In Reply to: RE: Does a good output stage add much cost to a DAC? posted by rick_m on January 14, 2012 at 16:43:12:
Of course it all matters but it seems to me that the current fad around here places extreme emphasis and hype on the importance of having the lowest jitter specs, the latest 32-bit DAC chips, magic USB cables, and huge hi-rez music files. Yet no one seems to question the quality of the DAC's analog stage. All that great digital technology ahead of a cheaply implemented analog stage does no good.
As a matter of fact, there are several outstanding older DAC's using ancient digital technology (by today's standards) that sound wonderful.
My references are the DAC sections in the older Cary 306/200 and my Accuphase DP-65v CD players. Their digital front-ends are old, their analog stages are superb, and they hold up nicely and compete with the best of them today.
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Follow Ups
- RE: Does a good output stage add much cost to a DAC? - AbeCollins 01:35:42 01/15/12 (1)
- RE: Does a good output stage add much cost to a DAC? - rick_m 08:55:24 01/15/12 (0)