External DAC with Connect

@constructionguy,
Do yourself a favor and don't bother... You can't win.

@constructionguy,
Do yourself a favor and don't bother... You can't win.

Finally! 😃

With the advent of active speakers like the play units/Sub and third party offerings from both the hifi and pro audio makes, external DACs will go the way of the dodo anyway. Even for someone not convinced of the DAC in the Connect, many actives now incorporate DACs as well as amps matched to speaker drivers with DSP based eq that does a better job of sound customisation to rooms than traditional tone controls on amps. These actives are priced highly enough to meet audiophile price point needs as well as to meet the needs of those that seek higher SQ than what the play units deliver.
Sounds to me like a better alternative than to play around with Connect mods and external standalone DACs.

Finally! :D

The "trust you ears" crowd really hate it when they're asked to provide proof of their claims, probably because they know there is none.

I don't know if it is cultural or innate, but there is a major difference in our tolerance for differences of opinion about what we have seen and and what we have heard. If two of us are viewing the same scene and make different observations, both of us are comfortable discussing our differences of opinion. We don't get into never ending, flaming discussions about "I can't believe she likes pink -- blue is obviously the best color". We seem to seek out and enjoy optical illusions and misdirection (the magician's stock and trade).

Aural experiences, on the other hand, are right or wrong -- there is no middle ground and the other guy is ... er ... wrong, ignorant, misguided, perceptually limited, and on and on. There is no charity and always the implication of superiority -- "if you were good enough, you would agree with me".

On these forums one side accuses the other of not being able to hear the "obvious" and the other side is accused of not being willing or able to explore while using the simple rigor of logic and scientific method.

As has been the case in so many other human endeavors, perhaps we can't yet give up "magic" while discussing an aural experience.

The "trust you ears" crowd really hate it when they're asked to provide proof of their claims, probably because they know there is none.
A problem is that subjectivists so often won't trust their own ears to hear differences, in a situation where sound is the one and only stimulus. Bereft of the sight or knowledge of their Brilliant Pebbles they're in the dark, so to speak.

The "trust you ears" crowd really hate it when they're asked to provide proof of their claims, probably because they know there is none.

The "trust your ears" crowd don't trust their ears at all. If they did, they'd be doing ABX tests. Instead they trust glossy magazines, salesmen, shiny knobs and dials, and pricetags.

The "trust your ears" crowd don't trust their ears at all. If they did, they'd be doing ABX tests. Instead they trust glossy magazines, salesmen, shiny knobs and dials, and pricetags.

If "audiophillia" was about audio quality, rather than snobbery and elitism, the audiophiles would be cheering over the news that hi-res formats can actually be detrimental to audio quality.

I don't see much cheering...

Cheers,

Keith

If "audiophillia" was about audio quality, rather than snobbery and elitism
Apart from those two traits that exhibit in abundance, the other thing is that it caters to the need to keep tinkering with equipment and the consequent upgraditis syndrome - merely listening to music is too passive an activity for some. Human nature then dictates that the results of this tinkering has to allow beliefs of having made an improvement. One reason why Sonos isn't popular with audiophiles is that it results in a situation that the Quad founder's son discussed over twenty years ago. When asked why Quad kit isn't popular with many equipment enthusiasts he said it leaves them with nothing else to do but listen to the music, an intolerable state of affairs for many.

Well, I must confess a weaknness for shiny knobs and dials. ;)

http://chicksolutions.com/ak/Marantz/2235B/IMG_20141109_084358.jpg