I asked to point out WHY audiophiles buy these expensive items that make no audible differences.
I think this makes sense but I think it would also be fair to point out the credibility comes from the brand's (deserved) reputation and not the cost per se.
Audiophiles don't know these measurement brands (until they are exposed to it) so price is what I use to "speak their language." To the extent they think cost = performance, then they have no choice but to believe the same for instrumentation!
It depends on what “Community” one seeks credibility. Amir is focused on the Scientific Community and not the Audiophile community. One is factual and can be verified while the other is not and can not.
I am guilty of this majorly. I was a subjective believer for decades before I studied electronics theory and got a education. I was emotional about my gear and if I saw gear with aesthetics that I desired I would buy that and not even care about sound. Some of my gear hissed like an anaconda... Sigh*
Which opinion? I made two comments. The first, that the quality control of some of these cheaper dacs is very poor. There is plenty of evidence on this and other sites that that is the case.
I don't agree with everything you said but you said it so well I gave you a like... LoL.
Batman is a Rolex GMT where the bezel is black and blue, AD = authorized dealer. The video the person posted is a Rolex Batman GMT.
There is zero evidence of this. Not remotely so. There has been some headphone amplifiers and power amps with issues but not DACs. Stuff breaks in electronics. I have had my US made DACs and expensive amplifiers break.
That is not quite correct. While you are correct in saying that there are more issues with power amps etc, there have also been issues with dacs. There are complaints even on this site - I suggest you look further. There ar quite a lot of complaints on other sites. Again, whether you think these are legitimate or not is another question; in my case I was not prepared to take the risk. Incidentally, I certainly do not believe that the more expensive a product is the better it is. There have been a number of expensive lemons, but you often do get what you pay for.
Basically they are observing the power of the populace to form markets and determine policy and company mission statements.
I have 9 years experience selling quality home audio gear and then another 15 years servicing it at the component level specializing in mechatronics as a warranty service specialist. I have seen a lot of nice home audio and high end car audio gear. I have seen many examples of gear with a few sprinkles of sheet metal technology like honeycomb chassis forming or vapor pipe cooling and even fancy beautiful front panels and chassis but not better electronics than something in a lower price bracket. One can't blanket cover the concept that more moola equals more quality because most times you need to give away something to get something.
I suggest be suspect of everything unless known or proven otherwise.I'm curious is there any DACs or AMPs that go up in value in price? Not to bring up watches again, but my end game watch was the Midnight Planetarium by Van Cleef & Arpels (LINK for those that are interested) and it was around $40,000 to $50,000 when I saw it 10 years ago. Now I presently see the price is over $250,000.
I doubt it. Certainly some vintage turntables sell for more these days than they did when they were first released, but that is another story.
Only the original Marantz Model 9 as far as I know along with original Western Electric amps.
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If someone in later life wants to buy a DAC or AMP they could not afford when they were younger ,then they will pay whatever it costs to satisfy said itch.
