The sound quality from DACs - is it all the same?

Your cousin brother is mostly correct and ASR just reports the measurements - good or bad. We know what distortion is audible from measurements. If it doesn't pass that threshold then by definition it is inaudible. Measurements will show that. I don't know of any DACs today that have audible distortion. Almost all DACS use the same digital conversion chip. And the formula for analog conversion is also well-established. As a former software engineer I can tell you that conversions are always done by using a well-established formula. Otherwise, they're just plain wrong. There's no magic to it.

However, some DAC makers purposefully make their DACs inaccurate. If you read the book Schiit Happened, Schiit actually tweaked their analog conversion programming after listening to the output through headphones, which is purely subjective. This shows up on measurements.

Personally, I use an SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK II because it has the best measurements for the lowest price.

Thank you all for so much insight! My understanding of "high end audio" is improving.

@jssmith

I have been watching a lot of videos from the ASR YouTube channel. Amir seems to be very honest about products. For example, there was one pair of headphones that measured really well, and he reviewed it even though it was very costly. So he’s not against high cost audio products. That’s for sure.

I’ve also watched some Audioholics videos with their president talking about audio gear, cables, etc. And I was thinking...here’s an example:

You go to a car dealership to test a car. While driving it, you ask the salesperson how much horsepower and torque. Those are numbers (measurements) right?

So if machines can measure what we need to know about vehicles (that are more complex with more parts than audio gear) then why does it seem that so many audiophiles are against audio measurments?

I would also wager that audio companies/engineers who design the amplifiers, CD players. etc. also rely on the audio precision analyzer, or something that provides really accurate measurements - well beyond what we could ever know given our limited human perception.

We as humans have poor hearing compared to other living things on earth. I honestly believe those who claim measurements don’t matter have hearing loss or extreme brand loyalty syndrome.

Oh my god, it's you again.  Don't waste your breath on this person.  I remember you from the Esoteric bashing, headphones as the preferred method of amplifier auditioning thread from a few weeks back attempting to find someone who agrees with you.  Your back with the same question in a different package.  What are you really here for, just to argue for the sake of argument?