|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
216.100.38.151
I know what a CD player is, but what the heck is a DAC? Also, does anyone know what a CD Transport is?Thanks
Follow Ups:
In a nutshell, a single box cd player can be broken down into two parts…a transport and DAC. The transport takes care of reading the data off the disk and the DAC does the digital analog conversion, hence the name “DAC”. An external dac can be connected to a CD, DVD player or a dedicated transport through the optical output. Adding one to a CD or DVD player, basically bypasses the internal dac and uses the player as a transport. However, advocates of single box players feel separating the two causes jitter and timing issues.
DAC is short for digital-to-analog converter. CD's and other formats store music in digital (binary) format. However, we hear in analog, so the digital data needs to be converted.Most CD players have a DAC built-in. However, as with any audio equipment, there are those who feel that a separate converter may offer better sound quality.
A CD transport is the mechanism to play a CD but has no built-in DAC (or the one present has been bypassed.)
And if you splurge on one really good DAC, you can funnel all your (cheapo) digital sources into it. This can be cost effective.
I agree. My rationale for an external dac has more to do with transports than the sound quality of an internal vs external dac. Like computers, newer cd players seem to be less expensive, but less durable. Unfortunately, alot of manufactures are forced to use the same POS drive in consumer grade stuff as well as in higher end units. IMO, anything using nothing more than computer cd-drive as the transport will eventually have reliability issues. So, spending the bigger, long-term money on the DAC side and treating transports like disposable lighters made more sense to me.
In most cases a DAC only has 1 optical and 1 coaxial (75ohm) input, along with a digital out and a pair of analogue outs.You can get away with having some pretty cheap cdp's, dvd players etc... with some DACS, but also remember that most dacs are stereo only(right and left chanel.
Jon
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: