How easily can you distinguish between different DACs?

@tvrgeek

WITHOUT PREJUDICE to the trsunsmi of posts affirming that different DACs performance are not clones of each other and certainly can be ranked and improved, I recently traded up from a BRYSTON BDA-2 DAC to a MOON 280D MIND2 DAC because they DO sound different.

It started as a direct bakeoff at my local high-end audio bricks and mortar dealer who sells BRYSTON , MOON (by SIMAUDIO) .and BLUESOUND NODE.product lines.

After two lengthy separate bakeoff visits in their showroom over 10-odd days to personally audition the three models with my BFF audiophile amigo in tow as a foil to compare notes; the dac audio rankings from our witnessed auditions results were clear, unambiguous and wholly consistent among the attendees.

in order:

(1) the MOON DAC was clearly the best of the three agreed by all four attendees.

(2);the BRYSTON DAC was a very fine performer indeed, but it was bested by the MOON in a graphic, clear and not insignificant manner as agreed to by all four attendees..

(3) both high-end dacs above simply crushed the BLUESOUND.NODE …. NOT EVEN CLOSE..

TAKEAWAY

For you or anyone else  to capriciously assert we cannot differentiate the audio differences between the dacs -much less consistently- is frankly preposterous and a. grossly flawed assumption …full stop.

I then traded in my BRYSTON for the new MOON as a clear stepped-up performance upgrade.

I use a particular recording to compare components in my system: She's the One from Born to Run.

Once you get to know a particular recording - it's good areas and it's bad areas - it is easier to compare components for differences in sound.

I use this recording because it has particular good qualities and bad qualities and I know where they are, and I know how I would like them to sound.

If I were to try to compare DACS using random recordings I did not know well, I think it would be very difficult.

from tvrgeek: Maybe folks should look these terms up in the dictionary.  Differences YES. Important enough to spend money on? Personal but probably.

This I challenge: Even current chip based entry level the differences are barely discernable. About the same level or less than different filters. If one left the room and "reset" their ears for an hour, could you come back in and identify which was which with certainty?  I doubt it. 

from akg_ca: For you or anyone else  to capriciously assert we cannot differentiate the audio differences between the dacs -much less consistently- is frankly preposterous and a. grossly flawed assumption …full stop.

I like above statements. They are so diametrically oposed that the use of both alongside each other is sensical. Why? Because I believe that a lot of topics regarding audio are highly individual (varied hearing, different starting positions like room acoustics and different components) One might 'hear' something (differences) others do not. Others might think to 'hear' something others do not.

Fine for me, whatever it is. I respect the opinion of both sides as long as I cannot prove the opposite. What is never going to happen. Of course, if everybody would think in the same manner like me, there would not be a lot of things going on in this forum as there would be mutual consent.

Could be boring, wouldn't it.

Thanks, duckworp, for sharing your testing results.  

I think most audio gear is so good nowadays that the "diminishing returns" thing kicks in real hard sometimes.

Your post reminds me of a time years back where I bought a new pair of speakers (JMR Trente) and wanted to burn them in for a while.  My main rig at the time was all tubed and was in the $20-$30k range back in early 2000's.  And not wanting to waste tube life I decided to pull out an old, 1970s Pioneer integrated for the burn in purpose.

The speaker cables I used was one of the thinner gauge copper wires bought at radioshack.  And this thing was a mess!  All wadded up making it hard to find the ends.  When I finally found them and hooked up the speakers, it looked like a ball of yarn a few cats had a heyday with.

I had a Marantz 63SE CDP.  I put a disc in to let the speakers break in.  And since I was already there, thought I'd read an audio magazine and listen to the music as a background.

But to my astonishment, the music sounded pretty darn good!  A sub $500 rig was holding its own.

For shitz and giggles I put on a few test tracks being confident the rig would not be able to pull out all the nuances from the tracks that my main rig could.  After a few tracks I stopped, disappointed all that extra money bought so little in return.

At that time I told myself it's ok because I like the audio toys and that had I actually done a long term comparison, I would have noticed the differences right away.

But I didn't do the long term comparison just in case!  ;-)

in an A/B test with a switch, anyone can easily spot the difference between DACs.  When listening to them at different times and further removed, this can be more challenging and there are specific things I look for.  Width of the soundstage.  Instrument separation.  Brightness on certain songs.  Sibilance on certain songs that help you identify the differences.  Best thing to do is take detailed notes of what you hear when listening to different units.  It changes how you evaluate gear.