I myself have listened to many different dacs and all of them have about the same specs but the expensive ones tend to sound clearer with less distortion. Is there some other way to measure a dac quality other than price?
I myself have listened to many different dacs and all of them have about the same specs but the expensive ones tend to sound clearer with less distortion. Is there some other way to measure a dac quality other than price?
With all things equal in a system reproducing sounds the way you want, changing the DAC should be materially different for the better of what you value in reproductive sound.
Just listen and determine if there is value to you. I don’t chase perfection. I chase not messing up what I have achieved. I finally have synergy. I can listen for hours knowing it isn’t the most resolving or the biggest stage but just a magic enjoyment. Will I stop looking for more? Of course not.
All this talk about the best DAC is mute to me. There is too much competitive jostling for recognition. Camps form around different preferences. “Mine is better than yours”. Follow your ears and be prudent to your wallet. Somewhere there is a genius electrical engineer but also somewhere is a marketing department trying to part with your money.