@anamalous,
I haven't spent that much time on the DBA-02. I'll try to give you a mini comparison. My initial impressions on the DBA-02 vs the SM3 is that the SM3 is just more colorful than the DBA-02. Bass is stronger when it needs to be, but can be equally as pianissimo as the DBA-02. The same goes throughout all the spectrum.
If you have the Sleek Audio SA6, you can use that as a starting point in this mini-comp.
I almost feel as it's like going from being R/G or B/Y color blind to seeing color in all 3, to however tetrachromats see the world. They technically see everything we do, but since they get one more color information channel, the subtleties are so much more pronounced.
The Sleek Audio SA6 would be like being color blind. You can still see the shapes (the basic structure and resolution of the music) just as well as everyone else (it's not like you can't tell the difference between a bus and a truck when you're colorblind), but certain colors just don't contrast well with others, because one of your color channels are missing. So the world is less colorful. In the same vein, the music is there, but not all the little things are there. So the sonic analogy would be the certain frequencies would smear together because the frequency resolution just isn't that sharp.
The DBA-02 would be like seeing in normal color. You can see (hear) everything pretty well. Shapes and colors are how they should be. Nothing out of the ordinary. People with hearing loss would just be like people who wear glasses. They can still hear (see) well, just need a little help. Reds (bass) are there, green (mids) are normal, blues (highs) are there also. It's just normal. I can tell that the shirt your are wearing is orange, but i wouldn't be able to tell if that orange is more on the red side, or the orange side. DBA-02 are like that you hear everything just fine, but compared to the the SM3, the subtleties are not as audible.
The SM3s would be like tetrachromats. They see just like we do (a car is a car, Mariah Carey is Mariah Carey) but since they have an extra cone, they get color information in 4 channels. So to continue the visual analogy, normal people see RGB, tetrachromats see ROGB. They have an orange cone that sits almost exactly between the red cone and green cone in terms of peak frequency response. The SM3 in that regards is like a sonic tetrachromat. EVERYTHING is there, not only that but you can hear (see) in such a higher resolution that anything else that I have. I would guess that customs sound something how the SM3's sound (don't have any). The SM3 is able to properly show the small differences that get lost in other phones. You can hear the really light stress in Mariah Carey's whistle tones that just aren't there with the others.
Hopefully I didn't overload on the analogy. A much simpler version would go something like this:
The music is the same, but nothing is lost with the SM3s; whereas with the DBA-02 some sonic sacrifices are made in terms of power and resolution, mostly on either end of the audible spectrum. Less accurate and powerful bass, less accurate and powerful treble. Mids are pretty similar in terms of power, but aren't as accurate.
The SM3's are all about accuracy. The waveform that comes out of the DAC is exactly what goes into your ears. The DBA-02's waveform would look really similar to the SM3's but be a little fuzzier.
I'll try to get pics up when I get a camera from one of my friends. This hobby is expensive, so electronic sacrifices must be made.
hell I'm waiting for something in the mail at customs for the last couple days and pissing me off and there's been ton of communication on the seller's part...maybe I'm just not very patient
