Whether something sounds better or worse will always be subjective so the only thing we have to assess is whether there is any kind of difference at all, potentially even one for the worse which is perceived out of habit as better.
With that said, doesnt it make perfect sense that a modern AVR with XT32 like a 4800 sounds much different than some ancient marantz with completely different amps/circuit/software? And that it makes no sense to explain how the DACs between the 2 make no difference?
It would make sense to me that there is audible difference just because of like everything else. XT32 by itself should make a huge impact already.
I also had a Cinema 70 with the old version of Audyssey (MultEq) - same as the other AVR. If there's a huge difference between MultEq and XT32, I did not hear it. I didn't like the sound from either especially music. One person compared XT and XT32 and couldn't detect differences except for the subs.
Yeah it's ancient but it's also got the same toroidal as the SR8015 and delivers more power into 2 channels (180 watts) and a pretty respectable 110 watts into 7. The DAC was top tier at the time and I believe it's superior to the 4800H's.
Isnt the main miscommunication here that we are trying to talk about DAC differences which are clearly inaudible, when theres no reason to talk about that?
Circling back to DACs - I am not sold that they are all equal yet. DACs don't just convert - they also handle timing and jitter, not just conversion so they are multi-purpose devices.
I listened to a recording of 4 center channel speakers from the same manufacturer and the difference was huge - very audible even on my desktop speakers. Just different generation speakers with similar tech, same model and the sound was noticeably different. Now if they had been EQ'ed to the same curve, it may have been harder to tell them apart. There were REW measurements at the end for each and they were clearly different.
I'm stating that so we understand that differences can be huge even when those speakers are from the same manufacturer with similar components and materials. Whether it was better or worse is a different story - the comments did not reach a consensus although I was drawn to 2 of them and biased as I own one
I listened to a recording of 4 DACs (Delta-Sigma) in the sub-$1,000 range and I couldn't hear a difference but the recording played across the song switching DACs as opposed to playing the same piece over and over and the recording itself is less clear than other recordings so I feel it was not conclusive that all Delta-Sigma DACs are created equal, for me at least.
I also listened to a recording of 3 R2R DAC recordings and there were audible differences with headphones - I had to listen but a very fast-paced set of drums resolved differently with each DAC to the point that I couldn't tell if it was the same part of the song because they were resolving with different tempo almost. So everyone would hear that but definitely not as obvious as the 4 center channel speaker comparo.
If you know of any clear recordings that show DACs being the same, please point me to them.
