I tested two Schiit Yggdrasils, finding design errors in them. Company disputed that so a third person volunteered his unit. In doing so, he told me he had bought a Topping and it did not sound as good. He gave me the model number and precise tracks he had used for that testing, and the fact that he had used Stax headphones. I own Stax headphones, and said Topping DAC and same music in high-res (what he had used).
First thing I had to do was match levels as out of box levels were not the same, invalidating any such listening test. After I did that, the two DACs sounded identical in AB tests. The Topping cost 10% of the Yggdrasils.
I was also told that the Yggdrasils needs to warm up. So I left it on for days, measuring it along the way. Its performance never changed.
Again, I duplicated his listening tests to the letter, except that I was careful to match levels when he had not done.
If you all just learned how to properly test equipment so that only the fidelity is being evaluated, then these arguments would all go away. Instead, you keep doing faulty testing, with all manner of mistakes and biases and arrive at conclusions that are not supported by any science or engineering.
Dude (facepalm), the fact that you sat around with headphones comparing that Schiit with something else....no, you have a lot to learn. For starters, I could show you a comparison on a couple of dacs, a good one and a crappy one i have in storage with one of my rigs (NOT HEADPHONES) and it is flipping night and day obvious how one one of them produces a flatass soundfield and the other one doesn’t. You are too stuck in your hole with your headphones and sinad for anything to...., no, I am not going to waste effort bothering to explain anything. I’ll pass a blind comparison 25/25 times or 50/50 times or how many ever flipping times (done it before) in my room (not in your garage) on the test tracks I recorded/will provide. While you chase the dumb didi sinad, I’ll chase the software and dsp instead that’s more meaningful to me.
On the same note, I certainly didn’t join this forum to try and flex intellectually all day against senior citizens from other lines of work....like you’ve doing for pages. But, since that is all you seem to wanna do, I’ve hinted here before that I am a business owner. I own a engineering firm (fab/test floors whatever dude), I’m in the business of producing precision electronics and electromechanical components for some entities. We use million dollars of test equipment, ndt, whatever, the likes of which you will never see or hear about in life. There is nothing you could possibly say that doesn’t sound like simpleton sht to me. I am sure you know about certain types of engg disciplines where you would get embarassed/get schooled very quickly. If I start talking to you about high F high V thermal runaway whatever crap black art circuit to you, nobody on this thread including you will have a clue. So, just simmer down with the flex. Do it on your forum instead.
Y’know, there are guys on my payroll too (i know your kind) who are these younger engg grunts that would talk just like you, possibly. "How could two Fing circuits measure the same, sound different?! Wait, wait, circuits have a sound?!?!" while some of the phds may at least think amd try to keep their mouths shut. Once upon a time, I used to think that way a bit perhaps...But, i got schooled by some audio overlords and it opened my mind. NO, you will never see anything like that in your EE electives or your goofy lil text book.
An older guy like yourself...you should have had opportunities in life to wisen up over time, gather the humility to admit that there is sht that’s hard to explain, I’d think.... but, you certainly havn’t or it is this fake facade you’ve been putting up all day. Either way, I’ll see right through it...I conclude that you have no field experience and it is a waste of time to try and say anything to you Carry on, try and dazzle the Agon senior citizens some more with a few more of your simpleton charts.