Answering the last bit, that is their bias, being insulted that I recommended the D30 back when they were praising the much worse implemented Schiit DACs.
Someone took a potshot at me
over on Head-Fi because I said I liked (and the measurements were good on) the Topping NX4:
“you got chased out of SBAF because they aren't so politically correct and don't pull any punches with computer geeks that are brand new to audio who think they know it all.”
Two things came up. One was that the Topping killed the dynamics of music because good sound was more than good measurements. The other was that you can’t be trusted because you warmed up a Schiit DAC. Admittedly, I would be irritated if it was my DAC and you didn’t ask first, but I digress from the key point regarding sound.
All: There are a lot of emotional or subjective agendas out there. However, there is no agenda or bias in a properly conducted ABX test. Here is how that works for audio:
“The ABX methodology requires device A and device B to be level-matched within +0.1 dB, after which you can listen to fully identified A and fully identified B for as long as you like. If you then think they sound different, you are asked to identify X, which may be either A or B (as determined by a double-blind randomization process). You are allowed to make an A/X or B/X comparison at any time, as many times as you like, to decide whether X=A or X=B. Since sheer guessing will yield the correct answer 50% of the time, a minimum of 12 trials is needed for statistical validity (16 is better, 20 better yet). There is no better way to determine scientifically whether you are just claiming to hear a difference or can actually hear one.”
See page 5 here.
Of course, if one system is highly distorted you will probably notice that, but this is a completely different issue from good (accurate) sound. Indeed, it is the inverse unless we reject the proposition that measurements reflect good (accurate) sound. Let’s not do that. This is Audio Science Review after all.
If you like a certain type of distortion you can easily create it by applying EQ or a filter on an accurate system.