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DAC Measurements vs Actual Experience

I have spent the last two days evaluating which of these two DACs I will be keeping:
1) Benchmark DAC3
2) PS Audio DirectStream

I'm foregoing the use of a dedicated preamp; the chosen DAC will serve that purpose.* 

I had read up on the technical side of each of these exhaustively before purchase. For those of you who aren't familiar, the Benchmark DAC3 measures quite well in every category. The PS Audio DirectStream, on the other hand, not so much. In fact, Audio Science Review places these two near opposite ends of its SINAD (signal-to-noise-and-distortion) list with the PS Audio being positioned near the bottom. Stereophile also provided measurements in their review that painted the PS Audio in an unfavorable light. 

And yet the DirectStream is proving to provide a sound that is more, dare I say, musical. It's a bit more relaxed, sounding a tad reserved in comparison to the DAC3, and the presentation of 100 Hz and lower seems to be slightly vague, but it's also less edgy, possessing a better soundstage, and is overall ever-so-slightly more enjoyable. So what am I doing wrong?

* Is it worth considering putting a dedicated preamp downstream of the DAC3 in hopes of gaining a more favorable sound? 
sixfour3

Showing 1 response by jjss49

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jjss49
6,610 posts
 
measurements can be useful when designing gear, but they are almost useless to determine whether a piece of gear provides musical enjoyment

accuracy is the signal as a proxy for what sounds real and what sounds good is mightily flawed as a concept - we are talking about REPRODUCTION of music here... a watercolor, a photograph of an event ... the distance from the real thing is huge

furthermore, for produced/mixed music, what is real and accurate anyway? it just matters if things sound good, as perceived by the listener

"he died of a heart attack!!" - but why?  his body temperature was exactly 98.6*!!!!!!!!!!!
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