[Sam21]

So which one of these DAC chips are better ? WM8740 is E17's DAC chip and AKM4396 is D1's chip ...
 
 
Which one is better in terms of sound quality ?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  So which one of these DAC chips are better ? WM8740 is E17's DAC chip and AKM4396 is D1's chip
 
Which one is better in terms of sound quality ?

I would guess the AKM4396 is the better DAC chip.
What "D1"  are you referring to?

 

[Sam21]

I am referring to the Audioengine D1 ...
 
in terms of sound quality, which DAC/AMP is better ?

 

[Sam21]

what about ES9023 vs AKM4396 ? 
 
Does the DAC performance only depend on the chip ? are there other factors ?

 

[David Chavez]

The wolfson (wm) and the akm are different tastes I would put them in the same level depends what the company does to fully use the chip that matters because they are so close together.  Saber (es) is my personally favorite I would easily rank it above wolfson and akm.  I would rank audioengine above the e17 slightly. 

 

[gp58mb]

I'm quite a bit late to this party, but I just got a DX-50 Ibasso portable & it sounds Phenomenal!! you guys have equiptment with better chips?
Thanks.