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What's special about expensive "audiophile" amp/DAC?
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Porama6400:
Speaking about electronically, I am just curious (and skeptical) about what's so special and why expensive one "sounds better"

I get it why it would be few hundred buck or so for long lasting as they would need non CapXon garbage stuff but for a grand or higher, that seems absurd to me.

isn't flat response Amp or DAC something we already do all the time?
james_s:
In practice there is nothing really special, it sounds better because the placebo effect is real. Some of them also look quite nice, subjectively. It is futile to go looking for logic in the audiophile world.
Gyro:
Although attention to detail and competent design will get you a long way. It's not so much about the Silicon used, it's more about getting the best out of it. Noise, ground layout, PSU rails etc.
SiliconWizard:
Nice clickbait for the audiophool busters!

It must be maybe the 1 millionth thread on the topic or something. ::)


--- Quote from: Porama6400 on March 04, 2020, 06:59:35 pm ---Speaking about electronically, I am just curious (and skeptical) about what's so special and why expensive one "sounds better"

--- End quote ---

Being skeptical is always a good thing.


--- Quote from: Porama6400 on March 04, 2020, 06:59:35 pm ---isn't flat response Amp or DAC (...)

--- End quote ---

Define "flat response" first maybe?


--- Quote from: Porama6400 on March 04, 2020, 06:59:35 pm ---(...) something we already do all the time?

--- End quote ---

Not really. It's more like: we design crap all the time, and only very occasionally do better for precision stuff. Now is this crap "good enough"? This is where this kind of topic will never end.


--- Quote from: Porama6400 on March 04, 2020, 06:59:35 pm ---I get it why it would be few hundred buck or so for long lasting as they would need non CapXon garbage stuff but for a grand or higher, that seems absurd to me.

--- End quote ---

We all know some products are ridiculously expensive, and yes, sometimes for no good reason, but judging the price of a product by what it contains doesn't make much sense either, unless we're talking about "commodity" stuff - including potatoes.

So price is not the issue IMHO here. The only valid issue is when a vendor sells stuff with claims that are just not *met*, which happens quite a bit in many areas, not just audio (but audio does indeed have a lot of this.) Now if some vendor sells a very expensive DAC, for instance, which a claimed THD+N a magnitude or more lower than what is usual in GOOD audio DACs, and this figure is actually met, I don't see a problem. If you think you need it, buy it, if you don't, fine, just buy something else, and let the professional debunkers, suddenly becoming hearing experts, spend hours explaining why such low THD figures don't make sense.

To sum it up: price is not a valid point (only very few goods these days have an "intrinsic" value strictly speaking anyway), false claims on objective figures are bad and usually punishable by law, and true claims on apparently ridiculously "good" characteristics (such as ultra low THD+N), I'll let you make your own opinion, and spend hours debating what is good enough and what isn't - don't worry, you'll find thousands of people to discuss that with you.
Zbig:
Your gut feeling is not failing you: it's all about delusion and raising your self-esteem by misguided feeling of belonging to some imaginary group of "elite" golden-ears. Also, including mandatory "Signature" in your bullshit product name and mentioning "quantum alignment" at least once in your marketing blurb. Compared to what we are now capable of achieving using our current technology, reproducing an electric signal of up to 20 kHz and not messing it up in the process is nothing really. Putting this in the perspective and comparing to the real challenges of modern tech, it's practically DC. We're already there since quite some time.

If you're asking not just theoretically and are actually in the market of a decent computer audio interface, without breaking the bank and having to endure all the drivel, you can't go wrong with established go-to manufacturers of mid-range gear aimed at musicians such as Focusrite's Scarlett line.
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