Tech-N-Things

Master Quality DAPs

“Master Quality” DAPs often refer to devices that prioritize a lush, musical, and engaging sound that can evoke the feel of an original master recording.

VS.

Reference DAP’s

“Reference” DAPs are engineered to reproduce audio as transparently and neutrally as possible, without adding their own sonic signature. 

I can’t believe how crazy my journey has been in such a small time frame. I took the long road around, yes. But I don’t think I would be where I am today without the road I took. I had to know what exactly I needed and wanted vs what I told to like by hype and paid off reviewers. There is unfortunately a ton of reviewers that aren’t biased. I trust only a handful. And even they fall into the trap of their own choices and subjective views on their experiences,  just like me. So I’m never really guaranteed to find the perfect answer because this hobby created division because its dependant on subjectivity.

So I wanted to defeat the subjectivity from influencing my choices before I had and understood the proper place and understanding for the direction I was seeking. And finding out finally, that a DAP listed and labeled a “Reference” DAP is completely different in its approach to a DAP listed as a “Master Quality” DAP.

I didnt understand this concept at all and was misdefining what these term meant. I thought Reference would give me the best sound period because it used to Reference what the song had in details without any smoothness or coloration. And those terms sound like something you want to avoid and when you take those terms and stick a $1100 pricetag on it …you feel there is no other choice that would be greater at any price less. And this is where my mistakes and misdirection occurred. 

I found out pretty fast that I was missing something that I couldn’t really fully explain but I knew wasn’t there but use to be there with cheaper DAPs like the dx180 but now gone with the Reference DAP of the dx260mk2. Yes, on paper the dx260mk2 should be the best. But I never felt a connection to the music. It was lifeless in comparison to my previous experience with the dx180. It also couldn’t or didnt power the volume and dynamics like the dx180 which was said to have weaker watts of 600 watts vs the over 1000 watts on the dx260mk2. Nothing made sense until I got the Cayin N6III and confirmed what my suspicion was.

The Cayin N6III reviews all kept mentioning the same praise words. Words like richness, dynamics, smooth, engaging, musicality, and emotional were words that reminded me what I was missing when I jumped from the dx180 to the dx260mk2. I thought about going backwards but I wasn’t happy with the build quality and battery life of the dx180 so this direction gave me the best of both worlds. It returned my musicality and richness while believing even better build quality and more battery life.

Conclusion:

I’ve learned a lot but thankfully I learned this in time for the return period of the Dx260mk2. I learned that reference items like DAPs, IEM, or headphones is the last thing I want. I hate dry tonality and music that is more analytical and used to break down music to study it more than the goal of experiencing the music, making a connection to the music and its emotions. I now understand musicality isn’t found in reference items and so if I’m looking for items that are design to make music more inviting, emotional, engaging, and connecting then I need to avoid making my choices in the opposite direction. It doesn’t make the reference wrong for all people, its just not used to connect with my type direction and those like me.