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ohsigmachi
232
Nov 11, 2017
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steelclaw1313
1
Nov 12, 2017
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ohsigmachiAwesome. Thank you very much for the information. I appreciate it.
ohsigmachi
232
Nov 12, 2017
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steelclaw1313No problem! As far as getting into the nitty gritty specifics of how specific electrical components of amps DACs work and change sound (or don't) I'll have to leave it with someone a bit more technically savvy than myself.
KJ741N
Nov 13, 2017
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steelclaw1313One thing to keep in mind, from a value standpoint, is that the vast majority of people cannot hear the difference between a $5 DAC and a $500 DAC. Some say they can, but that's a psychologically-induced phenomenon.
A community member
Nov 13, 2017
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KJ741NDACs definitely do sound different for example using the onkyo 7030 CD player which uses a wolfson dac sounds completely different to running it through a 9018 sabre dac using optical out of the cd (bypass the dac) back into the same amp. The latter sounded much brighter it wasn't subtle either.
steelclaw1313
1
Nov 13, 2017
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KJ741NOh damn.. Then why bother getting a $500 DAC/Amp at all? Like.. what does a $500 one provide that justifies that price point?
A community member
Nov 14, 2017
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steelclaw1313I would spend as much on the DAC as I would on the amp or buy an all in one system, in my opinion they are both equally important. High price won't always get you better maybe different would be a better word as after a certain point they will be only subtle differences. Don't worry too much about dac and amp just buy something you can afford and if you like the sound then all good don't bother chasing too far up the ladder as most the time it isn't worth the small differences IMO.
A community member
Nov 14, 2017
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steelclaw1313All good pal I had no idea myself mate I started out with an SMSL M6 and tbh I would still be happy with it now great little all in one system, plenty of good options around. Best thing to do is try it out if you don't like it then just send it back.
ohsigmachi
232
Nov 14, 2017
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KJ741NCan't say I agree with this. I have a Fiio D3 and an Audio Engine D1, and they are night and day. I've blind A and B'd them on multiple occasions with a couple of different amps and can always tell them apart.
Jackula
1743
Nov 14, 2017
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ohsigmachiThe difference between DACs is mostly presentation, there very little differences in detail retrieval. Hearing differences between DACs is more to do with experience than hearing, sure someone with good ears can hear it straight away, but for an old man like me it took almost a year. Once you can hear the difference between one set of DACs, picking out the differences between everything else becomes much easier.
Differences in DACs is mostly due to filters used, sampling, noise shaping and power. Some DACs, like the Mojo let's you select different filters. Even things like bass boost can be considered as changing the sound of the DAC.
Then there's things that make a difference but it's not huge, like jitter, DAC chip, number of chips per channel, input receivers, topology etc.
Differences in DACs is mostly due to filters used, sampling, noise shaping and power. Some DACs, like the Mojo let's you select different filters. Even things like bass boost can be considered as changing the sound of the DAC.
Then there's things that make a difference but it's not huge, like jitter, DAC chip, number of chips per channel, input receivers, topology etc.
steelclaw1313
1
Nov 15, 2017
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JackulaGotcha. So, in other words, a DAC is a DAC is a DAC. It just serves one function and it doesn't vary much. Okay. Simple enough it seems. So I guess there's not much reason to spend hundreds on a DAC.
Jackula
1743
Nov 15, 2017
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steelclaw1313It depends on how much presentation means to you. My personal opinion is as long as you can't tell the difference, then there's no need to upgrade to a much more expensive DAC.
I also think that everyone will eventually be able to hear the differences in presentation between DACs, it is inevitable. When you first break into the audiophile world, it's new and your ears aren't used to it. Once your ears gain some XP and level up, they will be more sensitive to variations in presentation.
I also think that everyone will eventually be able to hear the differences in presentation between DACs, it is inevitable. When you first break into the audiophile world, it's new and your ears aren't used to it. Once your ears gain some XP and level up, they will be more sensitive to variations in presentation.
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Moving these components outside of the form factor of your CE gear allows you to overcome many of those compromises.
DAC: digital to analog converter. The electrical signal that speaker diaphragms react to is analog (think manipulation of a wave's form and frequency on spectrum analyzer). Digital Music doesn't start life in this form, it's encoded into binary information packets (1s and 0s). The DAC takes the binary, and as faithfully as possible, translates that to an analog signal.
AMPs: The Amp takes that(often very weak) analog signal from that DAC and amplifies it to have enough energy to actually move the speaker's physical architecture, which in turn produces sound.