• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Not going to buy on MassDrop unless measured first

DuxServit

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Apr 21, 2018
Messages
428
Likes
508
Folks,

So I’ve come to the point of creating my own new “Personal MassDrop Policy”: for measurable devices (e.g. DACs) I am going to delay (or simply decline) purchasing on MassDrop until I see some published measurements— such as from ASR.

Do you think this is reasonable?
 

garbulky

Major Contributor
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Messages
1,510
Likes
827
What do you hope these measurements will help you gain or help you figure out with your purchase decision? Is there a specific measurement that is audible to you that DACs nowadays fail? Or is it more safety information?
 
OP
DuxServit

DuxServit

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Apr 21, 2018
Messages
428
Likes
508
It’s primarily to:

(a) Reduce/filter the overwhelming number of new loft-cost audio devices being advertised through HF and MassDrop;

(b) Provide a sanity-check against herd-mentality praising the sound impressions of certain audio devices.
 

restorer-john

Grand Contributor
Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Messages
12,579
Likes
38,274
Location
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
I'm not interested in audio reproduction equipment purveyed on some 'group-think', 'flavor-of-the-month' site or sites where substance and technicality are thin on the ground.
 

Jinjuku

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Feb 28, 2016
Messages
1,278
Likes
1,180
What do you hope these measurements will help you gain or help you figure out with your purchase decision? Is there a specific measurement that is audible to you that DACs nowadays fail? Or is it more safety information?

What kind of filter is applied, if the unit is designed to reject noise, if the unit exhibits good linearity, if the unit has good channel balance, if the unit does a good job of jitter suppression.
 

Rod

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Messages
744
Likes
332
I went into audio big time about 10 years ago and left it disappointed by following "advice" of the forums at that time. This time I went with measurements and am not disappointed and am satisfied with what I have achieved. From a layman's viewpoint, I decided that if the manufacturer spent the time improving there specs. that measure well, then I can depend on there product to be well engineered and thought out even if I can't hear the slight improvements between dac a/b. Worked well this time around.
 
Last edited:

Rod

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Mar 24, 2018
Messages
744
Likes
332
Also those slight improvements year to year seem to have a cumulative effect over a decades time that I can hear, in the equip. that I can afford to buy. I never demod really expensive top end gear at the time so I cant answer for that market.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom