26-Feb-2016, 17:54
You initially asked why it is so complicated and than you asked whether the digital path is reliable and than the discussion went off.
First we have to separate between things that can be verified and things that cannot.
Lets keep with the assumption that the digital path from the source (we start here with the CD or file and not the instrument in the recording studio) to the output of the DAC is error free (as long as the CD has no read errors). This is assured by transport protocols otherwise computers will not be able to work as a predictable machine.
Than we have the analog path from the DAC to the speakers through the listening room into our ears. Here we have all the various influences that are experimented with for decades.
At the end of the path there is our human music perception and this has other variations which are not constant over time. There are psychological influences (e.g. stress), emotional / hormone influences, chemical /medical influences (drugs or alcohol), fatigue or aging influences and more that I am convinced of make absolute comparison of music playback more or less impossible.
So the best is to get a reasonable gear which does technical the best to reproduce the source signal like our Devialet Experts, use Dirac for room correction and just enjoy the music.
You are getting older each day and your ears loose frequencies. Enjoy it as long as you can because when the time comes the ears will get so decayed that you might not be able to enjoy music listening anymore.
So save your time and money. Listening to music is an enjoyable hobby. Searching for perfect sound will never satisfy you, since you will never find the end.
Cheers,
Krisp
First we have to separate between things that can be verified and things that cannot.
Lets keep with the assumption that the digital path from the source (we start here with the CD or file and not the instrument in the recording studio) to the output of the DAC is error free (as long as the CD has no read errors). This is assured by transport protocols otherwise computers will not be able to work as a predictable machine.
Than we have the analog path from the DAC to the speakers through the listening room into our ears. Here we have all the various influences that are experimented with for decades.
At the end of the path there is our human music perception and this has other variations which are not constant over time. There are psychological influences (e.g. stress), emotional / hormone influences, chemical /medical influences (drugs or alcohol), fatigue or aging influences and more that I am convinced of make absolute comparison of music playback more or less impossible.
So the best is to get a reasonable gear which does technical the best to reproduce the source signal like our Devialet Experts, use Dirac for room correction and just enjoy the music.
You are getting older each day and your ears loose frequencies. Enjoy it as long as you can because when the time comes the ears will get so decayed that you might not be able to enjoy music listening anymore.
So save your time and money. Listening to music is an enjoyable hobby. Searching for perfect sound will never satisfy you, since you will never find the end.
Cheers,
Krisp
