[ruthieandjohn]

I am trying to choose the best of a few DACs (actually, portable DAC / amps), and I could use some recommendations of source material that really makes a good DAC shine.

Any recommendations, either of particular recordings or of types of music? For example, I seem to pick up finer distinctions in music that has a large sound stage and lots of high-frequency content such as percussion.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[canthearyou]

The music you like to listen to.

 

[Dulalala]

The music you like to listen to.

I agree, you should use what you are most familiar with instead of some random "audiophile" song.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Hey, John, haven't talked to you in awhile.

Yes, music you are intimately familiar with is best. If this doesn't cover all genres of music, though, it would also be a good idea to try all the different types of music you can. (If you're unable to find good test tracks in a given genre, just let me know and I can point you in the right direction.)

Ironically, lower quality recordings can sometimes show differences between source components more easily than higher quality recordings that sound good no matter which electronics you use.

Since you're dealing with DAC/amps, you may also want to use a passive preamp (I have the Schiit SYS) and connect them all to the same external amp to isolate the variables, because the amps in some DAC/amps can significantly color the sound in contrast to using them in DAC only mode. (This type of comparison is more ideal with active speakers in my experience.) This doesn't apply to Chord DAC/amps, however, since their amplification is in the DAC's analog output stage and cannot be bypassed.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Thanks for the responses so far. Indeed I started out with music that I am VERY familiar with, having used it for comparing 50 different headphones over the years. However, it does not definitively distinguish differences in DAC vs. no DAC out of an iPhone. Here is a bit more on my travails to date.

I think I will scour the threads and reviews for good DACs for statements like "I played the Chopin version of 'Chopsticks' by Vladimer Horowitz and the Berlin Philharmonic (Deutsche Gramophone recording) on these two DACs, and the Stockholm DAC beat the Chord Hugo by a significant amount." I would then peg that recording as one that might be suited for distinguishing DACs.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I am trying to choose the best of a few DACs (actually, portable DAC / amps), and I could use some recommendations of source material that really makes a good DAC shine.

Any recommendations, either of particular recordings or of types of music? For example, I seem to pick up finer distinctions in music that has a large sound stage and lots of high-frequency content such as percussion.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Just use lossless copies of whatever you would listen to even outside of testing. For one, you'd be more familiar with that material. Second, even if you could pick out any difference on some tracks, if you don't listen to them otherwise, then in practice the improvements won't matter.

 

[cossix]

I agree with listening to the stuff you're familiar with, but also try some lossless copies of songs that demonstrate a vast dynamic range. With a good DAC, there will be more detail in the quiet parts and more detail/less distortion in the loud parts.

It's easier (for me) to compare an amp with no amp (even with low impedance cans the mix will be more balanced and the bass will be punchier), but comparing DACs is something that I'm not amazing at.

At the end of the day, some of us can easily pick out differences between certain equipment and some of us can't. In an ideal world, people wouldn't be spending extra thousands of dollars to upgrade their DAC when they can't tell the difference between their Modi 2 and the Yggdrasil that some snobby guy on Head-Fi told him he needed to have if he wants to be a "real" audiophile. The balance is to understand the point at which buying more expensive gear won't be worth the cost of getting it. I'm perfectly happy stopping at the HD650/Balanced Jotunheim.

ANYWAY, just listen to what you always do, and then try some good 24/192 lossless and try to pick out a difference in detail between the two. A/B'ing two setups on the same amp is a very good idea, you may even be able to find some way to quickly switch between two sources. The longer you spend between the two setups, the less likely you are to remember the last thing you heard with any accuracy, which in turn will fool your brain into thinking they sound exactly the same. Good luck!

 

[Music Alchemist]

A/B'ing two setups on the same amp is a very good idea, you may even be able to find some way to quickly switch between two sources.

Yep, the Schiit SYS passive preamp I mentioned can do that.

 

[obobskivich]

Agree with "listen to what you know" as a broad suggestion - if you've never heard the music before how are you supposed to take a stab at how it sounds relative to other gear?

That said, if I'm auditioning gear I tend to preference tracks that are heavily vocally focused. My reasoning is this: our brains naturally preference the sound of human voices and we're easily able to focus on them even in a loud environment by isolating them out from the other "noise." So I figure that probably works with music too, and try to listen to said vocally focused music specifically for how the vocals sound - do I hear all of the bits of detail (at least that I already know should be there) in the piece? Do I hear anything "new"? Does it sound right to me? I've tried using orchestral pieces that I'm relatively familiar with, or rock pieces that I'm relatively familiar with, and frankly find it less effective and more stressful than just listening to the human voice. Sure, I've got a few other tracks that I'll grab specifically because they're very bassy and give quick'n'dirty report of what a given speaker/headphone/flying magic toaster can do with LF, but I wouldn't base a purchasing decision solely on that.


I also agree with the point that cossix made about not everyone being as picky in their gear selection, and not letting yourself get pushed into buying something you don't need or won't notice a benefit from just because you read about it somewhere.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

I followed the advice of @Music Alchemist and got a switch so that I could instantaneously switch from the "with Hugo" to the "without Hugo" path, equalizing levels, using two (digital) sources, and assuring they were synchronized so that each was playing the same part of music. I also followed the advise of some who have said the distinctions among DAC/amps are so subtle that you should use high-resolution (greater than CD rate of 44.1 Ksamples/sec) files, so I used 96 Ksample/sec material (Jazz At The Pawnshop).

I could not hear a difference. I tried different sorts of music (jazz group, rock group, piano and orchestra, vocals), different bit rates (96K. 44.1K, and regular Apple 256 kb/sec VBR of its AAC format), got my wife to compare (she hears better than I do), and tried both the Grado HP1000 and the Grado GS1000i. I also tried a much cheaper DAC/amp (the Beyerdynamic A 200 p) along with the Chord Hugo.

Still no difference, for any of these (!)

 

[Music Alchemist]

I followed the advice of @Music Alchemist and got a switch so that I could instantaneously switch from the "with Hugo" to the "without Hugo" path, equalizing levels, using two (digital) sources, and assuring they were synchronized so that each was playing the same part of music. I also followed the advise of some who have said the distinctions among DAC/amps are so subtle that you should use high-resolution (greater than CD rate of 44.1 Ksamples/sec) files, so I used 96 Ksample/sec material (Jazz At The Pawnshop).

I could not hear a difference. I tried different sorts of music (jazz group, rock group, piano and orchestra, vocals), different bit rates (96K. 44.1K, and regular Apple 256 kb/sec VBR of its AAC format), got my wife to compare (she hears better than I do), and tried both the Grado HP1000 and the Grado GS1000i. I also tried a much cheaper DAC/amp (the Beyerdynamic A 200 p) along with the Chord Hugo.

Still no difference, for any of these (!)

It's surprising that you don't hear a difference.

I've owned around a dozen DACs and pretty much all of them sounded different. Even with $20 Koss KTXPRO1 headphones, the difference between entry-level DAC/amps and the Chord Mojo was immediately obvious. (Sometimes more so than with four figure headphones, since I'm more familiar with the KTX.) But the differences were most apparent with my studio monitor speakers. Using DACs under $200, the speakers still sound good, but sorta lo-fi compared to how much better they sound with the Chord 2Qute. (Which is basically the home system version of the Hugo.)

Try using more headphones, along with speakers if you have any. I'm assuming you've already tested with your HD 800 and HE1000.

Also try more types of music. The genres you listed are only a few of the ones out there, after all.

On the plus side, at least you know now that you don't need to spend money on DAC/amp upgrades. (Whereas I find entry-level ones to be so bad that they're unlistenable.)

 

[ruthieandjohn]

I have heard differences in the past... e.g., an iPhone 4 with and without a Sony PHA-1, or a V-MODA with or without the VAMP VERZA DAC/amp.

I think that the current generation of iPhones and iPods have increased the quality of their DAC and output circuit (I am using the iPhone 5S and the iPod Touch 6 Gen). Indeed, there is an article in MacRumors about how the iPhone 5s quality is a large step above that of the 5 (and 4), and the change to Cirrus chips is credited. This link on head-fi.org also points to a significant increase in iPhone 5S audio quality.

 

[Music Alchemist]

@ruthieandjohn

Do you have any speakers you can test with?

I just got my second Chord Mojo and the improvements in sound quality are night and day compared to more affordable DACs. (And the difference in sound signature is also obvious compared to even more expensive DACs of comparable sound quality.) This is with JBL LSR305 speakers. It was easy to tell the difference with headphones in the past, but I'd say it's even easier to tell with speakers.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

What songs(s) did you use to get a night and day difference? What differences did you hear? Thanks!

 

[Music Alchemist]

What songs(s) did you use to get a night and day difference? What differences did you hear? Thanks!

Any and all songs. The differences are in just about every area. Read reviews if you want reviews, I guess.

So I guess you don't have speakers, then?