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Good measuring DACs vs.

I recently owned and compared a number of DACs in my system and was particularly interested in the sound of two "perfect measuring" DACs, the Mola Mola Tambaqui and the Benchmark DAC3 HGC. With either of those, it seemed every note came out clearly, cleanly, and accurately, without a hint of distortion. Both have been reviewed by Stereophile, and John Atkinson concluded his review measurements with,

"The Mola Mola Tambaqui offers state-of-the-digital-art measured performance. I am not surprised HR liked its sound."

and,

"Benchmark’s DAC3 HGC offers state-of-the-art measured performance. All I can say is "Wow!"

So, why is it that neither of these two objectively perfect DACs seem to emotionally engage me to the same level as my Mojo Audio Mystique EVO Pro, which is an R2R design using (basically antique) AD1862 "Z" chips? How can I not perceive the same levels of body, tone, or dimensionality from two DACs which exhibit "state-of-the-digital-art measured performance" and that really do nothing wrong?

mitch2

Showing 2 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
15,777 posts
 

Do you buy a painting based on the purity of the oils used??

erik_squires
15,777 posts
 

As far as I know, below a certain level of distortion and frequency response flatness, there’s very little correlation between better measurements and better listener preferences.

Just like with amps. Below around 0.1% distortion, the specs that we commonly use rarely help us know what will sound "better."

In other words, almost all DAC’s have very good measurements, especially compared to what was out in the 1990’s. What sounds best to listeners has never been proven to correlate, though there are successful designers like Nelson Pass who argue strongly for certain types of distortion being better than no distortion, and his commercial success speaks for itself.

Personally I seem drawn to DACs with AKM chips... but I certainly can't say it's true always.  I used to really like Burr Brown based DACs as well.  Ages ago.  No measurement to point to and explain it.

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