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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
yyzsantabarbara
4,526 posts
 
So by that logic I can assume the ADSM sounds like a POS. Different strokes for different folks.
roberttdid
534 posts
 
Analogue ... What exactly does that mean? Pretty much you are right YYZ
djones51
4,947 posts
 
I guess the ADSM is the Linn ? I looked on the ASR site and see the Linn and Benchmark are very close on their chart. I've heard the Benchmark but not the Linn and at the price I doubt I ever will. My guess is in a blind test I doubt I could tell one from the other. Once DACs have reached a level where their performance is beyond human audibly I don't understand how they could be told apart. I have listened to other DACs in the same measurement range as these two and I couldn't. I know I'm deaf and my system is garbage. 
roberttdid
534 posts
 
djones51,

Some DACs, even high end ones are intentionally colored. Some claim that a minimum phase output filter improves the sound, but it is still a coloration and not true to the data. It sounds different and you may like that and you may not. Some like MQA, some think it adds an unnatural quality to instruments, even if some find it pleasant.
yyzsantabarbara
4,526 posts
 
I have heard a few recent Linn’s, including the Selekt DSM. A little veiled compared to my preferences but not bad. I was tapping my toes with them, but I do that for all good music.

Just to show a little more enthusiasm for my HPA4 + DAC3B combo I want to say that I have been listening to the headphone section of this preamp and it sounds great. The real fun part for me is hearing so much new musical passages in well know material, it is shocking. For example, I was playing Stairway to Heaven the other night and I heard John Bonhoim (sp?) play some drum track that I had never heard before. I am hearing stuff like this on many well known recordings. This maybe not what everyone wants in their music, but for me it makes me feel like I am in the studio with the performers.

I actually had a similar reaction with the Benchmark DAC3 HGC + AHB2 amp. It was not as good as what I hear now with the HPA4 preamp but that THX circuit on the Benchmark really works for me.

I need a new amp to make my speakers sound as good as the headphones, likely the CODA #16 and/or the AHB2.
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