I'm an electronics engineer and an audio enthusiast - and I find Paul's answer very convincing. Same goes for the approach they took at PS Audio to building a great non-compromise DAC solution: while over-sampling solves most issues with phase distortion in the output filters, the FPGA makes it powerful, very flexible and future-proof - making a great value for the customer. I feel inspired.
I upgraded my modi 3 dac with the iFI I power supply and I couldn't believe the difference in sound then added AQ cables rca and toslink and for all tolD of 238.00 bucks total for all amd it sounds amazing !!! It beat out my first dac that's was 400 bucks sounds twice ad good ! Power supply and cables matter !! Just dropped my review on it I call it the Mod-E-Aud-E-Fi Dac lol
Yes, 7k for the best and a bit less for other models, both worth their prices with plenty of attention by one of the best in the industry,Ted Smith. There are plenty of UA-cam vids covering their attention to thieir theories and execution. I don't see many companies explaining what they do. They even offer upgraded boards with newer tech for some of their models. So they are still paying attention and helping you not over pay for a whole new DAC whenever possible as the tech. evolves🧐
@@LuxAudio389 There is, almost always, a way to improve, something. Saying this, how much time & effort, $, are you willing to expend? SACD / DSD, is supposed to sound like, `The master tape.' I've heard - some - excellent consumer products, beginning with high quality reel - to - reel tapes {many were, however disappointing}, through some high quality cassettes & vinyl albums. With 2 lenses - as the McIntosh has - the PS Audio CD Transport should extract a high quality signal, into the high quality DAC. One thing, not mentioned, is that, in addition to the theoretical advantages of these separates, keep in mind: I've purchased both the top, PS Audio CD Transport, AND the DirectStream DAC - no space between `Direct And Stream!' Separating these two words, is very incorrect and, I feel, Naughty! What is not mentioned is: the list prices are about: $6,500 & for the requisite PW DirectStream DAC, no space again, at list $5,999.00 / $6,000, plus recommended, the Network Bridge II, with this las, a total of: $6,899 / $6,900. The list price total is therefore, ultimately, a total of: 6,500 + 6,900 = $13,400.00. You may, or may not! Say, "Ouch!" Did I pay this much? No, because there was a recent, one - third off sale on most of the PS Audio Company Gear, which I took much advantage of! Irresistible! You're smart, figure it out! And, right now, right this moment for a few more days, there is actually a slightly better deal on the PS Audio CD Transport, for just: $3,999. BUY NOW, RIGHT NOW - OR, REGRET! YOU BET!
Paul, belatedly catching up with this great description and also at a time I am reviewing my current DAC and considering an upgrade. Part of my review includes reviewing your well designed Directstream DAC including the lower priced GainCell DAC. I agree that the output stage is very important. Cheers Tony
At the end of the day however, audio companies use off the shelf DAC IC's from companies like Analog Devices, Ti and the ilk and so any differences in sound quality is determined by associated support hardware. Obviously this rule is broken at the true high end as Paul says using FPGA's or DSP processors.
Great answer. Missed the 4th critical component IMHO which is the clock. If you get the rest remotely right, the phase noise of the clock will set the device into a sound quality ranging from irritating digital to SOTA audiophile.
good "audiophile DAC?" ... well how much have you got to spend? dCS makes them at $115,000 and you'll never hear anything better... or for about 1/20th the price you can get one from PS Audio that's not bad either... but you get what you pay for, and there is a diminishing return on more money spent.
Hi Paul my name is Shuja belong from Pakistan I am vinyl CD LD vintage turntables CD nakamichi cassette players collectors I loved to watch your audio HiFi program because Sir you always give so much wide detail who ever ask you any question about audio HiFi mostly I watch your videos THANKS. FROM SHUJA SAHIBZADA
The biggest problem I have had in the scientific community in precision instrumentation, is not the logic, but the quality of the R 2R ladder. Upsampling is fine and can be fed to an off the shelf PCM type DAC with all the benefits, plus the high precision of a mass produced and very precise R 2R ladder. I'm surprised Paul didn't even touch on this subject. Paul, are you building the ladders from discrete components or from a resistor network manufacture? For the best linearity and precision, modern DAC chips are very precise. They handle upscaled data just fine. It is almost impossible to produce an FPGA DAC that can outperform an off the shelf 24 bit DAC produced for the scientific community to their standards. Analog devices products are very difficult to match with discrete components. They are used in the semiconductor industry for positioning the steppers that are used to align layers in a semiconductor IC. Precision is essential in this application.
Hi Paul... Thanks for your videos... I actually own one PS Audio Product... The phono preamp GCPH... Just want to say that in this digital age a DAC has become the center of interest for many Audiophiles... I didn't get a lot from the answer you gave regarding the DAC choice... What are the things to look for for example in an output stage... What are specific questions that I can ask the manufacturer about... Thanks again...
A single null track with differences in the captured analogue wave between two fairly transparent DACs would go a long way to making me believe "DACs sound different". Alas, I have never been able to find or create such a track.
I m not sure this is the right place to ask a question. If this is a good one, may be you can do a video on it. I like what I here from the PS audio DAC. I am wondering if it is possible that in some future time you will do a complete CD unit with the same design as the direct stream transport & DAC?
Paul; you say you use an FPGA to design a DAC, however obviously the FPGA has a digital interface, how can you use one of those to design a DAC?, unless you are using an output resister ladder network on the pins.
I highly recommend the Schiit Modi DACs. They're cheap and they use a 16V AC power adapter, so the analog stage is very well driven. For $100, you can't beat it. I recommend the Modi 2 Uber or Modi 3, so you also have the Toslink and Coaxial inputs, as well as the USB.
@@m.morininvestor9920 depending on the source material, the Modi 3 may be sufficient. I have a Jotunheim multibit and with CD quality it's great, but not dramatically so against my Modi. It's just a bit of dithering mostly. You have to be at significantly higher bitrates, with material that really contrasts the difference for it to matter.
When I bought a good sounding system the very knowledgeable salesman explained that a CD player has the “transport” which is the part which reads the CD and then the DAC which converts the digital signal to the analog audio signal. A manufacturer might use the same good quality transport in different CD player models which sell at different price points. Using an external DAC will bypass the often poor DAC inside of a mediocre CD player and use the high quality external DAC instead. So I followed his advice and it sounds great. An additional point is that two different kinds of cords can be used to send the digital signal from the CD player to an external DAC. The first is optical and is called a Toslink which probably won’t sound so good. The digital signal has to be converted from electrical to optic and back to electrical. Every conversion makes the sound a little worse. The other type of output Paul mentioned is called digital out and uses a digital coax cable. This can sound much better because it bypasses the extra conversions which have to be done if the optical output is used instead.
Hi 👋 Sir , I wanted to buy a good quality DAC for my music systems. I have a pre amplifier and power amplifier Parasound. Which should I buy one. I wanted European make only. I have selected LKS audio MH DA 004. & RME ADI -2 DAC FS. But I don’t know anything about it ?? Please advise me which one ☝️ to buy. Thanks 🙏
@@francois-xaviergonnet7216 I'm going to assume you've never used an SU-8. If you want to spend more then the SMSL VMV-D1 is likely pricey enough to help you feel better. :D
@@ImHavingaCoronary : I've red many time SMSL dacs are good, but I've never red somebody telling his SMSL beat a really good performing dac of the market. From my point of view, I'm not looking for good stuff, I'm looking for better stuff... better than what I already have.
Hi Paul. I have one simply technical question. Could you please give just simply answer yes or no. I'm using some cheap usb dac to transport digital signal through optical cable to my receiver which has Its own DAC. Is it possible that low quality usb DAC can pollute digital signal to my receivers DAC and lower quality of sound ? This will help me a lot. Thank you
Paul McGowan My laptop is connected to usb sound card which have its own dac and digital spdif output. I'm using SPDIF optical cable to connect sound card with my receiver because I believe my receiver has better dac that my sound card has. Is it possible that digital signal before gets to my receiver is polluted some how because of quality of that sound card ? Thanks
I never heard the Dragonfly, I just didn't think a USB stick can do much of a good job. I use the Cambridge Audio. It's very bright . maybe too bright . I like my other one , Yulong u100 . Sounds softer and it has a headphone amp. :)
Hi Paul, I am moving in the direction of headphone and hi-res hand-held player. Recently just purchased a high end headphone. What is your recommendation for my second device? A DAC or a hi-res player? Thanks.
To separate the DAC from the Player sure gives Room for technical Improvement. As a Side effect the proud Customers could impress their Friends with two instead of one Component for just a little more than the double Price of the old standalone CD-Player ... lol!
All amplifiers sound the same as long as they are driven in linearity with nornal to high volumes with average speakers. Modern digital players are the strongest link in every chain, the weakest room, positioning of and the loudspeakers. Modern digital players are all equally good enough that no speaker in the world can outplay the technical superiority of any electronics by a factor of 100 or 1000 at least. Digital room correction do not correct everything. Vodoo again.
Yes and no. The digital player may be the strongest link, but the digital format itself is the weakest link. Not the player, but the CD. The sampling rate is too low for the highest frequencies - which are too low for audiophile standards. 20K is not the limit of all hearing, it is the limit of the average ear. Which means half of us, especially younger people, can hear beyond 20Khz. But there's absolutely zero beyond 20KHz. There's nothing to restore, nothing to equalize, no way of getting any of it back. Look at TV and video. From NTSC to 6k, how many times have we been able to upgrade our media libraries? (HD, DVD, blueray, 4K, 6k) Now how often have we been able to do the same for our audio library? (um, once - but it's not available for most music). While I admit that almost nothing happens at 20Hz, we're still technically capable of extending the CD below that. I'm not concerned, but some others might want that. But I certainly want digital audio extended to at least 24KHz and possibly up to 28. Second, while digital is certainly capable of excellent dynamic range, everything that has been remastered in the last 20 years has been compressed. The latest stuff to come out has almost no dynamic range to it. Trying to restore the dynamic range heard in the studio requires such extreme processing that it introduces audible distortion. While the hardware may be the most capable part of any system, the media leaves a lot to be desired. And the way the media is engineered these days makes it far worse.
@@jdlech If you can hear above 20 kHz, you are among a very very limited part of the population . Besides , there is practically no meaningfull musical information there with the exception of some very high harmonics that add very little to the experience of the music . Highest notz on an acoustical instrument is 4 Khz : 20 kHz gives you every harmonic up to the fifth , more than enough to distinguish a piano from a piccolo flut
@@gerritgovaerts8443 Then I suppose you don't drive anything but the most cheapest of economy cars because there's "practically no meaningful" option or vehicle to improve the experience of driving? And yes, I *could* hear well past 20KHz. And those upper frequencies provided ambience and spacial information to anything I heard. How would you even know it doesn't if you can't hear past 20KHz? This is like a color blind guy telling me there's nothing of value in the color green. I'm over 50 now and I cannot hear those frequencies anymore. But I still remember what certain songs sounded like when I could. And trust me - what I hear now is mostly flat and uninteresting due to the lack of high frequencies. It's not my stereo, nor my music; it's my hearing. But I am so glad I have fond memories of something I lost, rathan than your "sour grapes" sanctimonious rationalization of something you never had.
@@jdlech Good for you , but totally irrelevant to the great majority of people . The CD standard was laid down and decided upon by input of scientist , engineers and musicians , Von Karajan being both an engineer and conductor (he pushed for the 16 bit Philips proposal vs 14 bit Sony due to the need for dynamic range in calssical music) If those expert. , especially people like Von Karajan , had a need for anything above 22 kHz , they would have said so . The truth is that by the time people reach adulthood , the overwhelming majority has already lost the capacity of hearing 20 kHz . My hearing is now down to 14 kHz and it does not in the least diminish my appreciation of music.
@@gerritgovaerts8443 The standard was established largely in consideration of the technological constraints of the time. In fact, the Sony consortium published a promise that the standard would improve as digital technology improved. A promise, I should add, they never fulfilled. Remember, son, I said I'm over 50. I was there at the time they set those standards. My hearing may be shot, but my memory still serves me well. And I'm sure there are a lot of people under 30 who might take exception to your assumption that they are not people. And once again, I'm glad I have fond memories of something you never had. Your own satisfaction with your poor hearing is not my problem.
I'm an electronics engineer and an audio enthusiast - and I find Paul's answer very convincing. Same goes for the approach they took at PS Audio to building a great non-compromise DAC solution: while over-sampling solves most issues with phase distortion in the output filters, the FPGA makes it powerful, very flexible and future-proof - making a great value for the customer. I feel inspired.
It comes down to 3 factors.
1. Does it do what you need it to do?
2. Do you like the sound?
3. Can you afford it.
From another excellent video I have finally decided to get myself a PS Audio DAC! Thumbs up. Thorough explanation, and enlightening, Paul.
I upgraded my modi 3 dac with the iFI I power supply and I couldn't believe the difference in sound then added AQ cables rca and toslink and for all tolD of 238.00 bucks total for all amd it sounds amazing !!! It beat out my first dac that's was 400 bucks sounds twice ad good ! Power supply and cables matter !! Just dropped my review on it I call it the Mod-E-Aud-E-Fi Dac lol
Q: Hey Mr. Manufacturer, how much attention have you put into the output stage?
A: Geez, well, a LOT, let me tellya!
Gonna cost you 7k though
Yes, 7k for the best and a bit less for other models, both worth their prices with plenty of attention by one of the best in the industry,Ted Smith. There are plenty of UA-cam vids covering their attention to thieir theories and execution. I don't see many companies explaining what they do. They even offer upgraded boards with newer tech for some of their models. So they are still paying attention and helping you not over pay for a whole new DAC whenever possible as the tech. evolves🧐
Employee: how much time can we spend on the output stage?
Paul: Yes
@@LuxAudio389 There is, almost always, a way to improve, something. Saying this, how much time & effort, $, are you willing to expend? SACD / DSD, is supposed to sound like, `The master tape.' I've heard - some - excellent consumer products, beginning with high quality reel - to - reel tapes {many were, however disappointing}, through some high quality cassettes & vinyl albums. With 2 lenses - as the McIntosh has - the PS Audio CD Transport should extract a high quality signal, into the high quality DAC. One thing, not mentioned, is that, in addition to the theoretical advantages of these separates, keep in mind: I've purchased both the top, PS Audio CD Transport, AND the DirectStream DAC - no space between `Direct And Stream!' Separating these two words, is very incorrect and, I feel, Naughty! What is not mentioned is: the list prices are about: $6,500 & for the requisite PW DirectStream DAC, no space again, at list $5,999.00 / $6,000, plus recommended, the Network Bridge II, with this las, a total of: $6,899 / $6,900. The list price total is therefore, ultimately, a total of: 6,500 + 6,900 = $13,400.00. You may, or may not! Say, "Ouch!" Did I pay this much? No, because there was a recent, one - third off sale on most of the PS Audio Company Gear, which I took much advantage of! Irresistible! You're smart, figure it out! And, right now, right this moment for a few more days, there is actually a slightly better deal on the PS Audio CD Transport, for just: $3,999. BUY NOW, RIGHT NOW - OR, REGRET! YOU BET!
Paul, belatedly catching up with this great description and also at a time I am reviewing my current DAC and considering an upgrade. Part of my review includes reviewing your well designed Directstream DAC including the lower priced GainCell DAC. I agree that the output stage is very important. Cheers Tony
At the end of the day however, audio companies use off the shelf DAC IC's from companies like Analog Devices, Ti and the ilk and so any differences in sound quality is determined by associated support hardware.
Obviously this rule is broken at the true high end as Paul says using FPGA's or DSP processors.
Well with much worse objective performance.
Truly good fpga based dac is Chord.
Great answer.
Missed the 4th critical component IMHO which is the clock. If you get the rest remotely right, the phase noise of the clock will set the device into a sound quality ranging from irritating digital to SOTA audiophile.
good "audiophile DAC?" ... well how much have you got to spend? dCS makes them at $115,000 and you'll never hear anything better... or for about 1/20th the price you can get one from PS Audio that's not bad either... but you get what you pay for, and there is a diminishing return on more money spent.
Hi Paul my name is Shuja belong from Pakistan I am vinyl CD LD vintage turntables CD nakamichi cassette players collectors I loved to watch your audio HiFi program because Sir you always give so much wide detail who ever ask you any question about audio HiFi mostly I watch your videos THANKS. FROM SHUJA SAHIBZADA
Just look for a 192 24 DVD player. It blows every one away who hears it with my 1970s amp and speakers.
I really don't get it.. Very diplomatic answer!
The biggest problem I have had in the scientific community in precision instrumentation, is not the logic, but the quality of the R 2R ladder. Upsampling is fine and can be fed to an off the shelf PCM type DAC with all the benefits, plus the high precision of a mass produced and very precise R 2R ladder. I'm surprised Paul didn't even touch on this subject.
Paul, are you building the ladders from discrete components or from a resistor network manufacture?
For the best linearity and precision, modern DAC chips are very precise. They handle upscaled data just fine. It is almost impossible to produce an FPGA DAC that can outperform an off the shelf 24 bit DAC produced for the scientific community to their standards. Analog devices products are very difficult to match with discrete components. They are used in the semiconductor industry for positioning the steppers that are used to align layers in a semiconductor IC. Precision is essential in this application.
Hi Paul... Thanks for your videos... I actually own one PS Audio Product... The phono preamp GCPH... Just want to say that in this digital age a DAC has become the center of interest for many Audiophiles... I didn't get a lot from the answer you gave regarding the DAC choice... What are the things to look for for example in an output stage... What are specific questions that I can ask the manufacturer about... Thanks again...
Paul McGowan Thanks ... A lot of work for me now to look for the right DAC... Can't Thank You Enough... Thanks Again
What happened to Paul's response? I don't see it.
A single null track with differences in the captured analogue wave between two fairly transparent DACs would go a long way to making me believe "DACs sound different". Alas, I have never been able to find or create such a track.
Great explanation. Thank you.
Hi Paul do you think a DAC dedicated to either PCM or DSD is a better option than one trying to cover all formats (jack of all trades) ?
*DAC of all trades
I m not sure this is the right place to ask a question. If this is a good one, may be you can do a video on it. I like what I here from the PS audio DAC. I am wondering if it is possible that in some future time you will do a complete CD unit with the same design as the direct stream transport & DAC?
Paul; you say you use an FPGA to design a DAC, however obviously the FPGA has a digital interface, how can you use one of those to design a DAC?, unless you are using an output resister ladder network on the pins.
@PS Audio hi, whats the difference between a multibit dac and a balanced dac?
I want to hook my receiver up to my DVD player video output which is no problem. Getting that receiver output from RCA to HDMI is the problem..
what about sony's pcm-1? that was an external dac from... 1977. what are your thoughts?
At $6k, these are DACs for the fairly well off, lol.
I highly recommend the Schiit Modi DACs. They're cheap and they use a 16V AC power adapter, so the analog stage is very well driven. For $100, you can't beat it. I recommend the Modi 2 Uber or Modi 3, so you also have the Toslink and Coaxial inputs, as well as the USB.
@@sbrazenor2 I still can't decide the Modi 3 vs the Multibit!
@@m.morininvestor9920 depending on the source material, the Modi 3 may be sufficient. I have a Jotunheim multibit and with CD quality it's great, but not dramatically so against my Modi. It's just a bit of dithering mostly. You have to be at significantly higher bitrates, with material that really contrasts the difference for it to matter.
Hi Paul, so can a mediocre CD player be improved by adding a DAC down stream, since it (audio) is first processed through the player?
Thanks
When I bought a good sounding system the very knowledgeable salesman explained that a CD player has the “transport” which is the part which reads the CD and then the DAC which converts the digital signal to the analog audio signal. A manufacturer might use the same good quality transport in different CD player models which sell at different price points. Using an external DAC will bypass the often poor DAC inside of a mediocre CD player and use the high quality external DAC instead. So I followed his advice and it sounds great.
An additional point is that two different kinds of cords can be used to send the digital signal from the CD player to an external DAC. The first is optical and is called a Toslink which probably won’t sound so good. The digital signal has to be converted from electrical to optic and back to electrical. Every conversion makes the sound a little worse. The other type of output Paul mentioned is called digital out and uses a digital coax cable. This can sound much better because it bypasses the extra conversions which have to be done if the optical output is used instead.
Hi 👋 Sir , I wanted to buy a good quality DAC for my music systems. I have a pre amplifier and power amplifier Parasound. Which should I buy one. I wanted European make only. I have selected LKS audio MH DA 004. & RME ADI -2 DAC FS. But I don’t know anything about it ?? Please advise me which one ☝️ to buy. Thanks 🙏
I have a technics sa 404 receiver circa 1980
will a DAC make my receiver able to play music from my computer or phone?
Yes
I have good wifi system with blue tooth .cd etc.where do I connect DAC to? To get improved music sound?
S.M.S.L. SU-8. Game over.
I'm not sure it's so easy to have a "Game Over" in the dac's game.
Cheap stuff can sound good... but they don't sound high-end, no way !
@@francois-xaviergonnet7216 I'm going to assume you've never used an SU-8. If you want to spend more then the SMSL VMV-D1 is likely pricey enough to help you feel better. :D
@@ImHavingaCoronary : I've red many time SMSL dacs are good, but I've never red somebody telling his SMSL beat a really good performing dac of the market. From my point of view, I'm not looking for good stuff, I'm looking for better stuff... better than what I already have.
Thank you sir, I ve learnt a lot from your videos.
Hi Paul. I have one simply technical question. Could you please give just simply answer yes or no. I'm using some cheap usb dac to transport digital signal through optical cable to my receiver which has Its own DAC. Is it possible that low quality usb DAC can pollute digital signal to my receivers DAC and lower quality of sound ? This will help me a lot. Thank you
Paul McGowan My laptop is connected to usb sound card which have its own dac and digital spdif output. I'm using SPDIF optical cable to connect sound card with my receiver because I believe my receiver has better dac that my sound card has. Is it possible that digital signal before gets to my receiver is polluted some how because of quality of that sound card ? Thanks
Thank you sir for reply, One day maybe I will afford proper hi-end gear. Now I will look for opportunity to hear PS Audio equipment.
Regards
I never heard the Dragonfly, I just didn't think a USB stick can do much of a good job. I use the Cambridge Audio. It's very bright . maybe too bright . I like my other one , Yulong u100 . Sounds softer and it has a headphone amp. :)
Hi, it’s normal for DirectStream Jr to run very very hot?
Hi Paul, I am moving in the direction of headphone and hi-res hand-held player. Recently just purchased a high end headphone. What is your recommendation for my second device? A DAC or a hi-res player? Thanks.
I've been thinking about this for a while and i didn't find an answer yet?
HI Paul i have Sennheiser hdva600 what dac to fit ?
Guys, quit asking Paul questions on here. If you haven’t noticed, he never answers any questions on here so why keep asking questions?
To separate the DAC from the Player sure gives Room for technical Improvement. As a Side effect the proud Customers could impress their Friends with two instead of one Component for just a little more than the double Price of the old standalone CD-Player ... lol!
All amplifiers sound the same as long as they are driven in linearity with nornal to high volumes with average speakers. Modern digital players are the strongest link in every chain, the weakest room, positioning of and the loudspeakers. Modern digital players are all equally good enough that no speaker in the world can outplay the technical superiority of any electronics by a factor of 100 or 1000 at least. Digital room correction do not correct everything. Vodoo again.
Yes and no. The digital player may be the strongest link, but the digital format itself is the weakest link. Not the player, but the CD. The sampling rate is too low for the highest frequencies - which are too low for audiophile standards. 20K is not the limit of all hearing, it is the limit of the average ear. Which means half of us, especially younger people, can hear beyond 20Khz. But there's absolutely zero beyond 20KHz. There's nothing to restore, nothing to equalize, no way of getting any of it back.
Look at TV and video. From NTSC to 6k, how many times have we been able to upgrade our media libraries? (HD, DVD, blueray, 4K, 6k) Now how often have we been able to do the same for our audio library? (um, once - but it's not available for most music).
While I admit that almost nothing happens at 20Hz, we're still technically capable of extending the CD below that. I'm not concerned, but some others might want that. But I certainly want digital audio extended to at least 24KHz and possibly up to 28. Second, while digital is certainly capable of excellent dynamic range, everything that has been remastered in the last 20 years has been compressed. The latest stuff to come out has almost no dynamic range to it. Trying to restore the dynamic range heard in the studio requires such extreme processing that it introduces audible distortion.
While the hardware may be the most capable part of any system, the media leaves a lot to be desired. And the way the media is engineered these days makes it far worse.
@@jdlech If you can hear above 20 kHz, you are among a very very limited part of the population . Besides , there is practically no meaningfull musical information there with the exception of some very high harmonics that add very little to the experience of the music . Highest notz on an acoustical instrument is 4 Khz : 20 kHz gives you every harmonic up to the fifth , more than enough to distinguish a piano from a piccolo flut
@@gerritgovaerts8443 Then I suppose you don't drive anything but the most cheapest of economy cars because there's "practically no meaningful" option or vehicle to improve the experience of driving?
And yes, I *could* hear well past 20KHz. And those upper frequencies provided ambience and spacial information to anything I heard. How would you even know it doesn't if you can't hear past 20KHz? This is like a color blind guy telling me there's nothing of value in the color green.
I'm over 50 now and I cannot hear those frequencies anymore. But I still remember what certain songs sounded like when I could. And trust me - what I hear now is mostly flat and uninteresting due to the lack of high frequencies. It's not my stereo, nor my music; it's my hearing. But I am so glad I have fond memories of something I lost, rathan than your "sour grapes" sanctimonious rationalization of something you never had.
@@jdlech Good for you , but totally irrelevant to the great majority of people . The CD standard was laid down and decided upon by input of scientist , engineers and musicians , Von Karajan being both an engineer and conductor (he pushed for the 16 bit Philips proposal vs 14 bit Sony due to the need for dynamic range in calssical music) If those expert. , especially people like Von Karajan , had a need for anything above 22 kHz , they would have said so . The truth is that by the time people reach adulthood , the overwhelming majority has already lost the capacity of hearing 20 kHz . My hearing is now down to 14 kHz and it does not in the least diminish my appreciation of music.
@@gerritgovaerts8443 The standard was established largely in consideration of the technological constraints of the time. In fact, the Sony consortium published a promise that the standard would improve as digital technology improved. A promise, I should add, they never fulfilled.
Remember, son, I said I'm over 50. I was there at the time they set those standards. My hearing may be shot, but my memory still serves me well. And I'm sure there are a lot of people under 30 who might take exception to your assumption that they are not people.
And once again, I'm glad I have fond memories of something you never had. Your own satisfaction with your poor hearing is not my problem.