wow, it's all kickin off in here, huh?
@Steve Woodhouse thanks for your comments. we are aware that some people are used to/prefer just predicting what things will sound like by reading ASR-type measurements, instead of actually listening... if that's your point of view, then i respect it. i don't expect everyone to agree on everything.
however if you had instead come in and said, "look guys i've tried listening to these different DACs and i didn't hear a difference" then it would contribute more to the discussion, in my opinion. we're here to talk about the
subjective experiences we have while listening - as many pitfalls as it may have. (it's the same as me asking anyone about anything - memory is provably fallible. does that mean we should never ask anyone anything about the past?
)
as
@steadyshot pointed out, what was the point for WiiM to release the Pro+ after the Pro - if according to you they had already reached "transparency" by the release of mini?? how come you're not going in the pro+ thread and berating the people there who paid extra (apparently a total waste) for the better DAC? honestly go ask people who have tested all 3 and you'll start to appreciate what we mean... i have not come across a SINGLE person who
actually listened that claims the mini's analog out is comparable superior to the Pro+...
it's not about money or percieved value or even sunk-cost fallacy to any of us i don't think. we just want to share our experiences so that these anecdotes can help us form a better understanding of what's going on. some of us around here don't believe that we as a society know everything there is to know about hearing (and sound reproduction etc) and that these can all be investigated using ASR-like measurements. there is a lot more to learn and understand. if you think the whole book has already been written and you know everything about hearing, then why waste your time with adiophools like us?
in fact, what we are actually doing is decoding and demystifying what the determinants of good SQ are in sound reproduction - many of which were first discovered privately by big players in the industry... in bringing this knowledge into the public domain - we're actually trying to get past the marketing gobledy gook we are fed by manufacturers that DO have a better performing product but are wishy-washy about WHY it's better...