@cleeds
That’s an extraordinary claim, and contradicts what many experienced designers of audio components think. Do you have a list of "all variables" that you would require to "accurately describe" what a component would sound like?
That’s odd, as every designer Inknow aims for measured excellence.
@janehamble So what exactly are the variables that actually matter in order to achieve better sonic performance
It’s not something complicated, you simply want want distortion and other parameters below audible levels:
* Frequency response linearity: You want the frequency response to be flat within 0.5dB.
* Frequency response linearity with respect to volume: You want it to be flat regardless of what volume the content is at, with a 0.5dB tolerance most DACs top out at 16-20 Bits, there is no DAC to my knowledge that is linear down to 24Bit.
* Channel matching: You want the left and right channels to have matched output within 0.5dB.
* Channel separation/crosstalk: You want any bleeding to happen below audible in-room levels, so let’s say -80dB or better, even $100 DACs are around -100dB, the Benchmark and other go to -125db to -160dB.
* THD; You want any even order harmonics to happen below audible in-room levels, so again let’s say -80dB.
* IMD: You want any odd order harmonics to happen below audible in-room levels, IMD is more audible than THD, so let’s say -90dB, the $100 Khadas DAC is below -90dB from ~ -15dBFS. Now, this is with pure test tones, it will be further masked with music.
* Jitter reduction: You want jitter to be below audible in-room levels, so again let’s say -80dB, the same Khadas DAC has a Jitter-Test result of better than -130dB.
* Filter: You want the filter to cut off all frequencies higher than your Nyquest sampling rate, Chord’s filters are top notch.
* Impulse: You want a clean impulse that’s <7ms (the Benchmark is ~0.7ms), the type of filter used (apodizing is standard) is debated, but most people I’ve heard from is that it’s a minuscule difference.
* Undithered sine/square wave integrity: You want it to cleanly reproduce the waves, with any deviations being less than audible.
* Phase: You want phase error below audibility (audibility threshold changes with frequency), but most DACs aren’t even 1° out of phase, even with amps it’s not that much of an issue, the Hypex NC400 is near 0° up until the upper treble where it’s ~20°.
* Output: You want the voltage output to be able to drive any amp into its full rated wattage, most amps need about 1.5v to 1.8v, but 2Vrms is the standard for what 99.99% of the time will allow full wattage output.
And as I mentioned in the IMD bullet point, these are with test tones, real music masks all this, ~ -40dB is the audibility threshold for THD with
music (as high as 0dB, 100% THS for deep bass).
Most people don’t listen above reference, which is typically 105dB peaks, and your average room likely doesn’t have a noise fooor lower than 35dBC, so that’s a 70dB range for dynamics. Unless the distortion, linearity errors, channel imbalances, etc. rise above that level (-70dBFS), any DAC will sound transparent, the notion of sterile, lifeless, midrange slam, wetness, dryness, airiness, etc. are all just placebo, they don’t exist other that in your own perception.
When I go searching for new products to buy, I look at the price, measurements, looks, and the company (in case I need to use the warrenty), what someone else says about it’s performance is irrelevant? Just because someone works at an audio magazine doesn’t mean they have good ears, especially the people >70yr that have lost all their high frequency hearing. I only look at a combination of reviews if there are no measurements present (I likely may not buy that product, but if someone asks me if it’s a product for them to consider).
