The most obvious explanation is the placebo effect. Another explanation might be the the so-called "high-end" DACs are more prone to input jitter which the "lower-end" DACs have no problem ignoring. It wouldn't be the first case of high tech not equalling sensible engineering. I do know of one DAC company confident enough to publish measurements (unlike a lot of high end companies). And these published measurements indicate output distortion not increasing with input jitter. You can reach your own conclusion.
I've listened to many high end systems and I've come away with the the impression they sound great. But then again cheaper ones sound great too, and some sound even better. A case of the Emperor's New Clothes IMO. Back to sensible engineering, you can have a performance SUV with incredibly high tech engine and chassis, but it's not sensible engineering for a racecar. For a racecar low weight, low centre of gravity and downforce is sensible engineering and beats high tech in a silly car. In comparison audiophiles see fit to spend up to 100k on high tech amps but pump through the power to passive crossover loudspeakers. Silly, even pathological, and the pro audio world knows it. Darren -- darrenyeats SB3 / Inguz -> Krell KAV-300i (pre bypass) -> PMC AB-1 Dell laptop -> JVC UX-C30 mini system ------------------------------------------------------------------------ darrenyeats's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10799 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=57441 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
