Need some help here , I'm just making sure I'm reading the charts correctly and and making the right deductions from the graphs.
I'm trying to figure out - on paper which has a better chance of being linear/transparent and true to the source ?
Comparing the specs to the Atom DAC II -
the El DAC does everything better in all other areas or equals the Atom other than THDD+N and the SINAD measurements.
Atom's
SINAD is at 112 and EL DAC is 106.. understood. This means that distortion and noise floor is a bit higher so the overall SINAD ratio is affected
Now how important is this compared to other factors like below :
- Dynamic range : Both of the DACs in comparison have similar dynamic range even thought the El DAC has a higher noise floor.
As per my understanding - the difference in decibels (dB) between the loudest undistorted signal the DAC can produce and the quietest sound it can reproduce above the level of its noise floor is the range. So this would make a difference to how well it sounds.
Since both have range of 19 bits , its a tie between the 2 DACs ? did I interpret this correctly ?
- IMD : EL DAC has a lesser IMD as compared to the Atom, there is a slight hump for the Atom.
Also when compared against a Topping DAC for reference purpose , the EL DAC is better , the graph shows less distortion for El DAC
I understand this may be inaudible but engineering wise the EL DAC is better in this aspect ?
- Jitter : Again the graph shows the EL DAC being very clean , EL DAC is better in this aspect
- Linearity : EL DAC is better based on the graphs
- DAC reconstruction filter : If I understood this right , this is the final reconstruction of the wave, the smoother the antialiasing of the small steps, the more accurate the final reconstruction of the wave, more closer to the original Analog signal ?
in this aspect the EL DAC does a better job than the Atom
Now based on all the above does the EL DAC seem like a better choice as compared to the Atom or should I go by the SINAD ranking if I'm looking for just accuracy and transparency ? Any inputs will be very appreciated.