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Dac’s that claim 24-bit/384kHz upsampling from all sources Real or Voodoo??? Bit Shifting?????

Jim B

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About a year ago I purchased the Cambridge Audio 851n that claims 24-bit/384kHz upsampling from all sources.

Quite frankly, when I threw the switch on my computer dac to the 24/192 mode, I really did hear an immediate noticeable difference.

But the new upsampling, bit shifting, etc. I don’t really hear any difference. Do you?

Same thing with DSD. DSD from great master tapes, Wonderful! But the new higher res DSD not really hearing a difference....
 

VintageFlanker

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Quite frankly, when I threw the switch on my computer dac to the 24/192 mode, I really did hear an immediate noticeable difference.
Honestly, that is quite worrying. You mean the DAC from your motherboard? Most software from Realtek, Asus, Creative or whatever add some DSP to make you believe there is a difference by Upsampling... And there is, because it completely ruins the fidelity of the track played.
But the new upsampling, bit shifting, etc. I don’t really hear any difference. Do you?

Same thing with DSD. DSD from great master tapes, Wonderful! But the new higher res DSD not really hearing a difference....
There is not supposed to be any difference between all of these... claims, nothing but non-sense marketing. When your source file is 16 bits/44.1Khz, it's 16bits/44.1khz. Upsampling it will not add some dynamic range, soundstage and I don't know what else, what wasn't been there in the first place. What you do risk however, is to alter the original signal in an undesirable way...
 

Gnasherrr

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Tbh I was doing a blind test of 16 bit vs 8bit and I was not hearing any difference what so ever. And it is consistent my test with Ethan winer's bit example. I was only able to tell when bit depth is dropped to 7bit or lower. Btw I did the listenings on a su8v2 with thx 789 and on an focal elex and Shure 846
 

BDWoody

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Tbh I was doing a blind test of 16 bit vs 8bit and I was not hearing any difference what so ever. And it is consistent my test with Ethan winer's bit example. I was only able to tell when bit depth is dropped to 7bit or lower. Btw I did the listenings on a su8v2 with thx 789 and on an focal elex and Shure 846

That's about right... Amazing how much we overestimate our ability to hear. Congratulations for actually testing yourself!
 

Gnasherrr

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