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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
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
12,961 posts
 

I was speaking of the limitation of the SPS by itself for my ears in my room ..

I know that you are right about your dac ... I dont doubt it a second...And i thank you because it is interesting recommendation ....

Acoustic treatment and control are for me the most important factors in audio experience...And remember that a minimal threshold of quality exist and i have it already... 😊

"Garbage in and out"  is true, but being inferior for the SPS compared to the Audio Note dont means it is garbage in my room...

I know that you are respecful and i appreciated discussing with you.... And i really like your recommendation because the price is good and you alreay know the SPS...

Thanks very much my friend...

But I will say with confidence that the AN DAC is so much better than the SPS DAC in every respect not just in detail alone but from top to bottom in everything that it does.

 

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kcleveland
15 posts
 

One major factor that may have been covered somewhere in this thread is how revealing your system is. If you have speakers, amps and related equipment that can accurately translate the signal fed to them you'd be amazed at the difference in sound quality between DACs, CD transports and yes, even cables. 

deludedaudiophile
493 posts
 

@kcleveland 

My headphones have distortion <<0.01%.  I am not sure there is any speaker made with distortion that low. My DAC and headphone amplifier have far lower distortion than that.  No speaker and amp you have is going to be more revealing.

I am not amazed when there are no difference between DACs, interconnects, or what is streaming the digital signal. There is no reason for the difference to be there.

jackhifiguy OP
151 posts
 

@mahgister 

I think this would help to explain: 

 

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

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