is that it is unreliable. Same products will get reviewed by other subjectivists with completely different outcomes. So there is no universal truth among them anyway to be durable in any regard.
To wit, here is a review of the losing DAC, the Border Patrol in that article: https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2017...usb-digital-to-analogue-converter-se-version/
How come the conductor did not get swapped in his listening? Where is the blurring? Confusion? Coloration??? How did it get an Editor's Choice if it is so flawed according to the other reviewers you post?
So let's not talk about "universal truth." Such subjective reviews have no truth in them. Nothing that can remotely be relied upon to be correct.
So it is not our world that invalidates what they say. It is theirs!
How come the conductor did not get swapped in his listening? Where is the blurring? Confusion? Coloration??? How did it get an Editor's Choice if it is so flawed according to the other reviewers you post?
So let's not talk about "universal truth." Such subjective reviews have no truth in them. Nothing that can remotely be relied upon to be correct.
So it is not our world that invalidates what they say. It is theirs!
Nope. Make the test blind and they will struggle to figure out which has these characteristics. I know, I do that kind of testing (sighted and blind) all the time. It is so easy to read into sound whatever you like. And it will feel "real." Problem is, science conclusively demonstrates that there is no truth there.
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