Have you ever read a review that made it sound as if the thing under review did nothing wrong?
I have, and I’m sure I’ve written some, and to my mind these kinds of reviews are misleading. Misleading because they can lead you (or me) to believe that a $300 DAC is as good as a $30k DAC and in my experience this has yet to be the case.
Let’s be clear—I am not saying that more expensive is always better. What I am saying is I have yet to meet a $300 or $3,000 DAC that’s anywhere near as enjoyable as my $12k totaldac d1-unity. Some people will claim expectation bias or some such silly nonsense that conveniently ignores experience and I am of the opinion that when it comes to figuring out the hifi we enjoy listening to, we need to listen to it.
Experience matters most in matters of taste.
But some people clearly do not want to hear any of this. I recently had a reader write me an angry note because I compared an under $3k DAC to the totaldac and another $4k DAC (in round numbers). In brief, he felt that these comparisons were of no use and what’s worse kind of mocked people who couldn’t afford the costlier DACs.
I don’t agree in large part because this is how much of consumer life works outside of hifi. I have yet to meet a $300k home that offers the quality, size, and location of a $3M home or a $300 used car that performs to the level of $30k used car. Again, in general terms.
Truth be told, I love looking for the ever evasive exceptions. I think our home is one such example but I have friends who would never, ever, live here. My <$8k used BMW 3 series wagon is another—a lovely mix of practical, performance, and price that suits my needs and tastes perfectly.
In these same terms, my Leben CS600x, DeVore O/96, and yes even the totaldac d1-unity offer performance that far exceeds their price, in my experience and according to my preferences. Is the Leben as good as the Riviera Labs Levante? No way no how. Is the d1-unity as good as the Grimm MU2? I wish, but it ain’t. [footnote 1]
That being said, I can live with these realities and don’t find them the least bit offensive to me or my sense of self worth. And they do not intrude on my enjoyment. As Billy Preston said and Stephen Stills sang, if you can’t afford the hifi you love, love the one you’re with.
Story time. When I was a kid we spent a few weeks each winter break in Florida. Every visit, my father would take us for a drive up the coast road in Palm Beach to play a game—pick your favorite beach front or beach adjacent house and explain why it’s your favorite. Fun! One year a friend came with us and as we were driving up that coast road explaining the game he refused to play, finding the mere suggestion offensive and infuriating. He was visibly angry. “I’ll never be able to afford any of these!”
When some people read positive reviews about hifi gear they can’t afford, they exhibit similar behavior. Which accounts for the popularity of “Giant Killers!” and review sites that consistently laud relatively inexpensive gear while calling anything more expensive a waste of money and more importantly, either explicitly or implicitly, the people who buy the more expensive stuff idiots and/or fools—all fodder for the perpetually envious.
1. On accounting—I’ve spent way more on my hifi than on my car.