@Monā¦ Around here you are kind of important Lol!
Anyway, was saying.
Yes, crazy! Like my dad.
@LeDechaine @m0n I wonder if I am missing out on all these qualities people talk about when they explain different DACsā¦ soundstage, wider sound, more this and that.
@jetman I trust ZReview but even then he says many expensive dacs out perform something like a Toppings D10 sometimes and in some ways
Thank you all for responding.
It will come with time, I really wouldnāt worry about it and just enjoy your current setup. Once you start figuring out your preferences and what you like, is when you can tweak your setup to your liking
My advice is, stop listening to DAC reviews and start listening to headphone reviews 
We all overstate differences when discussing gear, and reviewers have to convey those differences.
Many of us here have heard a lot of equipment, and weāve been listening analytically for years.
If your comparing gear in most cases to have listen to at least a few minutes of a track, note what stands out to you, pay attention to how the instruments and vocals stage, then swap over and listen to the same sections.
Sometimes differences in staging are very obvious, but in a lot of cases with gear around the same price point, especially lower price points, they can take some extended listening to pin point.
For example with a few exceptions, I think most of the $100 amps Iāve heard sound much more similar than different.
Yes I really wonder how drastic these differences are after the 789 amp. People say it is āend gameā or what have you. Maybe when I change DACs to more expensive it will be a difference, yes, but subtle?
IMO itās really not, but I wonāt get into that rant here lol
Welcome to hifiguides, rule #1: Nothing is endgame 
@LeDechaine Yes and with my headphones I guess I wouldnāt be able to tell until I spend a lot more on gear and headphones
I mean all ears are different, and you might prefer things most people do not like. But Iām pretty sure if you switch from HD650s toā¦ the exact opposite, like closed-back planars or whatever, youāll know you were āmissing outā on some things and your DAC was definitely not the problem.
I feel like youāre trying to ask āwhatās wrong with my setupā. And my answer is, different technologies and different kind of headphones justā¦ convey the information to your ears differently, and maybe the HD650s arenāt the only headphones you need, even if theyāre excellent and/or āendgameā according to a ton of people.
This is a great point. Really all I wonder is what is the talk about?
I buy a nice DAC, then compare to my older DAC, and canāt tell a difference. Same with Amps. I have a lot of gear and stuff from my dad. I can really only hear big differences when it comes to speakers and the source of music. Does that make sense? @M0N
Well, the speakers/headphones and the music are going to typically make the largest difference imo, so there is that. Typically amps and dacs are after that (with some strange exceptions). In the budget realm I would focus on the headphones first, and then go for a reasonable dac amp setup that pairs well with the headphones
But in saying this how some reviewers say a DAC widens sound stage, makes more bass, etc? This is the confusion.
I mean they absolutely can, depends on the setup though and the listening skill, alot of this stuff for newcomers isnāt immediately apparent, itās something you notice overtime. I myself have a somewhat significant collection of amps and dacs and they all make sizable differences to me, but it really depends on the headphones and the listening level, also the tier of equipment of course.
Like for the zen dac for example, I would say itās a warmer leaning, smoother, and slightly wider sounding dac. The d10 to me is more analytical leaning and also is a bit more forward in presentation, but in reality itās not a massive difference or anything. Itās noticeable but not prominent
Okay I see. I compared earlier today a old crap DAC to the iFi and there were differences. Subtle.
Still waiting to compare the D10 to it, will take time and try after.
Thanks for your help, learned a lot everybody
You really do have to get out of the budget realm to hear significant differences in DACās.
I can tell the difference between cheaper AK based DACās and the ES stuff, but itās not a huge difference.
The Bifrost 2 for example is a very audible step up from the $100-$300 DACās but itās significantly more expensive and based on different technology.
And as you move up you get a broader set of sounds at a price point.