There is little argument that two items can register very similarly with extremely low distortion etc on the test bench, yet they can sound slightly different. With each item in the audio chain making its small, but significant difference, it is unsurprising that systems do not sound the same.
In some cases the “ying” of one item balances out nicely with the “yang” of another while in other situations two yings do not make a yang and the result is unacceptable to some audiophiles. But maybe quite acceptable and even preferred by some others, and that can sponsor ridiculous argument. The reason for this apparent anomaly is that each of our brains, with attached ears are both genetically different and have experienced different environmental shaping over the years.
This old 87 year old brain has had a lot of environmental stress and the attached ears have lost very high frequency appreciation so one could expect all systems should sound very similar and subtleties elusive. Not so. I am very fussy about the quality of reproduced sound but am perplexed about two systems here – outlined in the attachment. They do sound different but putting a finger on, and describing what those differences are, is frustrating me.
System A is quite sophisticated with a complex R8 DAC followed by a rather nice headphone amplifier feeding one of the best headphones money can buy. Bought new, which I did not, system A would cost over $10k. System B is a marked contrast both in size and cost. It is tempting to sneer as the Chinese Topping as a cut down audiophile joke but listening to sound from it soon changes that opinion. And the Focal Clear Mg phones cost a fraction of the Upoias but ……….
I have both systems set up beside me so it is only a few seconds difference between listening to one system, change headphone to listen to the other. I’ve always been suspicious of how reliable auditory memory is but this setup should minimize it. The bottom line of all this nonsense is I think I prefer System B!! But for love or money I cannot describe why. It is the newer acquisition so is the new toy syndrome at play? Would different headphone cords change the situation? Note that I’m still using the standard Focal balanced cord with the Clear MGs but a balanced one from lunashops.com (see the attachment) is on its way. Will that make a difference? I’m skeptical but cannot resist experimenting.
And there is an important caveat in all this and that is the superb job the Auralic bridge does in stripping away jitter so the job of subsequent DACs is easier. But it does not eliminate the very subtle difference in audio quality of these two systems. Of course the bottom line is to relax about it all and enjoy the music from whatever one finds the most enjoyable, and I’m doing just that.