23-Feb-2019, 13:40
I think @Pim made a good point when he suggested that the source might be a factor. Back in the early days, AIR was very unstable with MS Windows users but seemed stable with those who used a Mac. As a result of this, there was perhaps a feeling that Air with the Mac might be superior. It was not this simple though. I was never that sure, it seemed to me that Mac users were trying different sources and finding them better than AIR, whereas Windows users were perhaps not finding such an improvement. One day AIR 3 came along, Mac only and many Mac users claimed a big jump in sound quality. AIR 3 arrived for windows, and there did not appear to be much change in SQ for Windows users. This lead to a theory that Windows AIR, despite it's instability, might have been the better sounding all along. The fact is, everyone was using Mac AIR if they had a Mac, or Windows AIR if they had a PC, and nobody had tried the two back to back. Nobody except for Rufus, that is, who if I recall correctly had a marginal preference for Windows AIR. After that, there was much speculation that AIR was much improved, relative to other external sources, with the Pro versus the old Expert. So many variables, but I think it would be interesting to look at the source, in terms of if it is a Mac or a PC.
That said, it may just be personal preference, or our minds tricking us. Humans like to look for patterns, for example, I have noticed that those who prefer AIR or have no preference tend to have usernames in the first half of the alphabet, whereas those who prefer RAAT are more likely to be in the second half.
The results are interesting though, with the fairly high percentage of people reporting that they are similar or the same, you would expect the final preference between AIR and RAAT to be reasonably even, but it is not, there is a clear preference for RAAT. For me, I had a theory that AIR might be best, simply because AIR is specifically designed for use with a Devialet Expert, whereas RAAT is "universal" for many products. Perhaps RAAT did sound better, but that thought biased me towards AIR, making me think they are similar? Maybe RAAT received more votes because it is a new Devialet feature, Roon has a fine reputation with software, Devialet do not, and we are all an optimistic bunch who tend to think the new sounds better than the old?
Anyway, it's all good fun to speculate, and for the record, I was using a Windows 10 PC when I tried the comparison.
That said, it may just be personal preference, or our minds tricking us. Humans like to look for patterns, for example, I have noticed that those who prefer AIR or have no preference tend to have usernames in the first half of the alphabet, whereas those who prefer RAAT are more likely to be in the second half.
The results are interesting though, with the fairly high percentage of people reporting that they are similar or the same, you would expect the final preference between AIR and RAAT to be reasonably even, but it is not, there is a clear preference for RAAT. For me, I had a theory that AIR might be best, simply because AIR is specifically designed for use with a Devialet Expert, whereas RAAT is "universal" for many products. Perhaps RAAT did sound better, but that thought biased me towards AIR, making me think they are similar? Maybe RAAT received more votes because it is a new Devialet feature, Roon has a fine reputation with software, Devialet do not, and we are all an optimistic bunch who tend to think the new sounds better than the old?
Anyway, it's all good fun to speculate, and for the record, I was using a Windows 10 PC when I tried the comparison.
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