Why we chase max SINAD
Over the years, I was able to amass a ton of audiophile audio equipment not because I had "golden ears" but because it was fairly inexpensive w/an employee discount. As you can imagine, I've been quite spoiled w/good hardware that I won't bother listing (they're in my prior posts). Last summer, I was in the market for a new receiver as my Pioneer LX701 was having massive HDMI issues w/the signal cutting in and out. Here is the list of candidates available to me at the time and their DAC specs according to literature and testing:
Pioneer Elite SC-LX701 (old receiver)
Primary DAC: ES9016S, DNR=124, THD+N=-110
Bench test: ???
Onkyo RZ50/Pioneer 505
Primary DAC: PCM1690, DNR=113, THD+N=-94
Bench test: ~97
Denon 4800
Primary DAC: PCM5102A, DNR=112, THD+N=-93
Bench test: ~95
Denon 3800 (current AVR)
Primary DAC: PCM5102A, DNR=112, THD+N=-93
Bench test: ~86!
Although I'm not able to find numbers for how the LX701 measured, even if we take the same delta drop as the 3800, I essentially went from an AVR that was theoretically 103 to 86! The difference in quality is audible despite a 17dB difference! I went w/the low cost leader and paying the price!
Ultimately, the reason why we chase high SINAD is because it gives the manufacturer that much more wiggle room to fall from the stated spec!