[Gurra1980]

Hi Nad M51 users!

I have just bought the nad M51 for a discount price, tested it a couple of hours with different amps to my speakers and thought it sounded really good, but I have limited experience with DACs and especially speakers. So I was surfing around confirming my buy on various websites unfortunately I found this test, with a guy who seems very knowledgeable:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ments-of-nad-m51-dac-and-digital-preamp.6681/

But I have seen tests and meassurements on what hifi and stereophile where the dac got great results, so what do you more knowledgeable guys think of it? Is there something wrong with the tested unit, or does it perform bad on conditions I forgot testing during the about 2h listning I did? I'm on vacation a couple of weeks so I can't listen to it and and put my mind to rest...

 

[starfly]

Hi Nad M51 users!

I have just bought the nad M51 for a discount price, tested it a couple of hoursh with different amps to my speakers and thought it sounded really good, but I have limited experience with DACs and especially speakers. So I was surfing around confirming my buy on various websites unfortunately I found this test, with a guy who seems very knowledgeable:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ments-of-nad-m51-dac-and-digital-preamp.6681/

But I have seen tests on what hifi and stereophile where the dac got great results, so what do you more knowledgeable guys think of it? Is there something wrong with the tested unit, or does it perform bad on conditions I forgot testing during the about 2h listning I did? I'm on vacation a couple of weeks so I can't listen to it and and put my mind to rest...

What Hi-Fi and Stereophile focus mainly on giving a subjective impression of the gear they review. ASR gives an objective perspective based on measurements and science. Essentially, all a DAC needs to do is flawlessly convert a digital signal to analog and not introduce any distortion. Whenever a DAC does introduce distortion, it's objectively not a good DAC as it fails at the #1 thing it's supposed to do right. And an amp needs to flawlessly pass on a signal it receives to the headphone/speakers, without introducing any distortion.

Do keep in mind however that sometimes the measured distortion is only at non-audible (for humans) levels, and at that point whether it matters to you is for you to decide. I only skimped over the M51 review on ASR, but there are DACs available for a fraction of the price that measure a lot better and at that point I personally think it's a waste of money to spend that much money.

 

[Gurra1980]

Stereophile at least did a lot off measurements and came to the conclusion that it measures great. I have been in to headphones for many years and have landed in the conclusions that equipment that measures the same does not need to sound the same, I think if you were only to measure and not listen then you would need to have an almost endless amount of measurements to compare, and on top off that you would need to know how every type of measurement would sound. I don't know if this measurement is audible or not. Well well I got the dac for half the price and it sounds a lot better than the hrt microstreamer, mojo and dragon fly red at least. I'm just disappointed and would like to know from someone who know how this type of distortion sounds, if it is audible at all to humans.

 

[starfly]

Stereophile at least did a lot off measurements and came to the conclusion that it measures great. I have been in to headphones for many years and have landed in the conclusions that equipment that measures the same does not need to sound the same, I think if you were only to measure and not listen then you would need to have an almost endless amount of measurements to compare, and on top off that you would need to know how every type of measurement would sound. I don't know if this measurement is audible or not. Well well I got the dac for half the price and it sounds a lot better than the hrt microstreamer, mojo and dragon fly red at least. I'm just disappointed and would like to know from someone who know how this type of distortion sounds, if it is audible at all to humans.

I'd say, ask that question on ASR. They might be able to give you better answers based in science. There is otherwise too much fluff and made up nonsense in audio gear reviews (in particular with amps and dacs), so I do appreciate that there's a source like ASR that at least tries to go about reviewing gear with a more objective approach. Obviously for gear like headphones or speakers, it's impossible to avoid the subjective side. But I think a DAC or amp shouldn't add to or detract from the original source file, it should just move it along to the chain until it reaches the speaker or headphone, i.e. a wire with gain.

Otherwise I hear a noticeable difference when driving my Beyerdynamic Xelento through my Galaxy S10 or through my Fiio Q5. A fuller overall sound, better stereo imaging which gives the impression of a wide soundstage when driven through the Q5. But that's probably because with the Q5 it's actually receiving the power it needs where it's being driven to its fullest potential and thus sounds best, and the signal is better separated, no channel crosstalk, etc. And that's where I think the differences between DAC (and well, really, amps) lie. DACs of similar design and specs will sound pretty much the same and I doubt anyone will be able to tell a difference in a blind A/B test where everything is properly volume matched, etc. Amps as well. But amps/dacs of different specs and designs can obviously sound differently as one may not be driving the speaker or headphone as well as it should, which will make it sound different.