As to some of the other points raised, both theory and personal experience indicate that there's no real audible(as distinguished from measurable)benefit from so-called "high end" DACs and other processors.
Thank you John (and Andrew and Chris also) for all your (DSP box) explanations. I understand better what it does. You are all much more knowledgeable than me in electronics. But I would have to disagree that above a certain limit all electronics are equal (if I understood well what you are suggesting). They might measure the same, as Celine Dion singing a note at 400Hz will measure the same as Aretha Franklin singing a note at 400Hz but you will agree that it won't sound the same to your ears! I do not know if my analogy is valid here. I guess what I am saying is that I do not think measurement is an absolute criteria. Are you saying that as long as it measures the same, your ear could not make a difference and the only difference would be in someone's head? As a scientific (not in electronics obviously!
), I am very open to this argument but frankly It is very far from corresponding to my lifelong empirical observations. Note that I am not saying that the price is an absolute criteria either and there is a lot of charlatanism in electronics. But having listened to a lot of DACs (streamers, processors, simple DACs) it is impossible for me to say they all sounded the same. It would be like saying all apple varieties taste the same because they are apples after all. It is just not what the chemical reactions in my brain is telling me.
