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DAC Measurements vs Actual Experience

I have spent the last two days evaluating which of these two DACs I will be keeping:
1) Benchmark DAC3
2) PS Audio DirectStream

I'm foregoing the use of a dedicated preamp; the chosen DAC will serve that purpose.* 

I had read up on the technical side of each of these exhaustively before purchase. For those of you who aren't familiar, the Benchmark DAC3 measures quite well in every category. The PS Audio DirectStream, on the other hand, not so much. In fact, Audio Science Review places these two near opposite ends of its SINAD (signal-to-noise-and-distortion) list with the PS Audio being positioned near the bottom. Stereophile also provided measurements in their review that painted the PS Audio in an unfavorable light. 

And yet the DirectStream is proving to provide a sound that is more, dare I say, musical. It's a bit more relaxed, sounding a tad reserved in comparison to the DAC3, and the presentation of 100 Hz and lower seems to be slightly vague, but it's also less edgy, possessing a better soundstage, and is overall ever-so-slightly more enjoyable. So what am I doing wrong?

* Is it worth considering putting a dedicated preamp downstream of the DAC3 in hopes of gaining a more favorable sound? 
sixfour3
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
measurements can be useful when designing gear, but they are almost useless to determine whether a piece of gear provides musical enjoyment

accuracy is the signal as a proxy for what sounds real and what sounds good is mightily flawed as a concept - we are talking about REPRODUCTION of music here... a watercolor, a photograph of an event ... the distance from the real thing is huge

furthermore, for produced/mixed music, what is real and accurate anyway? it just matters if things sound good, as perceived by the listener

"he died of a heart attack!!" - but why?  his body temperature was exactly 98.6*!!!!!!!!!!!
yyzsantabarbara
4,820 posts
 
OMG!
Do you actually think that "lousy, harsh, bright" would be allowed on a recording:

- By the recording engineer?

- By the mastering engineer?

- By the record producer?

- By the record label?

- By the recording artist?

Hmmm. No way. Ain’t gonna happen.



Listen to RUSH "Vapor Trails" before they re-did that disc. I actually threw the first one in the garbage.

jandewitt
25 posts
 
You’re not doing anything wrong. You discovered that good measurements are not a guarantee for good sound.
Post removed 
sixfour3 OP
21 posts
 
A sincere thank you to all of you who have contributed meaningful, well thought-out arguments and information in regards to this issue. 
I suppose I now consider myself a convert. Measurements alone, while still being relevant to the discipline of design and perhaps initial consideration for potential buyers, do not, cannot account for the subjectivity in how we perceive, and thus enjoy, our experiences with our systems. 
It is perhaps commentary on our own egos that some of us (myself included) want our perceptions to align perfectly with what specifications say is the ideal. And yet, it turns out that that ideal is not necessarily what gets my toe tapping. 
Kudos to jjss49 for providing what is perhaps the best analogies I’ve yet heard on this subject. 
Special thanks to djones51 for shedding light on technical issues, specifically how we perceive noise, which really set the stage for me to come to terms with the concept that my preferences don’t necessarily line up with the measured ideal. 
Thanks also go to everyone else whose simple advice to trust my own ears prodded me to do just that. 
I have a few more considerations to weigh, mostly having to do with price and performance value, but it looks likely that the PS Audio DirectStream just found its new home. 
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