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The sound quality from DACs - is it all the same?

I've been talking to my cousin brother about sound quality. He is a self-proclaimed expert audiophile. He says that Audio Science Review has all of the answers I will need regarding audio products.

In particular, he says an inexpensive DAC from any Chinese company will do better than the expensive stuff. He says fancy audio gear is a waste of money because the data is already bit-perfect.  All DAC chips sound the same. Am I being mislead? 

He also said that any DAC over $400 is a waste of money. Convincing marketing is at play here, he says.

He currently owns a Topping L30 headphone amplifier and D30 Pro DAC. He uses Sennheiser HD 569 headphones to listen to music.  I'm not sure what to think of them. I will report my findings after listening one day! (likely soon, once I get some free time)

- Jack 

 

 

jackhifiguy
stuartk
2,907 posts
 

@chayro 

Exactly!

 

 

Post removed 
cd318
2,636 posts
 

@mahgister 

If they did spoke about the primacy of acoustic instead of suggesting upgrading multiple times each audiophile would learned to direct his focus on other less costly acoustic solutions than electronic upgrades only ... There is many acoustic solutions even for living room...

Magazine will loose their share of publicity if they did otherwise...

 

Yes, it can be a real eye opener if you ever see the cluttered listening rooms that some rather well known reviewers use at home.

Fair enough they may have the same space restraints as the rest of us, but purpose built, carefully set up and treated, they're not.

ghdprentice
7,087 posts
 

Myself and all the audiophiles I know try to work on increasing our investment in electronics, placing speakers, placing equipment, implementing tweaks, and room treatments to get the best possible sound. This is the basic passion of an audiophile. 

alphonsodamato
27 posts
 

Yes, it is now a proven scientific fact, all DACs are exactly the same.

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