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The sound quality from DACs - is it all the same?

I've been talking to my cousin brother about sound quality. He is a self-proclaimed expert audiophile. He says that Audio Science Review has all of the answers I will need regarding audio products.

In particular, he says an inexpensive DAC from any Chinese company will do better than the expensive stuff. He says fancy audio gear is a waste of money because the data is already bit-perfect.  All DAC chips sound the same. Am I being mislead? 

He also said that any DAC over $400 is a waste of money. Convincing marketing is at play here, he says.

He currently owns a Topping L30 headphone amplifier and D30 Pro DAC. He uses Sennheiser HD 569 headphones to listen to music.  I'm not sure what to think of them. I will report my findings after listening one day! (likely soon, once I get some free time)

- Jack 

 

 

jackhifiguy

Showing 1 response by carlsbad

carlsbad's avatar
carlsbad
1,551 posts
 

Audio science review is the antithesis of this forum. There people think the only thing that matters is the numbers--if it has the lowest THD and noise floor, it must sound best. Here people think all that matters is what they hear, even if their claims violate the laws of physics.

The answer is somewhere in between.

I think the DAC is very important to the sound in a modern digital system...I’ve sometimes said it is the most important component, but that is easy to say when you have the amp all dialed in...I will say that the DAC is the most expensive component in my system.

His claim about a $400 DAC shows that he isn't listening at a very high level.

Jerry

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