Results: Get Lucky / Daft Punk
Track notes
HDTracks' version of Daft Punk's Random Access Memory album, inclusive of the hit single Get Lucky featuring Pharrell Williams, is made available in a DVD-A format of 24-bit/88.2 kHz. That created issues for us. While the Benchmark DAC2 supports such sampling frequency, the JDS Labs O2+ODAC and Asus Xonar Essence STX do not. Realtek's ALC889 codec does support that frequency in its specs, but in WASAPI mode using foobar2000, neither 88.2 nor 176.4 kHz worked.
Our only choice left was resampling. We could upsample up to 96 kHz, which was closer in absolute value and supported by all devices, or downsample to 44.1 kHz. Though it may sound counter-intuitive, we chose to downsample because converting from 88.2 to 44.1 kHz is a very simple and precise operation. All that is required is a sum-and-divide-by-two. Upsampling from 88.2 to 96 kHz is far more more likely to cause artifacts. Given that the differences between 88.2 and 44.1 kHz are generally considered inaudible anyway, we went the route more likely to preserve fidelity. Also, we used foobar2000's PPHS resampler in Ultra mode, which is considered a very high-quality resampler.
For the sake of integrity, Listener A did some (non-blind due to time restrictions) tests on the DAC2 to see if he could immediately tell 88.2 from resampled 44.1 kHz. The (unscientific) answer is that he could not. He also tried reducing the word length from 24- to 16-bit, with and without dither, and he still couldn't tell any difference.
Test results (Listener A, take one)
| Run | Actual Device | Guess device | Correct / Incorrect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asus Xonar Essence STX | Asus Xonar Essence STX (relatively certain) | Correct |
| 2 | Realtek ALC889* | Realtek ALC889 (absolutely certain) | Correct* |
| 3 | Benchmark DAC2 HGC | Benchmark DAC2 HGC (uncertain) | Correct |
| 4 | JDS Labs O2+ODAC | JDS Labs O2+ODAC (uncertain) | Correct |
| 5 | Asus Xonar Essence STX | Asus Xonar Essence STX (relatively certain) | Correct |
| 6 | Realtek ALC889* | Realtek ALC889 (absolutely certain) | Correct* |
| 7 | Benchmark DAC2 HGC | Benchmark DAC2 HGC (uncertain) | Correct |
| 8 | JDS Labs O2+ODAC | JDS Labs O2+ODAC (uncertain) | Correct |
Listener A's comments:
In all honesty, I was really surprised to guess each device correctly. I believe luck played a role, although there is certainly a learning factor involved. I can definitely tell the Realtek ALC889 apart by its lower volume. But this was the first time I felt I could (and did) reliably identify the Xonar sound card from the O2+ODAC and DAC2. I did so through the bass' particular definition. It's hard to say if this track's 24-bit resolution was a factor.
Asus' Xonar Essence STX seems to have a more lively and emotional bass that I subjectively appreciate. It probably isn't as "reference" as the O2+ODAC or DAC2. In that specific sense, it can be argued that those two devices both appear to be marginally superior to the Xonar.
The Benchmark DAC2 HGC and JDS Labs O2+ODAC I simply could not tell apart. I was frankly guessing and happened to be correct. Don't take the outcome as definitive; I believe I could equally have guessed incorrectly.
With that said, all three discrete sources sound absolutely amazing on a track that is absolutely masterfully recorded.
*: Tests of the Realtek ALC889 codec marked with an asterisk had a volume level calibration issue that was corrected later. We kept the results in for the sake of transparency, although they should not be considered representative of an actual ability to distinguish the ALC889 from the other devices being tested.
Test results (Listener A, take two)
| Run | Actual Device | Guess device | Correct / Incorrect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JDS Labs O2+ODAC | Realtek (uncertain) | Not Correct |
| 2 | JDS Labs O2+ODAC | O2? DAC2? (uncertain) | (Directionally) Correct |
| 3 | Realtek ALC889 | O2? DAC2? (uncertain) | Not Correct |
| 4 | Realtek ALC889 | Asus Xonar Essence STX (uncertain) | Not Correct |
| 5 | Benchmark DAC2 HGC | Realtek (uncertain) | Not Correct |
| 6 | Benchmark DAC2 HGC | O2? DAC2? (uncertain) | (Directionally) Correct |
| 7 | Asus Xonar Essence STX | O2? DAC2? (uncertain) | Not Correct |
| 8 | Asus Xonar Essence STX | Asus Xonar Essence STX (uncertain) | Correct |
Listener A's comments:
My second take, run a few days after the first, demonstrates how hard it is to tell these devices apart. The Realtek codec's volume issues are addressed and it easily blends in with the pack, making identification even harder. I still felt like I could tell the Xonar Essence STX apart, but the results proved me wrong. More interestingly, I could not even tell that a given device was the same when my partner smartly decided to run each device twice in a row.