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

@nonoise Then you obviously don't understand the concept of confirmation bias, nor I suspect cognitive dissonance either.

@thyname 

The gear itself is meaningless to me

🙄 Obviously. For those who think everything sounds the same.

Where did I say everything sounds the same? As a matter of fact, in my first statement of this thread I explained how DAC manufacturers can purposefully make a DAC sound different.

 

My main source currently is Amazon Music HD via an Echo wirelessly 

Yup

Is this a put-down by status statement, or are you admitting you don't know how digital transmission works? Just a rhetorical question.

Then you obviously don't understand the concept of confirmation bias, nor I suspect cognitive dissonance either.

All the best,
Nonoise

@jjss49 ,

 

Maybe someone needs to put an Echo Dot in an aluminum case ship it with a special power supply and sell it for $2499.99. What do you think the response would be then?