@pennstac @hottyson and most all the rest of us on this forum know that statement to be true. The audio chain, from the Microphone to the Headphones or Speakers is cumulative. Every component makes it’s contribution.
Which is why we need Audio Support, to be frank, sometimes the end result is off and we don’t know why.
Mark Gosdin
If you’ve got any questions related to audio, gear, software, headphones, anything at all, submit them here!
Watch the first episode of ‘Audio Support’ here:
I found the recent headphone DIY video interesting. I cannot find anything regarding the sound quality of common DIY drivers. Are they closer to Koss Portapro or Susvara?
Thanks
What would be the most elegant way to connect multiple digital sources to a single dac that doesn’t have enough inputs for all of them without using expensive signal processor or av receiver, for instance let’s say you have a few modern consoles with hdmi output, a few retro consoles with toslink out and a few other devices and players with coax output?
There is a theory that FR is the only thing that matters. If you EQ two headphones to the same measurement, would they have the same performance? If not, what are the flaws in this strategy?
First of all, thank you for the informative content. There was a video from DMS about streaming services. A part of you was also included here. Ever since I got back into audio, I’ve been confused by the following: sample rates I’m still a big fan of CD’s. Let’s start with the Redbook standard. My 80’s CD player is pretty much always my preference over RCA on my amp. Maybe it’s because I only need to press two switches and one button to enjoy music. But I digress. to my question. I like UAPP, it’s simple and supposedly takes care of everything. In the video from DMS mentioned above, you talk about the MIDI setup on the Mac. I’ve always asked myself, what actually matters to me in the end? Is the sample rate diode on the DAC meaningful enough for me to know? I think I have solid gear there. But I don’t hear any significant difference. What happens technically if I change the sample rate in the MIDI setup. Is this just the manual switching of saple rates, which UAPP does automatically, for example? Or are the music files processed before the DAC? Thank you.
Part 1: Does using optical splitters reduce the digital signal quality going into the DAC?
Part 2: What is the best way to duplicate an audio signal to output to multiple devices without degrading the original signal quality.
As long as the splitter is properly engineered, No it does not reduce the sound quality.
I’ve done this with a DAC that has multiple outputs, Optical, Coaxial in addition to the Analog audio. The Optical & Coaxial were equivalent in sound quality for their common supported bit rates.
The DAC in question was an inexpensive one from Amazon that has a rather poor Analog section post the DAC Chip. It does do a very good job passing thru to Opical & Coaxial from it’s USB input.
Mark Gosdin
As Far As I Know, any device capable of taking multiple types of Digital input and outputting them to another type of Digital out is going to be a “Signal Processor” and is likely to be more expensive than you might want it to be.
Mark Gosdin
And why does Mesmer have the rays coming out of his hands and not his eyes? Are the eye rays invisible? Was the old film unable to capture them? Do formal jacket tails and capes form the same function on super-heros? And is there or is there not a Hermetic Order of the Golden Sound?
Thank you for your answer, I appreciate the response. My follow up question is how do you tell if an optical splitter is “properly engineered”. I hop on Amazon and see hundreds of optical splitters that are between $15-$30, is it safe to assume that the well reviewed ones are properly engineered or are the majority of them just garbage?
You explained timbre better in 30 seconds than everyone else combined in the past 4 years. lol Great video. 
In dealing with Amazon’s listings I usually look for ones that have good ratings, 4.5 Stars or better, and then I read several of the good & bad reviews. In all likelihood if the prices ranges from 15 to 30 $ then you will probably end up getting one at the higher end of that range.
Mark Gosdin
How to get Tube goodness on a Solid state speaker amp for Headphones?
I’d like some in depth detail about how and with what cables etc you use to connect a balanced XLR tube preamp eg a WA22 or Envy to run a headphone eg 1266 or Susvara off of a speaker amp eg AHB2 or similar. Also where do you get those great looking (and useful) leather pads you have on top of your gear to keep the cables from rubbing the units?
Thanks
Why do some gear have an “invert phase” button?
Asia:
“We got a plethora of options where people can rent products and audition them at the comfort of your own home. Some have cash back programs in which you can earn points upon renting products to put towards future purchases at discounted prices.”
http://www.heylisten.jp/shopbrand/ct87/
Headphones .com’s message to the Rest of the world:
“If you can’t demo stuff, you kinda just need to buy something.”
Why can’t “The best place to buy headphones and home audio on the whole internet” (HeadphoneDotCom twitter profile) offer something like this, not even within the US/Canada?
When picking a DAC and a streamer, if you have a total budget of say $3,000, what proportion should be spent on a DAC and what proportion should be spent on a streamer? Is it 70-30, 50-50 or what?
At that price point, I’d find a DAC you like and budget for something like a Pi2AES, you could even just use a PI via USB out, it’s not ideal, but it can be a pretty decent Ethernet to USB source with a good PSU.
I really like the Sonore Rendu’s if you can find one at a good price used and your DAC has good USB in, but honestly IMO it’s not worth compromising the DAC selection to get a better streamer in that price bracket.
But reiterating my initial point, find a DAC you like, then worry about it.
Transducer > Amp > DAC > streamer/source. This holds true in almost all cases. That said, find the transducer (headphone/speaker) that you love and then go backward from there. The streamer, CD transport, source, etc almost doesn’t matter in that context.
