World's Best DAC's

dac or vinyl, just like tube or solid state, each have its own strength and weakness

at the end its just a matter or peraonal taste, its quite pointless to argue which wins

(ofcourse we dac users obviously prefer dac over vinyl by a very large margin)
 
To be totally honest, I do not think there is a single person in the world that KNOWS what a specific recording should sound like. It is only a measure of what you think it should sound like compared with what it actually sound like. We are doing the best we can with what we have, no more and no less.
 
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The three blind mice could not tell the difference between chalk and cheese.

Are you sure bout that? I think mice have sensitive noses as I know they have terrible eyes.

But if you put chalk and cheese side by side and close the mice eyes, there is probability they will go back and forth between the 2 objects. Those who think that mice really like to eat cheese will conclude that they cannot differentiate between chalk and cheese. But those who know that mice do not like cheese might have different thinking.

Are you implying that blind people can hear buffaloes better in the dark :trapper:

First thing you should know is what you are comparing. Buffalo is one of the best, so there is big probability that youknowyou can really do it.

To be totally honest, I do not think there is a single person in the world that KNOWS what a specific recording should sound like.

No need honesty for something so obvious. Words such as "totally honest" could only show a hint of uncertainty.

It is only a measure of what you think it should sound like compared with what it actually sound like. We are doing the best we can with what we have, no more and no less.

That's the point. And that the best of everyone is not the same.
 
No I didn't, its not my opinion its scientific proof, the information is out there....
Doesn't matter what playback system you use you have to face reality and facts. I enjoy my vinyl playback but acknowledged digital is a better medium (I use both and occasionally cassette as I have some irreplaceable stuff on cassette.).
 
dac or vinyl, just like tube or solid state, each have its own strength and weakness

at the end its just a matter or personal taste, its quite pointless to argue which wins

Yes, I think if people don't know the strengths and the weaknesses of each, they don't know anything yet. The art is I think to get the "right" balance or compromise (based on knowing what causes what), to suit one's taste or preference, even in digital versus digital implementations..
 
No I didn't, its not my opinion its scientific proof, the information is out there....
Doesn't matter what playback system you use you have to face reality and facts. I enjoy my vinyl playback but acknowledged digital is a better medium (I use both and occasionally cassette as I have some irreplaceable stuff on cassette.).

From which I must conclude that you think that our understanding of what makes reproduced music sound musical is complete and that we therefore know exactly what parameters to measure.
 
Yawn, yawn, yawn,, yawn.
Got anything to say or just going to sprout audiophile mantras... and any argument will ignore any scientific facts it seems... How you can conclude so much from my reply amazes me...
What makes musical musical is the performance... the replay chain is just there to reproduce that from the recorded media, and often not with the utmost fidelity as we do tend to favour our own colouration in reproduction, such as vinyl via a Valve rig and full range drivers or SS via a 3 way speaker set up. Dose not matter what I listen through its the music that creates the musicality... Sometimes I prefer the flawed set up (vinyl etc) to a more true fidelity set up, it dose not mean I am unaware of the reality of what is technically the best system.
 
What makes musical musical is the performance... the replay chain is just there to reproduce that from the recorded media

We have a friend who sang in a live performance. During the performance I heard someone commented "It's a pity people cannot hear her singing live without that sound system"...

So there is this "emotion", very low level information that often lost in the chain of transistors and power supply noises. From my experience, even a low quality 16/44k1 recording always have this low level information in the source. The question is, how can it be lost...

Many people only care with general measurement. They don't know about the audibility of small things that can be added or removed from original performance.
 
No I didn't, its not my opinion its scientific proof, the information is out there....
Doesn't matter what playback system you use you have to face reality and facts. I enjoy my vinyl playback but acknowledged digital is a better medium (I use both and occasionally cassette as I have some irreplaceable stuff on cassette.).
If you are talking about which one measures better in a LAB, then Digital is better, however specifications/measurements are just another HiFi snake-oil!
If you are talking about which one produces better MUSIC playback at home for imperfect, psychologically driven HUMAN ears, then opinions are split, we assume IMO is implied.
It's like saying a Burger designed in a LAB tastes better!
We are in tasting business, not ingridients business.
 
Since we already have the ability to measure differences to a degree that is way beyond the audible, I think this is a red herring.
I don't know which of the following is true:

1. the surprise development of IM distortion measurements in the 1930s proved you should never be arrogant about your ability to measure all aspects of sound reproduction

or

2. now that we are starting to measure jitter, we can characterize the performance of audio components as well as we'll ever need to.


And on another topic, it's all about the recording. The gear at home should be entirely neutral in the chain. But some recordings sound better on some systems suggesting either an interaction or something deficient in your system.

For sure, vinyl/umami can be a nicer listening experience for many people... just as a soft-focus photo on the wall (or a painting by an artist) can be more delightful that a sharp-focus photo. Can't argue with that taste. But being able to focus your attention on the second violinist in a quartet is a lot easier with a "sharp focus" high-quality (read: digital) system.

Ben
 
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What makes a Buffalo DAC the best compared to other DACs?

Does it use a purpose designed ESS chip and a very specially cut and polished crystal in the clock using an accurately controlled oven, specially manufactured capacitors, resistors, semi conductors and PCB that nobody else in the world is capable of doing better or even the same.
 
If you are talking about which one measures better in a LAB, then Digital is better, however specifications/measurements are just another HiFi snake-oil!
If you are talking about which one produces better MUSIC playback at home for imperfect, psychologically driven HUMAN ears, then opinions are split, we assume IMO is implied.
It's like saying a Burger designed in a LAB tastes better!
We are in tasting business, not ingridients business.

Yawn, audiophile BS and exception bias etc. etc. Analogue fits better with our ears Yawn, forgetting that analogue is what you listen to out of the **** end of a DAC.....
Actually engineering a audio system is just that engineering