The Wonderful World of Mastering DACs

Link to the Pandemonium Sax Break DAC Comparison Files:

[AliKozy]

I hear it. I like what the Dangerous AD has done to this piece of music. Sounds way more rounder and pleasant to hear. Analog vibes!

[dakota-sessions]

I always thought of converters as removing information. This is so helpful to see (and hear) what they are adding. Even on my air-pods over YouTube I heard some sheen and depth added and I wondered if it was my imagination... then you did the null test and it confirmed this is real. Thank you so much for doing this.

[dylanhughes]

Top video. Would really like to see the A/D video and how the whole chain functions.

[m.i.stapes]

This is a lot of great information here. I've only recently begun studying mastering, and there's a lot of nonsense out here on the internet. I can't say confidently I hear any difference but looking at the visual analysis tools is excellent. Thanks man!

[windwalker]

Wow amazing video! Would be great to hear a few more audio demo of these three converters. The fact that I can hear the differences clearly after the YouTube conversion in itself is a proof that why it's critical to have a hi end converter.

[sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Question: @12:36, I see the sine wave up top, but I don't understand what you mean when you were attempting to demonstrate that it was getting "darker"... Could you please clarify?

[Feerlyss]

I have the Dangerous Convert -2 setup for monitoring. So I have not taken advantage of looping back to the daw to capture the converters in the actual audio file. Should I?

[GingerDrums]

Youtube does not lob off everything from 16k. The compression is surprisingly good and is also alias free. Id also say "makes things come alive", "Mojo" etc is pretty misleading. Im nearly always choosing ITB bounces vs converters (lynx, dangerous, Alpha-link tests) ABX. Its programme dependent, and ITB rendering is certainly not "lackluster" if we go by the thousands of chart topping songs that have been mixed and mastered ITB.

[mshamalan]

That null test though...theres something wrong because the resulting cancelled file should be MUCH quieter, considering the very subtle differences between converters. Unless you time align the resulting recordings perfectly you will get very misleading results from this test.

[HR-mmts]

Very concrete review indeed. Thank you for all your effort & sharing!! 👏🏼

[Trentcast]

Totally had to see all the things that tell us you’re rich. Couldn’t have learned anything without seeing any of that.

[JoshuaKrell]

That first transition made me laugh out loud! Very cool video. From hearing other Anteloupe Audio converters they've been very clean and transparent. Interesting to hear the Pure with more color.

[Tacitade]

What piece of hardware can make the biggest difference between mixing and mastering? Is a good converter essential?

[stevel]

I'm glad I saw this. Thank you so much for this info

[MiguelLuzuriaga-dv]

How do you have your DACS routed to be able to switch through each one?

[kod]

Awesome. Period.I wonder how Amari will do it.

[Hello-plqe]

I'm just curious when you ran your test tones through near digital zero to view the harmonics created if you were you using "true" peak or just a standard meter?

[bigdap]

My take on DACs:
First of all it makes your plugins sound amazing....
High end DACs are TOTALLY worth the extra money. I love the Prism Sound Atlas...it’s actually cheap!! Considering you get 8 high quality preamps, outstanding headphone amps, and massive I/O.

[johnshepherd]

Have you tried the Burl B2 Bomber DAC? I understand that they now have a new Opamp (BOPA8) and Iamwontering what that throws into the mix from the original BOPA1 Opamps?
Thank you for your work here. It is very informative and interesting.

[RadiAsian]

absolutely brilliant video. been researching for the last few weeks too. Lynx Hilo seems appealing. Intrigued by the RME ADI Pro 2 FS Black Edition. wanted to check out the Prism Lyra 2 and the Crane Song Solaris Quantum. This video couldn't have come at a better time. Thank you. Subbed.