The DAC scam

[Jasonovich]

Great comment.

Second cup of coffee 😁👍

 

[twinkletoes]

You implied it by mentioning them.

How is that, it’s my only comment

 

[djh1697]

If Tom Evans could only make a DAC.....?

 

[Witterings]

I think it's well known that controversial comments get more "hits" than vanilla ones and if you have a look a the titles of a very high percentage of his videos they're all worded to get a reaction and more hits just so he can make money ... on that basis I think the guy's a complete ******* and woudn't believe a word he says.

My own personal experience having spent about 1 to 2 hrs a day for a month, listening to and comparing different streamers and DAC's they very definitely do make a difference.

Just my 2p's worth.

 

[Jasonovich]

I think it's well known that controversial comments get more "hits" than vanilla ones and if you have a look a the titles of a very high percentage of his videos they're all worded to get a reaction and more hits just so he can make money ... on that basis I think the guy's a complete ******* and woudn't believe a word he says.

My own personal experience having spent about 1 to 2 hrs a day for a month, listening to and comparing different streamers and DAC's they very definitely do make a difference.

Just my 2p's worth.

I see what he's doing, he's bringing the DAC to the level of the cable debate...yes....what's the cue?
Yes....they all sound the same!
Ha ha ha what a surprise.
Much to my poor judgement, I've listened to a lot of this guys YT videos and yeah to my ears it all sounds the same, the same m***nic monologue. 🙂

 

[Friesiansam]

I treat ranting YouTubers with the same contempt as any ‘influencer’.

 

[Al ears]

I treat ranting YouTubers with the same contempt as any ‘influencer’.

True. Opinionated and there for their own benefit not that of others it seems.

 

[Rui]

i found it boring ,this guys videos, this is another i couldn´t see it all ,only one that i paid attention was when he talks about appearing with a Hitler look ,maybe the most important for hi-fi enthusiasts, some topics just sickens me up, not a good ....whatever it is. but why don´t spend money instead on a internal dac , they are cheap and installing it is very simple , or cheap if asking other to do it . Or maybe today younger men don´t know how to work with simple electronics, when i was 14 i learned in school how to make a fm transmiter it was so simple and lot´s of fun if pocket size when people gathered at local gardens and listening to sunday´s football games ,sometimes teams seemed to be playing basketball of so many goals ,historical ones Benfica12 V Porto 9(i´m portuguese) , total goals in a important match ,21 . Unusual but people cheered

 

[ToppingSMSL]

How is that, it’s my only comment

Jason implied it then. Use your brain.

 

[Rui]

DACs are measured at the RCA or balanced outputs. The "integrity of design" and components used already form part of the measurement make-up. Why does this always need to be explained to some audiophiles?

this is where i ask , does anyone know what defines a real audiophile not the loves audio meaning, as is it not related with , how deep are you´re pockets? i knew real people without money and they would be creating ways of having better sound in they´re own bedrooms, i remenber friends going to those places in the countryside where people descart old refrigerators, and black and white tv´s to take the litle speakers, lot´s of them as in Portugal colour tv only appeared in the 80´s, allthough i had colour tv since 1977 from Normende with wireless headphones and not heavy, has i had a entire neighborwood of german or deutch family´s inside the city i grew up, and they used to sell very cheap when returning to Germany ,furniture, cars and electronics ,that´s how i found a lot of european hi-fi brands that were much better than japanese, Normende was one of them, and other favorite ones were Philips , Blaupunkt and Schneider .
That´s how persons with almost nothing and dificult to feed a family with no money or close to nothing but a Scheneider component stereo system with tangential turntable(at the time new) and very nice speakers, with a high quality that is still today high and today with a dvd of 35€ bought 20 years ago ,plays cds too and with good sound, Denver the brand of the dvd, like in Colorado but made in Poland not in China , if this persons listen to music everyday with taste (some) aren´t this persons audiophiles? having at home very good sounding systems by luck bought for a very acessible price in the early 80´s

 

[SeattleChris]

Funny how the DAC debate parallels religion with "believers" and "non-believers". Believers say, "DACs convert 1's and 0's to a sound wave so how could it not affect sound?". Non-believers say, "all DACs do is convert 1's and 0's to a sound wave so how could it affect sound?". Per my prior posts I'm a DAC "believer"; service starts at 10:00 am Saturday.

 

[ToppingSMSL]

Funny how the DAC debate parallels religion with "believers" and "non-believers". Believers say, "DACs convert 1's and 0's to a sound wave so how could it not affect sound?". Non-believers say, "all DACs do is convert 1's and 0's to a sound wave so how could it affect sound?". Per my prior posts I'm a DAC "believer"; service starts at 10:00 am Saturday.

It's funny how some people like to claim it parallels religion. In reality there is no religion to follow, only science.

 

[Jasonovich]

Funny how the DAC debate parallels religion with "believers" and "non-believers". Believers say, "DACs convert 1's and 0's to a sound wave so how could it not affect sound?". Non-believers say, "all DACs do is convert 1's and 0's to a sound wave so how could it affect sound?". Per my prior posts I'm a DAC "believer"; service starts at 10:00 am Saturday.

View: https://youtu.be/5tpxXDILZHs?si=QRNjrvSxUjOV2s4m


Amen 🙂

Ps.
George Michael "Micky" Dolenz Jr was born on March 8, 1945 and just celebrated his 80th birthday on March 8, 2025. The last surviving member.

 

[GroeneLeeuw]

Beliefs are fine.
Don´t impose them on others.
Don´t present them as facts.
Your money.

 

[ToppingSMSL]

Beliefs are fine.
Don´t impose them on others.
Don´t present them as facts.
Your money.

Subjective listening comparisons go against the established science - established science tells us they are deeply flawed and unreliable.

 

[andrewmkennedy]

Well

I have 3 different DACs which I use regularly; a separate Topping DAC, 2 which inbuilt in 2 amplifiers (Denon & Rotel).
I hear no difference between them

That is the whole point of digital. It either is or it isn't. There's no level of extra digital greatness. Those 1s don't come out more shiny because you spent an extra £1000 on a DAC.

 

[Jasonovich]

Ok going off the topic but I can't turn the other cheek 🙂

What we perceived as science is actually the ceiling of our understanding. Science is infinite and the more we evolve, the more we disprove the previous doctrines that were once held true, like cables.

Science isn't definitive, there's always science to disprove science, when we're at the pinnacle of our own evolution, we can one day say Science Proves the Existence of God.

So until then, we've got a long way to go (a million or so, if we make it). Let's just respect other people's beliefs and opinions. 🙂

 

[RTHerringbone]

Honestly, the notion that you can love the sound of something and then be told that science says you're wrong is just the point where you stop listening to music.

If preferences need to be measured and validated to meet some sort of theoretical "right", then the world would be incredibly dull. Yes: we're all targets of businesses and marketing, but to pigeon-hole everything as right or wrong is pointlessly arbitrary: stuff that from all angles. Twice. What a bland, uniform existence.

 

[manicm]

Honestly, the notion that you can love the sound of something and then be told that science says you're wrong is just the point where you stop listening to music.

If preferences need to be measured and validated to meet some sort of theoretical "right", then the world would be incredibly dull. Yes: we're all targets of businesses and marketing, but to pigeon-hole everything as right or wrong is pointlessly arbitrary: stuff that from all angles. Twice. What a bland, uniform existence.

Agreed 💯

 

[Al ears]

Subjective listening comparisons go against the established science - established science tells us they are deeply flawed and unreliable.

But ultimately it is what most people's hifi set-up is based on.
Go figure!

 

[ToppingSMSL]

Honestly, the notion that you can love the sound of something and then be told that science says you're wrong is just the point where you stop listening to music.

If preferences need to be measured and validated to meet some sort of theoretical "right", then the world would be incredibly dull. Yes: we're all targets of businesses and marketing, but to pigeon-hole everything as right or wrong is pointlessly arbitrary: stuff that from all angles. Twice. What a bland, uniform existence.

Nobody is saying anyone is wrong to love the sound of something. Where did you get that idea? These strawman arguments are quite tedious. The religion comparison is another one

 

[ToppingSMSL]

But ultimately it is what most people's hifi set-up is based on.
Go figure!

That's not really a particularly interesting observation. The subjective listening thing is pushed so much by hifi magazines like what HiFi and many YouTube reviewers. But subjective listening tests are flawed - that's been proven by science.

 

[Al ears]

That's not really a particularly interesting observation. The subjective listening thing is pushed so much by hifi magazines like what HiFi and many YouTube reviewers. But subjective listening tests are flawed - that's been proven by science.

Precisely why science isn't the be all and end all.
If I decide I have a system that I really like who cares if science tells me it is actually rubbish??
I'm the one listening to it not some scientists.
I can assure you that even if you do have a streamer and an amp that measure perfectly, stick them in a non ideal room with any old speaker and it's not exactly going to sound very good.

 

[Jasonovich]

Precisely why science isn't the be all and end all.
If I decide I have a system that I really like who cares if science tells me it is actually rubbish??
I'm the one listening to it not some scientists.
I can assure you that even if you do have a streamer and an amp that measure perfectly, stick them in a non ideal room with any old speaker and it's not exactly going to sound very good.

It's all relative my dear chap!



Seriously though.

Measurements are least of my worries, good room acoustics, positioning of speakers, how components interface with each other, should always take precedence.

 

[Friesiansam]

If I decide I have a system that I really like who cares if science tells me it is actually rubbish??
I'm the one listening to it not some scientists.

This is exactly how I feel about HiFi.