Bytor123
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What would go on inside 'DAC 'A' to make it sound different to 'DAC 'B'?
That’s why I said it. It has to be pretty much filterless NOS (add R2R for better and warmer results) and pure discrete components without caring about matching.That would have to be pretty drastic to be audible. I haven't heard anything like that since before oversampling. 25 years ago?
What would go on inside 'DAC 'A' to make it sound different to 'DAC 'B'?
Differences in oversampling algorithm, power supply and analog stage for the most part, and clock/jitter. There could be more reasons, like ground loops, ground plane noise etc, but the above 3 are the major contributors.
Oversampling is a rather simple process, so I would not expect differences there.oversampling algorithm
Around 50-60 Hz, usually -100 dBFS of the fundamental, it does not matter for the human hear because it can't detect a signal this small.power supply
Since the amplification factor we're dealing with to take the signal to line-level is small, distortion and other artifacts are small compared to other amplification applications which require more current/potential.analog stage
Again, stuff that's more -100 dBFS down the fundamental, it just does not matter. Also, jitter manifests as noise, and it will decrease the SINAD of a signal. The effects of jitter on the noise level of a circuit are small.clock/jitter
Here you can hear the difference between DACs.