Best practices when conducting a DAC comparison

if you don't hear a significant difference in the first 30 seconds then keep what you have!  Well that is my opinion anyway.  Happy Listening.

So if a recent blind test indicated that piece ‘A’ is the best, would you go out and buy this without hearing it 1st? I don’t give a s$&# if a group or a reviewer indicates this it that, I would have to listen to it 1st before spending a dime on it.
if my ears hear a difference between pcm versions, or DSD, flac/aiff, or MQA, then I will pursue that format.

Personally, I let the reviewers do the heavy lifting.  I read all of the reviews I could find on the DAC I was interested in and paid attention to the associated equipment they were using.  I was interested in the Auralic Vega nad purchased it based on the reviews of several seasoned audio/digital audio reviewers and decided to purchase the DAC based on what their observations were.  I believe I made an excellent choice.  I live in Cleveland and when I purchased the Vega, there were not many dealers that were well versed (or equipped) with digital audio gear.  Just my 2 cents.

Dan

I agree that the only way to compare audio equipment is a/b any contenders.  I also agree that matching volume if allowed two inputs is critical.  Is there any better way to hear the difference?

There are so many very good brands out there, reviews and comments/opinions  like these provide a guide in narrowing down selections within your budget...

jhv

@bigkidz   Is your 30 second test after break-in and when doing a quick A / B? Thanks.

@rbstehno  I agree. We are the ones living with our gear, usually for significant periods of time. These are very personal choices based on our experience and preferences and system synergy.

@dpetri  To date, to my knowledge there is only one major review of the Denafrips Terminator DAC that I purchased. I had made the decision to do so prior to the 6Moons review, but it came out approximately the same time I placed the order.

Certainly preferable would be a number of sources, owners and reviewers, to help with the choice. Good as a guide, especially if one finds their preferences line up with a reviewer's. But as @rbstehno  posted, ultimately it's our ears, and system, and room, etc. etc.

@dumacker  Thanks. I guess that is the crux of the issue: "Is there any better way to hear the difference?"

As a general update, I have two weeks of run time on the new DAC. I still need to install the Gen 5 board in the Yggdrasil and get it running as well. Everything is still on track for an evaluation between both towards the end of November.

Please add any other thoughts on the topic and approaches on how to best go about a DAC comparison. Thanks.