Are speakers the limiting factor when it comes to DACs?

[altruistic.lemon]

Got an email from a mate saying that a speaker manufacturer claimed it wasn't possible to hear differences between DACs through his speakers. Don't think that was really intended as it's hardly a good ad about the guy's own brand, but can't check.

Anyway, got me thinking as I took our unexpected house guest for its 4am walk that maybe he (my friend, not the house guest) was onto something. I'm pretty sure I could hear differences between DACs, but have only heard two. Maybe the differences between DACs are so small that some speakers aren't capable of revealing the differences. I mean, I know the differences are tiny, and the specs are apparently pretty similar, so maybe you do need decent speakers, as in really, really good, something like WHFs test ones, to hear them.

 

[chelstondave]

Have a couple of dacs and was lucky enough to be on a What Hifi big question test on this question. Now my ears aren't great but I can definitely tell differences between them, both in the what hifi test room and on my inferior-but-stil-good Acoustic energy radiance 1's. However they aren't large differences in my opinion compared to the differences between speakers.

 

[damonster]

Recently I replaced my Audiolab 8200cd player with an Exposure 210s2 dac .My Audiolab sounded too clinical for my tastes .listening to it for long periods left me uptight and stomach in knots .The exposure is different it is more musical and has a smoother presentation.my system no longer irritates me ,I listen to music now not analyse it.No more knotted stomach.Whether its a synergy thing or own personal taste all i can say is to my ears there is a difference.Not in a a way that you hear extra things or have deeper or wider soundstage,just that music is presented in a different way.It has a thicker, smoother ,richer sound .no edgy beats,bells or whistles.

 

[davedotco]

Recently I replaced my Audiolab 8200cd player with an Exposure 210s2 dac .My Audiolab sounded too clinical for my tastes .listening to it for long periods left me uptight and stomach in knots .The exposure is different it is more musical and has a smoother presentation.my system no longer irritates me ,I listen to music now not analyse it.No more knotted stomach.Whether its a synergy thing or own personal taste all i can say is to my ears there is a difference.Not in a a way that you hear extra things or have deeper or wider soundstage,just that music is presented in a different way.It has a thicker, smoother ,richer sound .no edgy beats,bells or whistles.

Your experience here is not unusual, it attests to something I have been 'going on' about for some time.

Loudspeakers are considered to be most important because they all sound different, this is true but in many cases unimportant when comparing models in a particular price range. I believe this is because most of the changes are 'presentational' or, if you prefer, 'quantitative'. Ie more or less bass, bright or dark etc, etc. Changes of this type are less important because you can modify these factors by positioning, set up, even eq, failing that you will simply 'get used to them' (running in as it is called).

Real 'qualititive' changes are often best found elsewhere, in the amplifier or the source. These may not be quite so obvious as the differences in loudspeakers but they are more fundamental, in my experience leading to much greater satisfaction in the longer term. Often these differences are quite hard to describe, often impossible in 'sound quality' terms so me end up talking about involvement and communication, difficult to rationalise but important in the real (hi-fi) world.

 

[CnoEvil]

Loudspeakers are considered to be most important because they all sound different, this is true but in many cases unimportant when comparing models in a particular price range. I believe this is because most of the changes are 'presentational' or, if you prefer, 'quantitative'. Ie more or less bass, bright or dark etc, etc. Changes of this type are less important because you can modify these factors by positioning, set up, even eq, failing that you will simply 'get used to them' (running in as it is called).

Real 'qualititive' changes are often best found elsewhere, in the amplifier or the source. These may not be quite so obvious as the differences in loudspeakers but they are more fundamental, in my experience leading to much greater satisfaction in the longer term. Often these differences are quite hard to describe, often impossible in 'sound quality' terms so me end up talking about involvement and communication, difficult to rationalise but important in the real (hi-fi) world.

Nicely put.