Implementation is everything.
A smart designer goes far beyond the spec design in the tech manual, manual that specifies the given build out of the chip's implementation.
That manual spec, makes the chip work and work well for a long time. It says nothing about sound quality, in the vast number of cases.
It is there so that people can implement the chip properly and it is also there so that if the chips fail often in the given finished design, that the chip maker can justifiably point to the 'proper' implementation rules not being followed.
99% or more of consumer gear follows these rules (to the letter!) laid out in the tech manuals for all the chips in gear.
That's a notable part of why mainstream audio gear sucks.
