Then isn't it more meaningful to use the word "accurate" than "better"?
How does one tell if it's more accurate?
Thank you for trying to answer my original question. From DIY perspective, building sometime one personally likes the sound of is fun and satisfying. IMO trying to convince others that it's "better/more accurate" is very dubious and full of obvious pitfalls as evidenced by the excess "noise" here 😉
Does not really matter. I'm pretty sure mentioned measurement was not done on the sound, blurs assessment of situation.
Good point. Then "accurate" in this context has similar value as "better" and can be treated accordingly?
Otherwise know as "audience participation" 😉 A similar thing could well happen when a group of people are discussing what their latest modifications did by way of improving the "accuracy" of their DACs' sound 🙂
I think so, I'd give same valuation description of subjective experience using any of them. I am not trained to hear subtle difference such as Mark, so most likely his description would not mean much for me.
I find some ambiguity when DAC's have choices for filters that are clearly less accurate but some find them "better". I find little difference between this and liking a little second harmonic in the right phase.
Everyone could have been imaging improvements. Were measurements also made to show these mods actually did anything?
Yes, it can seem that way but actually its often more complicated IME. If you ever have visitors over who are not so interested in audio, if you play music for them do you find they notice as much as you do, and or do you find that they have trouble hearing everything you do even if you describe certain small details to listen for? Any experiences with that sort of thing?
There is no school that teaches an accredited course in it, unless maybe you know of one.
That is probably true. Its hard to teach oneself, but for some that's the only path available. I can give hints of how to get started practicing at it, but there is no textbook for it that I know of. I could say more, but I don't think anyone here is serious enough to actually work at learning. Most here won't even bother to find two different dacs to compare the sound of.
An aside: In a related field, there used to be there an apprentice system to teach recording engineers, but most of the big studios where it was done are now gone. It takes longer and fewer become very good at it nowadays since one cannot get exposed to the best equipment and the most experienced recording engineers in most small project studios.
Me too.
However, people sometimes use such effects for masking or for otherwise compensating problems in their system (which could possibly be the most common use). It would be better in those cases to find and fix the real problems, but sometimes it can involve some $$ so maybe it does't happen.
Other people just like effects, but it doesn't seem to be a majority of people.
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If one follows what good advice there is (such as from master recording engineers who have taught many apprentices), then fooling oneself is much less likely. However, some people are lazy, they want quick results with no effort. Those people are likely to be completely wrong and then angry with they find out all the $$ they wasted.
Any use of "right" or "wrong" is misguided: Such people most likely believe they are right whether what they perceive is real or not. The learning process is natural to us all and whilst it is sometimes helpful to have someone help you develop a certain percept, it does not change the capacity for delusion when you think you hear something you have not heard before, particularly if you are so motivated to search for it. Without objective measures to verify your perceptions, you will never be sure of what you heard in spite of a belief you are right. Critical listening is an important part of any design process, but I believe it should be regarded as the start of an investigative process rather than the end - although I might be completely wrong 🙂
Not everyone has ulterior motives, some just like to enjoy the ‘better’ things in life! 😉
Some aren’t even worth the wasted breath, but I do have two friends whose ears I trust and we bounce opinions back and forth. But it’s usually down to indifference by that time, as in verifying there was no changes.
That is why I’m here, to somehow get a handle on the technical aspects of what I’m hearing are. What I can say is that there are repeatable differences in most all the things that are dismissed here, what causes that is going to take some deep forensic style investigations.
Not after you get a handle on it.
I’ve been on this quest over two yrs.....the most tiresome part is defending ones positions!