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Master Index of Measurement Comparison Charts [Defunct]

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Comparison of Portable DAC/Headphone Amplifier Max Power (50Ω Balanced) Measurements

Number of Entries: 4
Date Updated: 23 August 2019
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Thank you very much for your statistics and finishing, for the convenience of everyone.
Faithful thanks, again.
 

M00ndancer

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Fantastic work!
 

Quizel

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Thanks for this. I feel like this sort of organization is missing on these forums.

I doubt you can do anything about it (because you might not have direct access to the data) but a graph like SINAD per $$ would be interesting to see. Or perhaps $$ per SINAD for fun to really show off how expensive things get. I'm a simple minded user. I don't know anything about many of those products on the list but at a quick glance using SINAD per $$ I can get purchase recommendations on a budget for further research.
 
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Thanks for this. I feel like this sort of organization is missing on these forums.

I doubt you can do anything about it (because you might not have direct access to the data) but a graph like SINAD per $$ would be interesting to see. Or perhaps $$ per SINAD for fun to really show off how expensive things get. I'm a simple minded user. I don't know anything about many of those products on the list but at a quick glance using SINAD per $$ I can get purchase recommendations on a budget for further research.
Ah, I wouldn't want to take it in that direction. I mostly look at the reviews like quick lessons or demonstrations. Tracking the reasoning when the finger is pointed at the DAC chip, the output stage, the power supply, the inadequate filter, and linking those to measured results, is really interesting.

I'm glad you found this thread useful overall, though.
 
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About the xDuoo, it's not really 'tube amplifier SINAD' but its DAC, without tube stage :)
Thanks Veri. I'll fix it soon.
 
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Comparison of Audio Analyzer Loopback SINAD Measurements

Number of Entries: 2
Date Updated: 7 September 2019
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Interference

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Would it be possible to have (some of) these data in a spreadsheet form, like a Google Drive document? I would be interested in the DAC SINAD chart, especially (thinking of making one to show correlation with price).
 
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Would it be possible to have (some of) these data in a spreadsheet form, like a Google Drive document? I would be interested in the DAC SINAD chart, especially (thinking of making one to show correlation with price).
Again, it's something I'd rather avoid. These charts are less a buyer's guide than a record of the measured hardware.

The best case SINAD figures for example are due to the various input/output configurations I've made an effort to list, but there are other problems or points of excellence a buyer wouldn't see unless they make an effort to read and understand the reviews and the ensuing discussions.

Ideally these charts would be interactive and hyperlinked to the original threads. Maybe that will happen at some point.
 

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Fantastic work on this. I agree that much more detail would require the information from the original review thread anyway. These numbers/graphs are just a snapshot on the larger analysis anyway, so they serve as a quick reference. It's not like someone willing to research their next product purchase to this level doesn't have enough time to dig a little deeper on the 3-4 products that are truly interesting based on the measurements. About the only missing data which might be of interest to some would be a chart showing the performance-per-dollar in a sense (or at least "engineering excellence per dollar").
 

Interference

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Fantastic work on this. I agree that much more detail would require the information from the original review thread anyway. These numbers/graphs are just a snapshot on the larger analysis anyway, so they serve as a quick reference. It's not like someone willing to research their next product purchase to this level doesn't have enough time to dig a little deeper on the 3-4 products that are truly interesting based on the measurements. About the only missing data which might be of interest to some would be a chart showing the performance-per-dollar in a sense (or at least "engineering excellence per dollar").

I agree that reading the review and understanding the bigger picture is important. A perf-per-dollar index could be potentially misleading as well, on the other hand this index is pretty hard to "digest" without any indication of the price tier. If you build a scatter plot SINAD vs price you get some idea on "where to look", but maybe it is still not a good idea to show this in public.
 
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These charts will also make their way off the site, which makes it pretty likely that they'll be viewed out of context as well.
 

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True. Viewing them on this site doesn't entirely preclude them being taken out of context either. ;)
 

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These charts will also make their way off the site, which makes it pretty likely that they'll be viewed out of context as well.

This is the most challenging aspect of this project.

There are really three things that matter to listeners:

1. Whether the resolution/SINAD is outside the range of human hearing;
2. Whether it is inaudible when the source material is played at reference levels; or
3. Whether it is likely to be audible when played below reference levels.

Everything else is, from a listener's perspective, irrelevant.

I raise this because there are many metres one may follow looking at this from a technical perspective. These have to do with a device's ability to exploit source material up to a certain level (16 bit, 24 bit etc). The problem with this approach is that one must explain where the practical limits lie, which highlights the futility of figures past a certain point outside the summation of all noise throughout the audio chain. (The SINAD of a DAC isn't something one should ignore, But it is more correctly considered within the context of the SINAD of other devices in the audio system.)

Albert Einstein once said that it is important to keep things simple... but not too simple. So the question is what a colour coded system serves.

If it helps to delineate performance for more in depth analysis/consideration, then so be it. If it becomes an info resource onto itself, then there's some risk to be managed. If it serves as a comparative tool to show practical performance differences between DACs, then some real health warnings must be applied.

So before getting too far ahead with this project, it might be helpful to define the objective that you're trying to achieve.
 

amirm

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Let's not have audio debates in this thread. We have made the decision to have summary graphs/tables and the topic at hand is how to best format them. I think the work so far has been beneficial given the safeguards we have had in place (e.g. separating SINAD into buckets).
 

YoloSwag

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Thanks for the works. This summary thread is very helpful.

Is price/performance charts available somehow?
 
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