Thank you for the explanation; will definitely search more about this, as I am totally ignorant on this matter.
Well according to Misue the A-8 has a sinad of -123dB which is 20dB better than your old Mark Levinson which is after all a twenty year old design. Keith
Could be true to some extent, though I'd like to understand where this come from: Obviously the quality is not comparable to when the phono is connected directly to the preamp and power amp but keep in mind that my preamp is a mark levinson 326s What does it mean the "obviously" reinforced by "keep in mind" part? That's totally subjective on your side, and I tend to consider it not as real as one would expect/need.
By ‘numbers’ do you mean measurements? Honestly I worry about you, these are electrical components they are completely characterised by their ‘numbers’. I would really try and learn more about the technical side of the hobby, otherwise you are going to be ripped off left right and centre. Keith
I wouldn’t worry about the ML it is still a good preamp just a bit noisier than A-8, it almost certainly won’t be audible. https://www.stereophile.com/content/mark-levinson-no326s-line-preamplifier-measurements Keith
I don't think my ears would notice the difference between -103dB and -123dB, ML makes some very good devices and technology, when we refer to amplifiers, has not evolved as much as it has evolved in digital audio. So a design from 20 years ago wouldn't worry me too much, but a 20-year-old device would.
Quote, ‘The preamp's signal/noise ratio depended on the gain setting. At 0dB gain, with the input shorted, the unweighted, wideband figure ref. 1V was an excellent 93.5dB, this improving further to 111dB when A-weighted‘. Keith
I think you need to use an external BT-dongle, connect it to the USB OTG port, and that will possibly be your output to the earbuds... I think somebody else did this (although he connected a BT speaker) and worked. I do cannot figure out how you could select it as a viable output, though; I cannot tell you more, maybe searching the forum something will pop up.
Interesting reading the comments / discussion of the DMP-A8 vs the Mark Levinson pre-amp. Whilst specifications are a useful guide and a general indicator of potential performance, they are IMHO only part of the story. Even though I'm somewhat retired from the industry now, I've repaired, restored, modified and designed many pieces of audio gear over the decades. There are some things that can be difficult to fully explain in an easy and simplistic way when it comes to audio. Firstly, some equipment that measures superbly doesn't always sound as good as the measurements would suggest, and conversely some gear that doesn't test as excellent can sound very good indeed. Sure, there are some parameters that if they measure poorly will be readily identifiable as something deficient when listened to by a critical listener. As an example, a power amplifier with a low damping factor to me always sounds woolly in the bass. Drum kicks don't sound tight to my ears but I know someone who actually prefers this sound as they rarely listen to music with drums, rather preferring the cello. Go figure that one out. Secondly, in audio, in my experience based on my own observations and by talking with other hi-fi enthusiasts is very much a personal preference thing. Just like our tastes in music, food, beverages, art, literature et al, our tastes can be many and varied. Finally, some measurements (if they are poor) can lead to explaining how a piece of audio equipment sounds. A typical example is some less expensive Class D power amplifiers. Let's take an example where the optimum speaker impedance for a particular Class D amplifier is 8 ohms. Generally, even relatively inexpensive Class D amplifiers designed to work into a specific for optimum load impedance (let's just say 8 ohms for the purpose of the discussion) will exhibit a flat frequency response over the audio passband of 20Hz to 20kHz. Connect 4 ohm speakers of the same characteristics to the amplifier and most listeners will describe the sound as "a bit dull and veiled; lacking sparkle...". Connect 15 ohm speakers to the same amplifier and the typical comments are that they sound "bright". So what's going on here and how does this account for the differences in how they sound? The explanation is fairly simple and can be explained by electrical measurements. In a typical lower cost Class D amplifier the output filter designed to remove the high frequency sampling frequency is usually a simple LC circuit. If run into a resistive load (say 8 ohms in our example) the amplifier will exhibit a flat frequency response over the passband. When the load impedance is lowered the filter / load combination will exhibit a slight roll off towards the high frequency end of the audio passband. This would be equivalent to reducing the treble slightly if one had tone controls in the circuit. Likewise if the load impedance is raised to 15 ohms, the result is a slight rise in the high frequency end of the audio passband. Somewhat equivalent to turning up the treble tone control a tad. Of course real speakers rarely exhibit a flat impedance characteristic across the entire audio range and this fully explains why some speakers can sound glorious on a particular amplifier and potentially dreadful on another from a subjective listening perspective. Yes, there are other parameters which come into play. Too numerous to include in this post otherwise we would be reading a book and I'm sure no one reading this would have the time or inclination to do so. Is there a takeaway from this? IMHO and to briefly summarise. If you like the sound of a particular pre-amp / DAC / amplifier / speakers then who is anyone else to judge? What might sound glorious to me might sound absolutely awful to you and vice versa. Audio equipment in my experience is an extremely personal choice. It's pointless arguing over SINAD measurements because it's unlikely to significantly alter a listener's personal preferences. Just as the age old debate of tubes vs solid-state. It's going to continue to be a hot topic for many years to come.
Broadly agree but I have never heard a fine measuring component sound ‘bad’ one may not enjoy transparency of course. The other important point is that the really poorly designed equipment which adds audible distortion/colouration isn’t sold as adding distortion it is marketed as being more musical, more analogue more closer to real instruments. Would buyers still purchase if they knew it was just poorly designed. Keith
You're absolutely correct Keith. Hi-fi by definition as we probably all know means high fidelity with the emphasis on fidelity. My interpretation is that to meet the definition the signal should not undergo any transformation from input to output other than a change in level or power or digital to analogue conversion in the case of a DAC. If the frequency response is altered, distortion and noise is added, there are phase changes or the slew rate is compromised the fidelity is also compromised. However one will, after careful listening to thousands of amplifiers, DACs, phono cartridges, speakers et al, quickly come to realise they can all sound slightly different even if it is only in a very small way. IMHO some equipment is purposely designed to impart a particular sound signature which appeals to certain listeners and as such has developed an almost cult following over the years. Obviously enough to sustain a good market for their products. Yes, the terms you stated of "... musical, more analogue more closer to real instruments.." are often used in their advertising because these terms are mostly subjective and can't normally be successfully argued against based on any measuring techniques other than opinion(s) which vary widely and are indeed difficult to prove. The "I say, you say" debate. When one peruses technical specifications (which I had previously alluded to can provide a potential insight to audible performance) in many products that often state in their promotional information as "... musical, more analogue more closer to real instruments ...." will frequently omit specifications such as THD, IMD, phase accuracy, slew rate etc. IME, these all contribute to how something will sound in a real world context even if the differences might be very small when comparing one product with another. I'm quite sure most will already be well aware of the preferences that exist in the audio community of favouring one technology over another like tubes vs solid state, delta-sigma DACs vs R2R DACs, physical contact (electro-mechanical switches or relays) vs transistor switching, linear PSUs vs SMPS, dynamic speakers vs planar speakers vs horn loaded systems and the list goes on and on..... For me, if I enjoy listening to it that's all that really matters in the end. Sorry if that sounds a bit selfish but I will admit that I do enjoy the opportunities to listen to other people's systems. I will openly admit that some systems that I've heard I don't like whilst others really piqued my interest. I'm sure what floats my boat may very well sink someone else's and vice vera.
