Anthem STR "Convert Analog" sounds much worse

In an act of humility and embarrassment, I have a confession.  I had the input levels for XLR -5db which is activated when "Audio Convert" is turned on....  

Now, when I switch between the two, there's no audible difference that I can tell at this point.. Mayyybbeee on some parts of some tracks there might be a difference but rarely is a change/tweak noticable or even "better" over the whole spectrum.

Apologies for being an idiot.  Sometimes settings get buried deep down in the menu and you don't know what you've changed...

Thanks for all the input. Im going to play around more.  

So it looks like, if I want to use subs, I wasted alot of money on the Lumin T2 and should have just gone the streamer route since I have to filter everything through the anthem's processing anyway.

@djones51   wait what?  I thought setting the crossover in the Anthem created a high pass or low pass whatever for the mains... i.e. setting the xover at 50hz sends nothing below 50hz to my main speakers.. No?  So using the subwoofer management on my Anthem still sends full range to my speakers?

@djones51 thanks... I kinda suspected that and mentioned it on another board and people told me it's "not exactly totally really like that" that I was still getting the goodness of the Lumin dac, but I really didn't see how that was since the Anthem was unconverting then reconverting it back to digital.. I'm really hearing the Anthem's dac signature more than anything.

I'll try to do an a/b test running xlr and usb (Lumins dac vs anthems dac) when I can.

I was really surprised that just this setting would make such a noticeable difference.  

Thanks mike_in_nc   I bought it used.  I'm not convinced the T2 dac sounds that much better if any than my Anthems to be honest.  It'll take a lot more convincing that's for sure.  On the tracks I've tried, I cannot tell a difference at all.  Most all differences are my biases from what I've read about how great the T2 dac is.  

I've tried long term listening and short term a/b comparison.  I find myself convincing myself one is better... Then going back on that - thinking maybe it's just the track, resolution, mood, or maybe a plane flew over (landing path of DFW) ha.  

Ultimately, I think 97% of "this dac sounds soooo much better" reviews has to do with personal and situational bias.  

I'll say this much, I challenge anyone to say the T2 dac sounds consistently better an Anthem's STR, on any setup..  I just ask you to be aware of those silent personal/situation bias's going on in the back of your head.  

I want to hear a difference to justify the cost of the Lumin trust me!  I love being able to put value on money spent.... But right now, I'm unable to do that.

Also, this is a problem anytime settings are buried deep inside electronic menus. You can’t quickly scan the knobs to see if everything’s just right. When I read reviews of things now, I think of their monetary bias, and what combination of 1,546,541 possible settings they might have used.

Reviews should always be taken with a grain of salt, like political ads.

Wish list: big manufacturers you should take note:
 - an on screen display that clearly and quickly shows the current settings of all the important "stuff"

Amazing how archaic so many on-screen (tv) menus/displays are.