01-22-2020, 03:12 PM
Did anyone else happen to catch Soundcheck's remarkable post on diyAudio, Do we still need "audiophile" USB gadgets and bridges?"
If you are a longtime reader of diyAudio, you know how critical and skeptical Soundcheck is, which is why I find this post and replies so remarkable.
As it happens, last year I bought the KTB he mentions. I was super impressed at the sound I got for US$100 but candidly I was reticent to say how good I thought it was because I haven't had audiophile ears for decades---age and noise exposure do that to one.[1] I don't hear, for example, evidence of the ESS "hump" that people get so worked up about. I do still have a musical ear, though, and can't make it through the day without listening to an old favorite or a new find.
Not trying to start a flame war here about DACs. I just like the takeaway from Soundcheck's post. It's getting easier and easier to get great sound with a minimal number of components at a reasonable cost.
I can't wait to see (hear?) what happens next.
Regards,
Kent
[1] I've had to walk back the one negative thing I said about it...that it didn't support hardware volume control for DSD. That's a harder technical problem for USB DACs than I appreciated at the time. I still think it can be solved but I can live without it, if for no other reason than I just can't get excited about buying DSD remasters of everything I've already ripped from my CD collection.
If you are a longtime reader of diyAudio, you know how critical and skeptical Soundcheck is, which is why I find this post and replies so remarkable.
As it happens, last year I bought the KTB he mentions. I was super impressed at the sound I got for US$100 but candidly I was reticent to say how good I thought it was because I haven't had audiophile ears for decades---age and noise exposure do that to one.[1] I don't hear, for example, evidence of the ESS "hump" that people get so worked up about. I do still have a musical ear, though, and can't make it through the day without listening to an old favorite or a new find.
Not trying to start a flame war here about DACs. I just like the takeaway from Soundcheck's post. It's getting easier and easier to get great sound with a minimal number of components at a reasonable cost.
I can't wait to see (hear?) what happens next.
Regards,
Kent
[1] I've had to walk back the one negative thing I said about it...that it didn't support hardware volume control for DSD. That's a harder technical problem for USB DACs than I appreciated at the time. I still think it can be solved but I can live without it, if for no other reason than I just can't get excited about buying DSD remasters of everything I've already ripped from my CD collection.
