Article: Audio Research DAC 9 Review

[jay]

Chris...

 

I know this is a slightly older thread, and I very, very rarely weigh-in with opinions that contradict your thoughts (I tend to agree with the large majority of your opinions and approaches, and I read and value a lot of them).  However, to your comments on what a DAC review should or shouldn't try to accomplish (or any review, for that matter)...

 

From someone sitting further on the consumer side of the equation, and living in a smaller market that doesn't have most brands locally represented, the opportunity to "compare" DACs in my own system is nearly impossible without a) having somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-30K of "investible" income to buy used examples of the "best" DACs;  b) finding used examples of those "best" DACs and purchasing them to have in my system at the same time;  c) holding my own extended "shoot out" in my system; and d) selling off the "losing contenders" hoping for the same used price I bought them for to recoup the remaining parts of that "investment."  While that's doable for me (fortunately), it's hardly practical, and certainly not a convenient financial way to finally decide whether an upgrade is "worth it or not."  Many fans of this site do not have the means to do that, so they look for all trustworthy, useful comparative info they can get their hands on (so do I, btw).  Surely that is understandable.  Yes, YMMV comes with the territory, but used properly, all of this information is nonetheless an extremely helpful tool in searching out what might ultimately be a "gamble" worth taking on an unheard piece of equipment that can't be easily demo'd without owning it.

 

Chris, on the other hand, you have the opportunity (well-earned, I will add) to get a lot of really, really nice contenders into your home and compare them first-hand, using a lot of other associated really, really nice equipment (all of which I understand you've paid for with your own hard-earned and well-deserved dollar, which makes me think even more why you would understand my position). 

 

What attracted to me MOST to this site from the beginning was its (and yours, really) ability to help me try to sort through the insanely long list of "noise of opportunity" that today's growing DAC and Digital market have to offer.  One of the most useful tools are head-to-head comparisons, which like it or not, is how I and others likely view the CASH list, for all intents and purposes.  I view them as comparisons based on value...an even MORE valuable set of info, as I can look "up market" at more expensive DACs and imagine to myself "I might hear some improvement from a more expensive yet also great DAC on this rather exclusive list"...otherwise why would it be a CASH list DAC at $20K if it didn't sound better than a phenomenal $3k DAC or a great $7K DAC...because it didn't suck?  Looks nicer?  I'm sure some of that plays in, but given the importance this site puts on SQ, I think you can understand how most interpret your CASH designation.  I can remember thinking that the CASH list was literally one of the greatest things to happen to me in my slightly painful journey up the stereo system growing path...it was a really nice benchmark to ground a number of additional sets of research.  (Ironically, I went to a to-remain-nameless large city high-end store to hear the original CASH list Berkeley only to have it sound mediocre in the mediocre system they had it set up in...without the CASH designation, I may have walked away and thought Berkeley was a mediocre DAC manufacturer, but I knew otherwise).

 

So with due respect, it's with regret that I read your comments here on not really wanting to compare DACs.  A feature review of new DACs is only marginally interesting to most.  If there's no way to know how it really sounds, especially compared to other top-end, really expensive stuff, then we could just read feature lists off of manufacturers' websites and build our own comparative feature spreadsheets.

 

With respect to ARC, I'm sure that it is a great sounding DAC.  Ironically, my local ARC dealer doesn't have one that I can demo, and similarly can't get me any of their higher end (or Reference equipment) of any type.  Apparently a lot of people buy their higher-end stuff that way anyway.  I also guess many never know if they're getting the value from those higher-end purchases relative to other brands because they've never heard the other brands, either.  That's unfortunate for all--except maybe for ARC.

 

Respectfully,

Jay

[jay]

Thanks for reading and considering my thoughts, Chris.  I'll respect your choices regardless of your approach going forward...you have a long and very well-represented track record of being as objective as a reviewer as you can be, and that's hugely appreciated sitting on this end of the chain.  I'm certain the manufacturers appreciate and respect that too.  Thanks for the continued service you and this site offer us.  The breadth yet simultaneous focus works very well to help advance and positively promote "the cause" of great digital SQ for everyone...I don't think I'm overstating that.