The myth of "best" in audio needs to be addressed by all of us

@tomcy6 - well put

I hope we all know that there are a many very good systems out there, that many lower cost systems sound better than many higher cost systems, and that we will never get unanimous agreement on which system sounds the best.

@douglas_schroeder - why not a productive conversation? You don't feel pressure around having "the best?"

I happened to purchase one of your recently recommended DACs, the Wells Audio Cipher, and am very happy.  Despite its manufacturers claims that it's the "best DAC in the world," it would be silly of me to buy into that hype. "Best I've heard in my system," yes, but I've only heard 3 DACs in my system ever!  I'm trying to keep sane by just enjoying it... 

@testpilot said

There is no universal best.....just a best for you

Maybe not even a "best for you," in reality. Maybe a "good enough."  How could you ever know it was "best?"

Maybe I care more about the words we use than most, but "best" has a lot of baggage in audio and the culture generally, as prior posters have stated. 

The best system for me, if there is one, is a "relative best one" determined by a ratio :

I use the ratio S.Q./price....

I am pleased then to own one among the best system in the world....Thanks to my "no cost" embeddings controls.... And vintage gear....

😁😊😎

@mahgister - you certainly seem to be one of the posters with the highest reported satisfaction from their system on the forum... not taken in by the industry hype of “best” gear.

It's a journey not a destination, it's a pursuit of perfection that's never quite within our reach, the designers and manufacturers keep things in a constant state of evolution that continues to move the goal line - thank goodness

Cars, computers, etc best of breed today has a top of the line shelf life of 3-5 years

The evolution of product development will always have a smaller, more powerful or higher capacity, bigger bang for the buck model to excite and entice us

Contrary to popular belief, most of us on this forum have more brains than money and are genuinely concerned about long term price performance ROI than chasing the new shiny object that is described to us by world class word salad spin masters as sexy beyond what our mere mortal ears can comprehend

That said, we typically know our weakest link(s) and turn over every stone looking at all the options at our disposal to move to the next level

It's a lot less ready, fire, aim and we tend to operate more in a trust but verify fashion before investing in the next purchase

Enjoy the journey guys and happy listening