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

ASR seems like an interesting place to learn from. Don't audio companies use measurements to test their equipment? For example, frequency response and other important things?

I may not know that much about audio, but that doesn't make me a troll. I'm just an average guy looking for some guidance into greater enjoyment with this hobby.

Thank you all for so much insight! My understanding of "high end audio" is improving.

@jssmith

I have been watching a lot of videos from the ASR YouTube channel. Amir seems to be very honest about products. For example, there was one pair of headphones that measured really well, and he reviewed it even though it was very costly. So he’s not against high cost audio products. That’s for sure.

I’ve also watched some Audioholics videos with their president talking about audio gear, cables, etc. And I was thinking...here’s an example:

You go to a car dealership to test a car. While driving it, you ask the salesperson how much horsepower and torque. Those are numbers (measurements) right?

So if machines can measure what we need to know about vehicles (that are more complex with more parts than audio gear) then why does it seem that so many audiophiles are against audio measurments?

I would also wager that audio companies/engineers who design the amplifiers, CD players. etc. also rely on the audio precision analyzer, or something that provides really accurate measurements - well beyond what we could ever know given our limited human perception.

We as humans have poor hearing compared to other living things on earth. I honestly believe those who claim measurements don’t matter have hearing loss or extreme brand loyalty syndrome.

it seems like so many of you guys have subjective-only opinions about what "sounds good"

Can we all agree that machines used for measuring audio gear are more accurate than human ears?

arbitrary audiophiles.

For example, if the vocals sounded "shrill" or "harsh" then maybe, just maybe, it was recorded that way and counts as error in the song?

it’s like so many of you guys are full of ideas of smooth, warm, wonderful sound. Real or not, you just want things to "sound good"

Romanticizing subjective ideals of what it "should sound like" won’t get this hobby anywhere. I want to hear what the recording sounds like after post production. The full event - even if it doesn't sound great.

@rlawry 

Which $3500 DAC and $11,000 DAC?

would you equate percentage increase like, say, 20% better?

@mahgister 

I think this would help to explain: 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33873218/