[charleski]

  as far as I know no legal site containing headphone related relevant information is strictly forbidden on head-fi - linking to banned members individual posts or blogs that specifically criticize head-fi moderation may be deleted if seen as a way to give them a voice on their banning here

Well, there are a couple of results out there that report a difference between DACs, and one of them is on a site I know for sure is banned here (I suspect people will be able to guess who that is). Do a search for 'DAC Listening Challenge Results' and you should find it. It was based on redigitising the output of different DACs and letting people who read the blog compare the files. The problem is that the output coming from the Benchmark DAC 1 gained significantly more preference votes (by a large margin) than the original ripped straight from CD! I doubt that anyone would claim that music is improved by passing it through a DAC->ADC chain (but hell, anything's possible in home audio, I guess ...). It seems that participants were allowed to discuss what they thought of the various files, a process that introduced sufficient bias to make the results unreliable.
 
There's another blind test. Both DACs were ΔΣ. In the first batch of tests he allowed himself to freely alter the volume level and got 10 right out of 16 - slightly better than chance and certainly not significant. In the second batch he claims he 'level matched 0.01dB' - how, he doesn't say, and matching to that degree of precision would require some serious professional gear. Despite this 'level matching' he notes that one of the DACs was 'just plain louder all the time' - i.e., they weren't level matched. Unsurprisingly, he proves that he can spot the volume difference 8 times out of 8.

 

[limpidglitch]

So it was the toilet paper guy.

 

[watchnerd]

   
So it was the toilet paper guy.

 
Clearly some history I don't know...the toilet paper guy?

 

[Sonic Defender]

  - i.e., they weren't level matched. Unsurprisingly, he proves that he can spot the volume difference 8 times out of 8.

LOL

 

[watchnerd]

  LOL

 
And, once again, "proof" falls apart...

 

[limpidglitch]

   
Clearly some history I don't know...the toilet paper guy?

 
It's how he made his initial mark.
 
Since then he has more or less abandoned head-fi, and started his own collectives.
First with Chang*, which ended rather ugly, and now a new attempt called something-something-friends.
I'm not so sure it I'm even allowed to talk about this, head-fi politics are confusing.

 

[watchnerd]

Seems harmless and funny to me...

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
And, once again, "proof" falls apart...

I'm not sure if you are agreeing with me, or saying I missed something?

 

[Joe Bloggs]

For a moment there I thought Sonic Defender was the toilet paper guy...

 

[watchnerd]

  I'm not sure if you are agreeing with me, or saying I missed something?

 
Agreeing

 

[Ruben123]

Well, there are a couple of results out there that report a difference between DACs, and one of them is on a site I know for sure is banned here (I suspect people will be able to guess who that is). Do a search for 'DAC Listening Challenge Results' and you should find it. It was based on redigitising the output of different DACs and letting people who read the blog compare the files. The problem is that the output coming from the Benchmark DAC 1 gained significantly more preference votes (by a large margin) than the original ripped straight from CD! I doubt that anyone would claim that music is improved by passing it through a DAC->ADC chain (but hell, anything's possible in home audio, I guess ...). It seems that participants were allowed to discuss what they thought of the various files, a process that introduced sufficient bias to make the results unreliable.

There's another blind test. Both DACs were ΔΣ. In the first batch of tests he allowed himself to freely alter the volume level and got 10 right out of 16 - slightly better than chance and certainly not significant. In the second batch he claims he 'level matched 0.01dB' - how, he doesn't say, and matching to that degree of precision would require some serious professional gear. Despite this 'level matching' he notes that one of the DACs was 'just plain louder all the time' - i.e., they weren't level matched. Unsurprisingly, he proves that he can spot the volume difference 8 times out of 8.

Which simply means DACs can have an impact on sound, what to some people may sound better even though less the same as original CD. If this is actually good and which DAC does and which doesn't alter the original sound is more of a question then...

 

[watchnerd]

Which simply means DACs can have an impact on sound, what to some people may sound better even though less the same as original CD. If this is actually good and which DAC does and which doesn't alter the original sound is more of a question then...

 
No, it means that if you don't level match it's easy to hear the difference.

 

[Ruben123]

No, it means that if you don't level match it's easy to hear the difference.

If it is not level matched it's undoubtedly a different story then!

 

[Sonic Defender]

For a moment there I thought Sonic Defender was the toilet paper guy...

Ha ha, no, but I've been told I use too much of the stuff. I always tell people when I can see I don't need more, I stop using it, until that point I kind of keep at it!! My daughter made me switch my avatar, but I do like cats anyway.

 

[dharma]

is there any realword use for such so-called 'DIY' https://hifiduino.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/r2r-for-the-rest-of-us/