Factually speaking, no! Based on hearsay, many took his commentary out of context, yes!! Some forum posts might have made you believe that all ASR cares about is SINAD, the rest is history. Such kind of talks got repeated enough, so many people believe it is a fact that ASR/Amir cares only about SINAD of the preamp/dac, but that is not true.
Let's quote exactly his own words in the conclusion of his review on the Denon first, and then compare some of the measurements:
Denon AVR-X3800H Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
My interpretation is that as you said, it at least has a lot to do with the DAC, but don't you think in this case it is understandable, considering the SINAD spec of the DAC chip dropped from 107 dB (best case) to 93 dB (best case)? Okay we agreed many times in the pass that 93 dB SINAD is not an audible issue, but even if this is true under any conditions, would you be disappointed if you found out you next CX-A5300 got the DAC chips downgraded to the one D+M are now using, so the SINAD spec, or THD+N spec dropped from your CX-A5100's -110 dB to -93 dB, a whopping 17 dB increase in THD+N, and the price had gone up by 50% to offset inflation?
I have agreed with you in the past that THD+N of 0.01% is fine , even 0.05% is fine if it is the worst case scenario but you can't say the same by looking at a single measurement point such as the typical 1 kHz test, and without specifying the frequency bandwidth and output level.
With that in mind, please compare the following, that I have also posted using ASR's measurements as example. You can used Gene's too, but it is easier to find Amir's simply because he has done so many.
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I remember you suggested that we should look at SNR in conjunction with THD+N so now let's compare their SNR:
See that the Rotel is at least 10 dB better, and by the way, the example RX-V377 you cited showed very good SNR but S&V did not specify the output level, so it could be (most likely) measured at rated output, and their figures were almost always "A weighting", ASR's are for 22.5 kHz bandwidth, unweighted.
Cautionary note: Here we are comparing SNR measured on an AVR versus that measured on a power amp, I don't what the SNR would be if the AVR's power amp itself was measured.
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So to me, the takeaway of his reviews, it you always read the entirety, would be the following:
- ASR typically provide many charts, the first one is the SINAD ranking, may be because that is usually the first of a battery of tests, and also because he does think the preamp/dac section is important as many ASR members use external power amps that could have gains from as low as under 20 dB to as high as over 30 dB.
- ASR does not look at SINAD as a single number, just because their is a ranking chart, making it easy to compare, and index the large number of reviews for easy find, does not mean that is the only metric to look at. Members who frequent the site, usually know well enough to look through the rest of the reviews before making their jumping to decision.
- When looking at SINAD, one should look carefully on the graphs if provided, again, the single point one measured with a 1 kHz signal is only for a quick compare, and if it is >>100 dB that may be good enough, but if it is lower, such as <90 dB, go look for the details, as that may tell you a different story.
- It is not true that Amir's recommendations are based on a single SINAD number. The Rotel example shows that he does consider other metrics, even the price point is often considered, remember his comments on those $20, or was it $12 dongle dacs? I picked the Rotel as example because it's the latest review, readily available. You can find many more examples that shows what some of those youtubers said about the site's is not always true, though in some cases may be true to a point. Remember that Youthman vido that got posted and reposted, sometimes that's how hearsay became hearsay, as those guys have the megaphones that you and I don't have.
Lastly, back to your first question, I can think of a few AVRs/AVPs that have excellent DAC chips that did not get on Amir's recommended list.
Arcam AVR/AVPs - Arcam typically used better DAC chips than the mass producers such as D+M's, and Amir has reviewed at least 3 or 4 of their AVRs and AVPs, none got his recommendations.
Anthem AVRs also typically used above average DAC chips (for AVRs) and out of the 4 AVRs/AVPs, only 2 made it to his recommended list.
Marantz AVR/AVPs - He reviewed quite a few, recommended none, even the $5,000 AV8805 that has AKM's ex flagship DAC did not make it, but almost, if you read the fine print that he sort of said ..buy it for the feature..
