The “Off The Shelf” Lie

@jonwolfpell 

I remember how precise Snell’s were. Proper matching of frequencies L to R is Vital to excellent Imaging, then and now. I suspect Harbeth and Joseph Audio (among others) benefit from those skills.

I’m a big fan of L-Pads to adjust speaker’s in the particular space they end up with, however, I have to work very carefully with my SPL meter and test tone CD to 1st match L to R and then adjust when both playing, the combined output must be refined. Last time it took me 1-1/2 days to ’get it right’. They never sounded better. 

Meanwhile, my office, my AR-2ax have level controls, I set them by ear, took a few minutes, good enough, done. I get excellent imaging, if I didn’t I’d get my tools up here.

"Is an in-house ladder dac automatically superior to the best chips from Analog Devices, Texas Instruments or others?"

analog “discrete” circuit topology with fewer components, will perform better than IC, assuming proper parts selection etc.

designing large scale circuits such as “ladder” DAC, have significant challenges to fight, such as key performance parameters “too wide” distribution, aging impact at different pace for each component thus total performance bottom line degradation, procurement of discrete components challenge, etc. use of integrated DAC simplifies design, reduces size of the PCB, is more predictable on the long run. 

@elliottbnewcombjr  close but about 2 hour South. Other food triggers are Omega-3, Probiotic, Non-GMO, Natural, Low-Fat ,and the list goes on.

@jonwolfpell yes sir, the Snells are legendary. My dad still has his Type D's in pristine shape. I am amazed how his Adcom/Snell combo from the 1990's almost bests my modern setup. He went to the Snell shop to pick them up because they were one of his adhesive/epoxy customers way back then

Paradigm is another custom driver/crossover maker who I had at one time in my setup, who is not mentioned much in audio circles. Once they started selling soundbars for HT, they may have lost their way LOL.

I think the overall sentiment of this thread is that implementation is the important differentiator of products, more so than the origin of parts.

Btw, Certified Organic has real, legal & detailed requirements & meanings & all other things being equal, is a good thing for the health of our soil & the environment in general. That said, I opt for locally grown & produced as my first option if available which supports your local farmers & producers, is fresher & limits the amount of transportation necessary to make things available. Win - win! 

There are no hard and fast rules on this. To give one example, Esoteric moved to a discrete DAC module of their own design after years of using AKM chips. I do find the discrete DAC to be better sounding - though not massively. However, I prefer the AKM Grandioso DAC to some other high end DACs using discrete components. This has less to do with the DAC topology than the overall design approach of the different  complete systems i.e. the full electronics and not just the converter.