My teacher always told me, stupid question don't exist !?
So let's go,
Why is there so much different in the measurements comparing two brands of AVR with almost exactly the same components and building ?!
I mean, I read and see the Denon AVR is one of the best comparing to a lot of other brands. But most of the time inside are exactly the same DAC's. Gives the way they build it so much difference in SINAD ??
I am searching for a decent surround pre processor for a normal price. I know the DAC's are terrible inside most of the AVR's but I simply love the high-end Recordings in DTS-Master surround. And I have a lot of them on Blu-ray
For stereo and streaming I bought the smsl su-9 and really this dac is amazing. Thanks to this forum
I also miss Rotel on this forum, rsp-1570-1572,1576 looks really good to me
Denon and Marantz AVRs do use the same DAC ICs, the flagship models have the AK4490, then changed to the ES9010K2M due to the shortage after the AKM fire.
Yamaha flagships have the ES9026Pro and the midrange models have the ES9007 (same specs as the ES9006)
Onkyo, many do have the same AK4458 as Denon's and probably the AK4490 for the flagships.
Anthem, Arcam, NAD - recent models may have the AK4458 (again AK4490 for the top models) too but likely switched to something else such as the ES9010K2M after the AKM factory fire.
DAC is not the only IC, there are the important volume control chip that is the core of the preamp, and then at least one, two, or more opamp ICs in the preamp/dac signal paths.
So your assumption that "two brands of AVR with almost exactly the same components..." is not true, except for the Denon vs Marantz scenario.
And then, as others mentioned implementation could be very different between brands, though in my opinion it is not the main reasons for the difference in measured SINAD Relatively large scale AVR/AVP manufacturers such as Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Sony, NAD etc., have the engineering resource who should be familiar with the best practice in implementation of DACs. DAC chips manufacturers such as TI typically support their customers well on that matter too. It is not rocket science.
Chances are those who are willing to use the better DAC ICs such as the AK4458, 4490, ES9026 pro, PCM1795, DSD1795, volume control ICs and Opamp ICs would have no reason to not follow the best practice or manufacturers recommendations. So again, I agree implementation of the DACs could be a factor, but likely not the main reasons for the difference, parts and components, and wiring practice (physical layout, shielding, grounding etc.) likely account for the main reasons.