The DAC Scam - Almost everyone believes the hype

@tweak1 

If there is a "scam", it's this idea that only the chip matters. 

@niodari

After a quite long time experience with DACs of different categories and prices I’m convinced that they make minor changes in overall sound reproduction and quality. I suggest all of them use similar kind the conversion methods, whereas the hardware perhaps doesn’t matter so much. I cannot explain more technically why this happens but I am convinced about the outcomes.

... And, with all due respect, those of us who’ve experienced significant differences are just as "convinced".

@niodari

Of course, amplifier and speakers have a greater effect.

I would have to hear a demonstration of what you consider to be "more or less similar fashion".

For me, tonality and musicality are first and foremost and in terms of these factors, I’ve heard fairly dramatic differences in presentation that are most definitely not adequately described as "more or less similar". Variations in recording equality are another variable in the equation. I’m talking about what the DAC itself contributes, all other things being equal.

@niodari

It’s a reality that some recordings will never sound very good, no matter how expensive the gear. In fact the more resolving the gear, the worse such recordings may sound. It seems a waste of time to me to focus gear upgrades on trying to garner improved sonics from such recordings but then, if much of one’s favorite music is poorly recorded/produced, I suppose it’s understandable. Thankfully, I don’t find myself in such a predicament.

Differences I’ve experienced in DACs:

1) Tonality -- some emphasize the upper mids and highs while others are more rolled off and emphasize the lower mids/upper bass. I happen to be very sensitive to highs/forwardness. I’ve played guitar for 50 + years and tonality has always been a top priority in choosing guitars. I don’t like muddy sounding guitars or bright sounding guitars. Same with audio. It’s not easy to build a guitar that is both warm and clear sounding. Many overemphasize upper mids and highs and truncate bass in an effort to improve clarity and so-called "balance". Much current audio gear, to my ears, sounds like it's voiced to sound "lively" or "energic" and to me this typically translates to fatiguing. 

2) "Organic" vs. "Clinical" or Natural vs. Analytic: Some DACs I’ve heard have sounded "dry" while others are more ’liquid". I lack the vocabulary to explain this further, except to say that I associate leaner mids and tipped up highs with the clinical sound. Some DACs have behaved more like lab equipment, akin to a microscope. They’ve emphasize resolution above all else, which sounds very unnatural to me. Not my cup of tea.

3) Bass and 4) Soundstaging

There are other categories I’m probably forgetting. The above are the most obvious to me and reflect my particular priorities. As always, YMMV. I’m more of a music lover than an audiophile so there are factors to which I pay little attention that might figure largely in your gear choices.

As @moonwatcher correctly states:

We all have different ears (hearing) and sonic priorities. Some may say natural tone or body of sounds and the attack and decay are most important, others will say soundstage and imaging. Some want it all, if they can get it at a price they are willing to pay. We choose our priorities.

 

@niodari

I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said.

How two people perceive the actual differences between two DACs will definitely be impacted not only by their respective priorities in terms of sonic factors but also by their hearing. And of course, this is not even considering differences in ancillary gear and listening spaces!

As it happened, the particular group of DACs I auditioned in the past spanned a very wide spectrum, in terms of musical vs. analytical/warm vs. bright. If I’d chosen a different group of DACs, the differences might’ve been far less evident and I might well have determined that one DAC pretty much sounds like another.

@facten 

 Nothing is definitive about anything in audio everyone hears differently, may have different system objectives , etc. so what works for one person doesn't mean it will work for anyone or everyone else. 

Exactly.

Nevertheless, there are always guys who insist their experience defines reality and that the rest of us are self-deluded.  Don't know about anyone else, but I'm pretty fed up with these self-appointed "guardians of the truth". 

@raysmtb1

Are any of the DACs on your list, aside from the SpaceTech, tubed?

If your preference is for tube DACs, then it’s understandable that all SS DACs could conceivably sound relatively the same, by comparison.

@raysmtb1

Ah, OK. The picture now makes more sense!  ;o)