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Measurement of R2R DAC

JJB70

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I find it amusing that the linked article criticises Philips and Sony for setting the digital bar too low with 44.1, 16 bit. My own view is that from an audio industry perspective they probably did their job far too well by setting the bar as high as it needed to be and making further number games pointless in the real world of just enjoying music. Not that it stops the industry trying to convince the world it needs high res.
 

BDWoody

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Julf

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But the fact the the THD+D or the OVB etc are not as good as in some high end delta-sigma DAC, doesnt mean that overall they will sound better. to really understand the sound produce by an r-2r, there are other factor to be consider. like how much data from the original recording you actually hear? what manipulation was or wasn't made to the sound etc. every technology comes with its goods and bads. what i m saying is when you put the good vs the bad you may find the good out-wait the bad dramatically,
cheers

So yes, R2R DACs have worse objective performance than delta-sigma, and yes, some people subjectively prefer distortion, noise and coloration. That personal preference doesn't make it "better" in any sort of universal way. There are people who prefer the sound of 8-track, boom boxes and AM radio.
 

fabien32

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Do you put a lot of faith in subjective reviews? Most here don't... Check out the TotalDac review and discussion for a couple hours of entertainment...
If you had opened the link you would have seen that it wasn't a review, but a very interesting article about the two different technologies
 

fabien32

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No thanks, Positive Feedback is one of the most vendor compromised audio hi-fi site.
well i don't think its the case , in fact i think it is the opposite for this reading. i personally don't judge a product by its brand, but by its merit,same for everything, as well as this amazing article. but we all have the right to be wrong, cheers
 

BDWoody

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If you had opened the link you would have seen that it wasn't a review, but a very interesting article about the two different technologies

I did open it, and read it. Do you not recognize that there were a lot of subjective conclusions made?
 

Julf

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If you had opened the link you would have seen that it wasn't a review, but a very interesting article about the two different technologies

It is "interesting" only if you really care about some random subjective personal perceptions and beliefs.
 

Julf

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well i don't think its the case , in fact i think it is the opposite for this reading. i personally don't judge a product by its brand, but by its merit,same for everything, as well as this amazing article. but we all have the right to be wrong, cheers

Do you judge the merit of a product by the subjective perceptions of someone paid to promote`What is "amazing" about that article?
 

fabien32

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So yes, R2R DACs have worse objective performance than delta-sigma

well i wouldn't say that. every tech has goods and bads, R2R defenitlly as some good worth been tested before rejected with prejudice
 

BDWoody

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well i don't think its the case , in fact i think it is the opposite for this reading. i personally don't judge a product by its brand, but by its merit,same for everything, as well as this amazing article. but we all have the right to be wrong, cheers

It's more of a story...but if you enjoyed then he achieved his purpose.
 

Julf

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well i wouldn't say that. every tech has goods and bads, R2R defenitlly as some good worth been tested before rejected with prejudice

Please point me to a R2R DAC that measures as well or better than your average delta-sigma one.
 

BDWoody

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well i wouldn't say that. every tech has goods and bads, R2R defenitlly as some good worth been tested before rejected with prejudice

You don't have to say it... The measurements speak for themselves...
 

fabien32

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Do you judge the merit of a product by the subjective perceptions of someone paid to promote`What is "amazing" about that article?
The problem i have with your logic is, the article isn't trying to the promote anything, so who's paying for it?!
 

Julf

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The problem i have with your logic is, the article isn't trying to the promote anything, so who's paying for it?!

It is promoting/defending R2R DACs, and a certain "audiophile" belief system.
 

fabien32

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You don't have to say it... The measurements speak for themselves...
sorry but the most important text off all is the hearing test, and many audiophiles prefer r2r over sigma. secondly if you red the article you'd sse that the math is there. if you disagree, just disprove it.
 

fabien32

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It is promoting/defending R2R DACs, and a certain "audiophile" belief system.
doesn't make sense to me. to tell you the truth, i have both technologies and i prefer sigma delta over r2r, but, when i listen to r2r i hear it that it sounds more real, and i like it, i just prefer sigma overall sound more, my wife for example prefer r2r. and i don't think shes trying to promote anything (i hope)
 

Julf

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sorry but the most important text off all is the hearing test, and many audiophiles prefer r2r over sigma. secondly if you red the article you'd sse that the math is there. if you disagree, just disprove it.

I think you are in the wrong forum. This is Audio Science Review. Yes, the most important test is listening, but you have to make sure the only factor influencing the result is the actual difference, not your preconceived notions, confirmation bias and beliefs. Thus it has to be a controlled, level-matched double-blind test. I did read the article, and nowhere in it is there any math that supports your claims. It does have a bunch of factual errors - let me point out just one:
Ladder (or R-2R) ADCs and DACs originally came out of the NASA and aerospace missile-telemetry world; Thomas Stockham re-purposed a rack-sized converter from Honeywell for the first-generation "SoundStream" 50/16 system in the Seventies.

No, Ladder (or R-2R) ADCs and DACs originally came out of the NASA and aerospace missile-telemetry world. They came out of work done at Bell Labs on telephone systems back in the 1930's. Remember Claude Shannon?

R2R ladder DAC are very simple in design (I designed and built my first one in 1975 or so), but they have been superseded long ago with better designs for a good reason.
 

BDWoody

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doesn't make sense to me. to tell you the truth, i have both technologies and i prefer sigma delta over r2r, but, when i listen to r2r i hear it that it sounds more real, and i like it, i just prefer sigma overall sound more, my wife for example prefer r2r. and i don't think shes trying to promote anything (i hope)

Oh no...you didn't pull out the 'even my wife prefers' card did you?

Uncontrolled listening tests are notoriously unreliable... Short of level matched unsighted testing, it is all worthless.
 
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