The Worst Measuring Best Sounding DAC

My SPS Battery dac sound good. I tried more refined actual one.  With no real advantage...

With a low cost system i compared low cost dac...

SPS is rooted in an old chip Philips ...

Measures of specs tell only half the story...

I think mapman has the best answer. We can't measure everything we hear. If you are new to all this, you have to be careful where you get your information from. The concept of high end audio offends some people to the core of their being. They get so upset over it, they'll say anything. 

Any time you see someone trying to make a point using science and measurements, its a red flag. And its not that these things are unimportant. Most of the time its junk science. 

Whenever you see someone cry science and measurements, and you're just not sure what to believe, ask a question like this. "Can you give a single reference from a credible source, where legitimate science was used to evaluate, review, compare, study, test, etc.., any piece of audio equipment ever made?".   

Think about that for a moment. They can't give you a single example of anything they say is grounded in science. Its nothing more than pure emotions. 

@052rc  they will give you blind tests and ABX tests, but I always say do those test with food and see what happens.

This video is garbage and this YouTuber is a cretin. If this is what you base your system-building decisions on, y'all need help. 

Although at the cheap end of the spectrum normally discussed on this group, I'll share a quick anecdote from a few years back.  My first DAC was a Schitt Modi Multibit.  I was delighted with the new audio toy, as it enabled me to rip CDs to FLAC, then play them back from a NUC.  A year or so later, I became aware of ASR (launch the rotten tomatoes now).  Based on measurements alone vs the Modi, I bought an SMSL SU-9n DAC from the 'zon, knowing I could easily return it.  My NUC was able to feed both DACs simultaneously, and my preamp had a very easy toggle switch on the front panel that my wife could completely hide while switching between the two.  I quickly lost track of which one I was hearing, focused on what I was hearing, and on 5 separate musical tracks, the SMSL DAC won.  Hey, it's a cheap DAC, positioned in ASRs upper quartile, while the Modi Multi was in the lower quartile.  They both sound good in isolation.  But in this case, the better measuring DAC won.  Speakers, ears, amps, etc, all play a role.  Do I normally use ASR for audio purchases?  No way.  Amir hates tube gear, and that's 75% of what I use.