Bob from Florida
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- Aug 20, 2020
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Subjective = Personal preference due to bias. The bias could be based on sight, reviews, cost, hearing ability, convinced by a friend, etc.
Objective = measured performance verified by independent measurements.
The real question in my mind is where better measurements make any difference to listening. I have a $200 piece of Schiit - Modius. Will spending 4 times the money on the better measuring Topping top of the line DAC make an audible difference? Chasing ultimate measured gear does make you somewhat of a gear-head.
One thing vinyl has going for it is improving the turntable-tonearm-cartridge-phono preamp chain does make a noticeable difference in playback. It may not be equal measurement wise to digital but at least if you are upgrading you can hear a difference. I suspect this is because the better vinyl playback approaches our hearing limits. Once you exceed that limit we are likely in Subjective territory where we convince ourselves of a difference.
Objective = measured performance verified by independent measurements.
The real question in my mind is where better measurements make any difference to listening. I have a $200 piece of Schiit - Modius. Will spending 4 times the money on the better measuring Topping top of the line DAC make an audible difference? Chasing ultimate measured gear does make you somewhat of a gear-head.
One thing vinyl has going for it is improving the turntable-tonearm-cartridge-phono preamp chain does make a noticeable difference in playback. It may not be equal measurement wise to digital but at least if you are upgrading you can hear a difference. I suspect this is because the better vinyl playback approaches our hearing limits. Once you exceed that limit we are likely in Subjective territory where we convince ourselves of a difference.