Waxx
Major Contributor
Much gear in audio production is used because they colour, even some ad/da devices are used like that. But that does not mean they are technically superior, more the opposite. The reason why neve and api preamps are classics is because of that, they colour in a specific way the sound, and that colour is something many like.
And mastering engineers also use a lot of those tricks to polish the production. That's why they mostly have some colouring devices (eq's, compressors, ...) next to the swiss knive precision devices (analog or digital) in their setup. And no, they are not immune to snake oil.
The tests Amir does are scientific and measure how precise the conversion is, not how it colours or would be fit for mixing or mastering. If it's something you need is something you need to decide. And no, not everybody wants super clean sound (i don't), but even for people like us his measurents tell a lot that subjective reviews or bloated tech reviews like the ad/da diff tests are giving.
And mastering engineers also use a lot of those tricks to polish the production. That's why they mostly have some colouring devices (eq's, compressors, ...) next to the swiss knive precision devices (analog or digital) in their setup. And no, they are not immune to snake oil.
The tests Amir does are scientific and measure how precise the conversion is, not how it colours or would be fit for mixing or mastering. If it's something you need is something you need to decide. And no, not everybody wants super clean sound (i don't), but even for people like us his measurents tell a lot that subjective reviews or bloated tech reviews like the ad/da diff tests are giving.