DAC Comparisons using AI

@sholladay - I think that’s kind of obvious, no? Listening to music is a sensory experience… We may research wine based on ChatGPT based on reviews, but the experience of tasting the wine is always subjective and personal. And it’s that experience which is most important. 

As Mitch has described, AI can be used as a data consolidation and synthesis tool. I have been rather surprised by how apt the descriptions have been on audio components I currently own. I’m sure it’s based on aggregated comments, reviews, user comments, and of course marketing from the manufacturers. 

First, thank you all for the thoughtful input and perspectives on this topic. I genuinely appreciate the discussion — especially when it comes to something as personal and nuanced as sound quality.

I think it’s important to level-set expectations around what AI actually is and what it is not. AI is essentially advanced pattern-recognition software. It generates responses by predicting language based on large amounts of training data. It doesn’t think, perceive, or experience the world the way humans do.

That distinction really matters in discussions about listening quality and musical experience.

It does not experience imaging, warmth, depth, or dynamics.

When asked what “sounds better,” AI isn’t evaluating equipment or forming an opinion based on listening. It’s summarizing patterns found in reviews, measurements, forum discussions, and other written material. It doesn’t simulate listening, and it doesn’t generate independent experiential judgments beyond what exists in its training data.

AI systems are powered by large language models (LLMs), which function like massive statistical libraries. Not all models are trained on the same data, and they differ in scope and design. That’s why different systems can sometimes produce different answers to the same question. The way a prompt is framed also influences the response.

At the end of the day, listening is a human experience. That’s what makes it meaningful — and why discussions like this are worth having. Thanks again to everyone who contribute

Some more thoughts on AI.

I have used it a lot for entirely different applications. I find it most useful for summarizing information that it would take me a long time to find.

I would not make buying decisions based on what it "says".  I find AI easy to sway one way or the other by how I phrase the question.  As such, I find it can function as a sounding board for my own thoughts concerning a project.  The difficulty is that this can lead to confirmation bias.  So, I advise being mindful of that.

When AI seems to come up with a suggestion, I have found it useful to consult with human experts after conducting my own independent evaluation.  AI recommendations can be laughably inappropriate.  Usually these are easy to spot.

Spring is coming! Time to think more about gardening, less about high end audio.

I recently did a dac shootout with 7 high end dac.  I did not demo any tube dacs.  I found that Playback Designs MPD 8 was the best with my Ref 6SE.  A close second was the Bricasti M21. I could not find a Aries Cerat, but I am sure it would have been right there.

I recently did a dac shootout with 7 high end dac.  I did not demo any tube dacs.  I found that Playback Designs MPD 8 was the best with my Ref 6SE.  A close second was the Bricasti M21. I could not find a Aries Cerat, but I am sure it would have been right there.

@jaulbrich well tell us more! Make a new post and explain the results. I always enjoy reading shootout results, especially regarding components I am considering and quite possibly will own in the future.

These forum poster shootouts are much more valuable than most "professional" reviews, where someone simply states how a list of songs sounded glorious, and how it is the best they ever had in their system, how heartedly it is recommended, and gives it a yearly award, yet they compare it to nothing.