You should label it as “Amir’s threshold of audibility”
People that think you are too lenient or too strict have nothing to complain about. You’re not talking about the human threshold of hearing — just yours. All the non-complainers can read between the lines, literally
Line level or headphone amp
Apple USB-C Dongle
We talk about the Apple dongle being a competent, low cost design. We also hear about the “death” of the audiophile hobby. However, if the average Apple dongle user is getting audiophile quality sound, it’s just that the hobby has grown so big that it’s just routine. Think about the hobby of “surfing the internet.” It stopped being a hobby like watching TV or reading a book since everyone does it.
From the headphone amplifier standpoint, this is also helpful for people to understand when they run out of power
Power Amplifiers
Benchmark AHB2
It’s trickier for your reference. I think the Benchmark AHB2 is great from the standpoint of consistency, where you don’t have different “implementations” as you do with HypeX or Purifi, and the availability of comparisons such as Stereophile or Stereo.de
For completeness, it’s helpful to include BOTH the noise and distortion measurements as well as the power limitations. People can see why giving up some cleanliness at 5W for extra power elsewhere might make sense. It’s also good because you can do a full bandwidth comparison and not be limited to avoiding switching noise, etc.
The criticism is that we often claim that you can get a great product for not a lot of money and the AHB2 is pretty pricey. But the avoidance of the other issues makes sense to me.
Pre-amp/VU Meter/Input Switcher
Schiit Freya+ in Passive Mode
It’s 120 dB SINAD, but it’s practical here to see how something manipulating a line level source interferes with the audio. What’s nice is that instead of an AP loop back, you are using a practical commercially available product.
AV Product
Marantz AV10
Although rumors of D&M’s demise are abound, the AV10 is much more available than any other premium AV processor and it shows a difference between the Apple dongle. Another argument would be an entry level AVR-X3800H which is a more affordable solution but still commonly available and more reflective of the level of expectations you would have.
That said, the XLR out of a processor is nice.
