Do hard drives sound different?
Aug 31, 2014 at 2:30 AM Post #121 of 128
  Only thing I can tie the wet vs dry is the waterfall graph showing tonal decay which is headphone related.

 
What is the threshold of audibility for reverberation and decay? (Hint: It's a LOT higher than you think.)
 
Aug 31, 2014 at 4:57 AM Post #123 of 128
I'm just a little wary of everything I read from both sides of the debate. I mean, at least this guy has listened to and compared them. (And I know he is an experienced and respected member of this forum and others.) Shrugging it off and saying there's no way they sound different seems irresponsible to me. My perspective is: maybe, maybe not. I haven't listened to and done measurements for these amps, after all. Anyway, I'm getting an amp/DAC combo under $300, so no worries for now. If more expensive amps offer nothing more in the future, all the better for my wallet.

If any amp displays wet or dry tendencies, why would anybody want it? As has already been said, designing a transparent amp or dac isn't difficult and equalizing the phone or speakers is the right way to do it, otherwise the search for a complimentary "tone control" is never ending and fruitless, unless you're lucky enough to be touched by the hand of god.
This guy and his followers have also claimed to have found a non-linearity in the ESS Sabre dac at, (from memory), -130 dB and they constantly refer to it as "the Sabre glare". If they truly believe they can hear that non-linearity at that level then they are kidding themselves.
If you haven't listened to the HD800, you need to, along with as many other phones in your price range as you can. Speakers and headphones are many times more important and more difficult to design than electronics. And make sure you're listening through nothing "wet" or "dry". Then you should discover that soundstage, imaging, reverberation, decay and all those other terms are, or should be, a product of the recording.
 
Aug 31, 2014 at 10:00 AM Post #124 of 128
Because people don't understand what it means when an amp is transparent. They think amps can improve the sound and add things almost ad infinitum. For instance, tube amps are at once claimed to boost the bass, make the midrange more 'liquid', tame the treble, offer 'holographic soundstage', etc. And many expensive solid states are believed to 'drive with great power', having a certain euphonic warmth, you name it. That is not my words. That is what I used to read on head fi on a daily basis when I used to visit the amp section. They don't understand why transparency, maybe a bit of coloration to your liking for whatever reason, is the final goal. They think transparency is just a certain flavor and is one of many choices. They believe the more expensive the amp, the better the sound.
 
Aug 31, 2014 at 1:39 PM Post #125 of 128
  What are you trying to say?

 
How can one read a waterfall graph when one doesn't know what that represents in real world sound?
 
The answer is like the "Sabre Glare" above. You look at a wiggle in a line and you imagine you can hear it. Timing errors have to be VERY large to be audible. The sorts of timing errors people talk about as being important are often an order of magnitude or more below their ability to hear it.
 
Aug 31, 2014 at 1:46 PM Post #126 of 128
   
How can one read a waterfall graph when one doesn't know what that represents in real world sound?
 
The answer is like the "Sabre Glare" above. You look at a wiggle in a line and you imagine you can hear it. Timing errors have to be VERY large to be audible. The sorts of timing errors people talk about as being important are often an order of magnitude or more below their ability to hear it.

I think the Sabre glare and headphone decay are two different phenomina.  One has to do with headphones tonal decay characteristic and the other the DAC.  As for the Sabre glare, you would have to see if it get affected at the output, and if the dB level is up in the threshhold of audibility as been pointed out.  Same for the decay graph.  Questions should be asked that is the audible relationship to the decay characteristic.  What we know is the it's related to the lasting of the tone.  It provide more information than a simple FR graph.  
 
Aug 31, 2014 at 1:50 PM Post #127 of 128
If timing errors reached the threshold of audibility they would be important too. But the truth is, they rarely do. Try to figure out or look up the size of a time delay that is the threshold of audibility. Then compare the size of that time to the size of time in waterfall graphs.
 
Sep 7, 2014 at 7:48 PM Post #128 of 128
Gosh, this thread was fun! Sorry I missed it in real— time.
 

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