Some recent posts at gearspace made me write this post.
I would like you to refer to this post from Paul Frindle (if you don't know him, look him up! He is – amongst many things – the engineer behind many iconic SSL analog mixing consoles and the legendary Oxford OXF-R3 digital mixing console). Please read the full post. Paul Frindle claims this:
In other terms, it would be a useful addition to DAC reviews to integrate phase measurements.
Paul Frindle is an absolute expert, well renewed and highly respected engineer, with decades of experience. I very much trust his experiments, and in the name of "perfect" audio fidelity, I think phase has to be taken into account.
I personally can make the difference between minimum phase and linear phase DA filters (although in AB testing and not ABX testing, but I'm pretty confident about what I'm hearing (I can hear above 20kHz, btw)).
Would this request be integrated for future DAC measurements?
I would like you to refer to this post from Paul Frindle (if you don't know him, look him up! He is – amongst many things – the engineer behind many iconic SSL analog mixing consoles and the legendary Oxford OXF-R3 digital mixing console). Please read the full post. Paul Frindle claims this:
My conclusion from doing loads of double blind A,B,X listening tests of input/output loop testing was that the preamble of the phase linear filter was entirely inaudible on anything I could listen to, including concocted signals to try and make it as bad as possible.
However as little as a 15deg relative phase lag at 15KHz was audible all the time.. :-(
So no - for a system that was supposed to be transparent under all conditions, we simply could not get away with an apodizing filter, or anything simpler than a full blown phase linear design.
Ok - to go back a full cycle to the original discussion:
Would I prefer and apodizing filter in a converter - over a linear phase one?
Most definitely not - because as a professional I want to hear what really comes out of my whole process when working :-(
In other terms, it would be a useful addition to DAC reviews to integrate phase measurements.
Paul Frindle is an absolute expert, well renewed and highly respected engineer, with decades of experience. I very much trust his experiments, and in the name of "perfect" audio fidelity, I think phase has to be taken into account.
I personally can make the difference between minimum phase and linear phase DA filters (although in AB testing and not ABX testing, but I'm pretty confident about what I'm hearing (I can hear above 20kHz, btw)).
Would this request be integrated for future DAC measurements?