Welcome aboard zanny!
I think an aborted review of UA2 was posted - has it been updated yet?
Also, you'll come to find that ASR covers diverse interests in audio, engineering etc, applying scientific methods at times to ensure we're as close to the 'truth' if there is such a thing. Regarding your curiosity of whether the DAC chip (or implementation) sounds different, that is totally welcome. There are 'no silly questions' here. At the fundamental level, DAC chips do differ very slightly in how they process data, and also in how much power they can output, as well as how it's been programmed (filters etc). Then implementation (power supply, shielding, whether there is an external amp or not etc) comes into play. Whether subjectively the sound becomes different is anyone's guess. If we trust what engineers who design these devices tend to say, then sure, the sound does change. Measurements made by amirm are not always the comprehensive suite of all possible measurement types, so here we're just making sure that the device doesn't have fatal flaws which would make it 'not recommended'. Also, knowing the measurements can help a buyer choose the right adapter suitable for their own gear, without having to trial them in a store - since most of them are not sold locally. That said, theoretically there should be no major difference in sound between two dacs with the same values for all measurement types, and subjective listener's testing cannot disprove this presumption beyond reasonable doubt.
On ASR, this thread is the rough equivalent of the 'find the best' head-fi 3.5 mm dongle thread, where any adapter related discussion can take place. However, we're just interested in 'potential new' adapters not 'find the best' adapter. There's also an active community of familiar members who contribute across all adapter threads which is great.
Ultimately, future USB DAC amplifiers/audio dongles/adapters could replace desktop players and recorders.
