How easily can you distinguish between different DACs?

Learning the nuances of sound can be a lifetime endeavor. To jumpstart it is helpful to listen to vastly different sounding systems and acoustic instruments and concerts. The former to expose you to differences, the latter to calibrate you to what the real thing sounds like. Personally my favorite is the symphony. I’ve had season tickets to the symphony for ten years. Often I will listen to the ambience… the sound of the venue before music, then the individual instruments, the attack when a bow hits the strings. Then in smaller venues the pitch and tonal balance of a sax for instance. Pianoes are great.

Then to other systems. Go to high end stores and ask to audition some of their systems. Be honest in that you are interested in high end audio and are trying to get your feet on the ground about the sound that appeals to you. Go when it is not likely other folks will be there. Maybe take Wednesday off and go in. Maybe call in advance. Find a dealer (person) you really click with. They will be ecstatic to be your guide. This is the kind of person and relationship you will want to build. Good high end dealers know that building a relationship now will result in sales later. Sometimes a lot later. I have had relationships with dealers for 20 years.

Oh yes, one other thing. Try and listen to the music… not the component. It is important to listen quickly when you swap to  detect major differences… but you want to let your subconscious soak up the sound… real important differences in musicality come out this way.

Also, if you are going to compare DACs… start by comparing vastly different priced ones… not similar. Try auditioning a $1K and $20K DAC. You want the differences to really stand out so you can become familiar with the kinds of things that are different.

A friend of mine, fairly new to the high end world was trying to decide between the Aurrender N100 ($3.5K new) I had lent him with his Schiit Yggdrasil (~$2.5K) he owned and a Linn DSM ($12K) with both streamer and DAC. So he hooked them both up and didn’t tell me which was which and asked me what I thought.

I would say it took maybe a minute to determine which was which and characterize the differences. After another 30 seconds… it appeared to be night and day between the two. I had him take my place, playing jazz, Blue Train. I explained… listen to the cymbals… hear that tssssss… that is distortion and high frequency trash… the Linn sounds like brass. Now listen to the sax… hear the richness and nuances as notes change… then listen to the drums… clearly located behind and natural sounding. I five minutes, he completely followed what I had said.

We also were able to use the Aurrender streamer with only the Linn DAC… this is where the difference was… it was virtually all the DAC.

He is driving back from the dealer with a brand new Linn in his trunk as I type this.

Most anyone can tell these differences… but it takes experience or a guide. Once you hear the differences it is hard not to. I know that my friend will be enjoying this Linn DSM for many years. He has it paired with an Audio Research LS28SE and VT80.

@lalitk

+1

True, looking at this as software. But ever subcomponents… resistor, capacitor, and turn on the circuit board… the distance between the power supply and all the other subcomponents, the resistance to vibration from the outside world makes a difference in the sound. So, any given chip set can sound very different given the circuitry and environment they are dropped into.