External DAC with Connect

Behold, the audio industry's target customer.

Why single out the audio industry?! Just about any canny marketer's target in any consumer market.

Been experimenting a bit tonight. Listening to the local jazz FM station, which cares about its signal quality, on a receiver.

I have the Sonos Connect hooked to the tape loop of the receiver. Set the Connect up to loop the signal through, involving ADC and DAC conversion.

I've been switching the receiver's input from its tuner to its tape monitor, which switches the Sonos ADC/DAC in and out of the circuit.

Guess what? Other than a slight delay, there's absolutely no discernible difference!

Now, maybe I have the opposite of 'expectation bias', since I really didn't expect to hear a difference. I suspect that I still wouldn't hear any difference in blind testing, but the delay would be a dead giveaway.

Why single out the audio industry?! Just about any canny marketer's target in any consumer market.

Good point 🙂

Before using Sonos, I had an airport express on my main system. My wife had started ripping stuff lossy on the MAC. After reading a little more about digital format and wanting to get involved more using ITunes as a source. I did some listening test between lossy, lossless and uncompressed (I am not even trying to give you the right acronyms, I am talking Apple Codec).

At that time, I though uncompressed was better then lossless. I ripped about 10 songs from various CD's in the three format and listened carefully. There was a earable difference between lossy and lossless.

On one of the song, Take Five, I had the impression Joe's drums and Paul's sax had a little more of something. But it was so slight, and since I could not hear it on any other song, I decided to go lossless.

Later when I found out lossless should be as good as uncompressed:

-I was happy I ripped lossless
-I realize the bias and subjectivity of listening; I was expecting it to be better and was trying to find it while listening

Behold, the audio industry's target customer.

Empirical makes a living convincing gullible people like you to spend ridiculous amounts of money for nothing, so their opinion of anything is immediately suspect.

In this, we've asked users like you to provide independent, double-blind tests to confirm the superiority of these alleged high-end (or higher end, anyway) units. Nobody ever produces such evidence. I know why that is. Deep down inside, you do too.

You want to spend tons of cash on audio equipment? Go ahead. Some of us will continue to point out that the emperor has no clothes, no matter how questionable you think that may be.

I do not own any Empirical Audio gear, but nice try.
I guess if one has a tin ear like you and Kumar it does not matter- you are correct.
Carry on. Glad you are happy, but stop spewing ignorant sanctimonious information.

stop spewing ignorant sanctimonious information.

Provide evidence that I'm wrong, and I will. In fact, I'll become the most obnoxious purveyor of that corrected information on the entire internet.

The fact remains you can't provide such evidence, because it doesn't exist, and there are more than enough double-blind tests on record showing why it doesn't exist.

You can pout and stomp your feet and rage that it isn't so, but that doesn't make it true.

Science. Try it sometime.

Science. Try it sometime.

The marketers have been using science (psychology) for years. At one time, they had Americans convinced that smoking was actually healthy!

Provide evidence that I'm wrong, and I will. In fact, I'll become the most obnoxious purveyor of that corrected information on the entire internet.

The fact remains you can't provide such evidence, because it doesn't exist, and there are more than enough double-blind tests on record showing why it doesn't exist.

You can pout and stomp your feet and rage that it isn't so, but that doesn't make it true.

Science. Try it sometime.

You seem to be the one having a little tantrum here. Sorry to rain on your dogmatic view of the world.
Like I said- if you are happy that is great.
Your argument (and Kumar's) is ludicrous to most people, but you have every right to it.

Most people can hear the difference between an Ipod plugged into a Jawbone and a decent audio system.

You claim there is no difference and it is all marketing.
Oh wait- Kumar at least qualifies his pontifications with - well...one must have good speakers.
Gee- what is a good speaker?
Thought it made no difference?
Can't have it both ways guys. If it is all marketing then you can't claim one component does actually make a difference.

Just do not claim you are are the final authority and promote misinformation here and other forums to people.

People will trust their ears and spend their money accordingly.

You have made your decisions- others will make their own.

Have a nice life TinEarMen.

Everyone: Keep this discussion civil.

Have a nice life TinEarMen.
Thank you, I do have one though!:)

And if having Tin ears over golden ones allows me to listen to more music instead of being equipment obsessed, I am comfortable with that compliment:D.