Davey, It seems we butt heads a lot, but believe it or not, I do value your and Macs thoughts. I just take exception with discussions that focus on measurements with out subjective evaluation considered. There is a big discussion on MAD regarding exactly that going on now.
Measurements are critically important in the design stage of any audio component, but we arent really discussing designs. Were talking about taking a very well engineered product and doing some mods to improve how it sounds, not how it measures. Many times these two thing correlate but not always. The differences in how the two DACs measured seemed irrelevant to me because Sean has already done the measurements on the SB and Burr Brown has measured the DACs. The KE chip specs better so unless Burr Brown is a charlatan, I believe them to be true. Modding usually involves using the best parts available, such as the KE DAC, Blackgate caps etc. I dont have to measure a Blackgate to know it sounds better than run of the mill caps. Ive listened to Blackgates in my equipment for close to 15 years. Ive either modded or had modded every piece of equipment in my audio system. Some mods were a significant change and others werent. None made the sound quality worse. Whether this is audible to you I dont know. It is to me and many, many others. What I was trying to convey was Vinnies (I assume Waynes too) mods do provide a very noticeable improvement, IMHO, in sound quality of an already excellent product. To ridicule or dismiss this without a comparison by several I feel is short sighted. I read your and Macs posts to be unfairly dismissive of this service. I take the speakers I build and let the masses evaluate them every year at the DIY events. Sometimes the opinions mirror mine and sometimes they dont but it at least gives me input on the designs I build. Some folks seem to be afraid to do that for some reason. This is what I meant by several. Opinions will vary but there is usually a consensus in the end. Sorry if you took offense at my post. It was meant only to provide a different perspective on a somewhat controversial subject, not to belittle or ridicule your point of view. Ultimately, it all comes down to the music for all of us. We just have different paths to get there. Best regards, Jim Davey Wrote: > Jim, > > I didn't say "only measurements matter," I said "measurements matter." > And I do consider myself a very seasoned audiophile who listens AND > measures. I know my opinion is not worth much to you....but it's worth > what you paid for it....or about the same as your opinion is worth to > me. > > Anyway, my main point was, Vinnie was quoting the improved > specifications of the "KE" version of the chip, but when queried about > whether this translates to actual measured performance in the SB his > answer was that he never bothered to test it and was relying on > subjective performance only. There's nothing wrong with that, but I > guess I'm the only one who saw the irony. > > Cheers, > > Davey. -- Jim Holtz ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jim Holtz's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=1456 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=18491 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
