Is a DAC1 still good?
Jul 2, 2009 at 7:24 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 35
MrOutside

MrOutside

Banned - aka CDBacklash - aka girmanta
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hello my friends i have a dac1 running to an spl phonitor and wonder if the dac1 is still a great dac today or if there is much better. price is no object, neutrality and smoothness are paramount. thankyou
 
Jul 2, 2009 at 7:28 PM Post #2 of 35
"better".... *grumble grumble*
tongue.gif


have you considered a Sabre32-based DAC?
 
Jul 2, 2009 at 8:31 PM Post #5 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by MrOutside /img/forum/go_quote.gif
dac technologies are getting better all the time.


Hardly. DAC's have been a mature technology for a long time. If you're "upgrading" from a DAC1, then it is highly unlikely you'll hear any difference. That money is better spent on other things. Like more music!
 
Jul 2, 2009 at 8:36 PM Post #6 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by Berlioz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hardly. DAC's have been a mature technology for a long time. If you're "upgrading" from a DAC1, then it is highly unlikely you'll hear any difference. That money is better spent on other things. Like more music!


you seem to be confusing dacs with amps... i do not have enough room for more music as an entire wall in the living room is occupied with cds. please do not comment on things you do not understand
 
Jul 2, 2009 at 8:53 PM Post #9 of 35
they are getting better all the time, unlike amps which are just squeezing juice from.
The amp system has existed for a long long time and has not evolved as such. you could get power back then and you can now.
dacs on the other hand have a much more delicate job and have more ways to control what does what. you dont really see anyone recomending vintage source gear beyond turntables and cartridges (which is mostly because new ones are very expensive and not designed in the 'golden days'), but you see vintage receivers used as amps all the time.
even the compact mp3 player is a new thing.
source gear is changing all the time they get smaller and they get better ergo the question.
just because layouts are similar does not mean technology is old. if you look at amps closely you will see that a large number of them are actually very similar in circuitry; especially today. dacs vary a lot more in my experience
there is many ways to convert 1s to 0s but there is only one way to provide power and that is to give it.
an amp that is good now will still be good 10 years down the track but the notion of good for dacs will change.
 
Jul 2, 2009 at 8:55 PM Post #10 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by MrOutside /img/forum/go_quote.gif
they are getting better all the time, unlike amps which are just squeezing juice from.
The amp system has existed for a long long time and has not evolved as such. you could get power back then and you can now.
dacs on the other hand have a much more delicate job and have more ways to control what does what. you dont really see anyone recomending vintage source gear beyond turntables and cartridges (which is mostly because new ones are very expensive and not designed in the 'golden days'), but you see vintage receivers used as amps all the time.
even the compact mp3 player is a new thing.
source gear is changing all the time they get smaller and they get better ergo the question.
just because layouts are similar does not mean technology is old. if you look at amps closely you will see that a large number of them are actually very similar in circuitry; especially today. dacs vary a lot more in my experience
there is many ways to convert 1s to 0s but there is only one way to provide power and that is to give it



Capitalization will help legitimize your argument.
wink.gif


Quote:

Originally Posted by MrOutside
you seem to be confusing dacs with amps... i do not have enough room for more music as an entire wall in the living room is occupied with cds. please do not comment on things you do not understand


Also, not being an a**hole to people trying to give you answers tends to help.
 
Jul 2, 2009 at 9:04 PM Post #11 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by MrOutside /img/forum/go_quote.gif
they are getting better all the time, unlike amps which are just squeezing juice from.
The amp system has existed for a long long time and has not evolved as such. you could get power back then and you can now.
dacs on the other hand have a much more delicate job and have more ways to control what does what. you dont really see anyone recomending vintage source gear beyond turntables and cartridges (which is mostly because new ones are very expensive and not designed in the 'golden days'), but you see vintage receivers used as amps all the time.
even the compact mp3 player is a new thing.
source gear is changing all the time they get smaller and they get better ergo the question.
just because layouts are similar does not mean technology is old. if you look at amps closely you will see that a large number of them are actually very similar in circuitry; especially today. dacs vary a lot more in my experience
there is many ways to convert 1s to 0s but there is only one way to provide power and that is to give it.
an amp that is good now will still be good 10 years down the track but the notion of good for dacs will change.


Well, I respectfully disagree. AES studies have found that people are incapable of differentiating any modern DAC from another. The build quality of the entire unit can certainly create audible differences, but I believe that your DAC1 is about as good as one can get in that regard. That discussion belongs in another forum though, so I'll end it here.

I've never tried a source of that caliber anyways, so I won't be able to provide you with any useful impressions. Good luck with your search.
 
Jul 2, 2009 at 10:08 PM Post #12 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by Berlioz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
... AES studies have found that people are incapable of differentiating any modern DAC from another...


Can you elaborate or show me where you read this? I believe that often much of what people claim to hear is so much psychoacoustic babble. I'd really like to save some money on a moderately priced DAC like the new one from Little Dot if I can, especially if I don't need to spend a grand or more on something more expensive.
I'd rather put the money into a better amp (where there really is a difference) like a Zana or DNA Sonett, but I also don't want to bottleneck it either.
 
Jul 2, 2009 at 10:15 PM Post #13 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by oatmeal769 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Can you elaborate or show me where you read this? I believe that often much of what people claim to hear is so much psychoacoustic babble. I'd really like to save some money on a moderately priced DAC like the new one from Little Dot if I can, especially if I don't need to spend a grand or more on something more expensive.
I'd rather put the money into a better amp (where there really is a difference) like a Zana or DNA Sonett, but I also don't want to bottleneck it either.


QFT
 
Jul 2, 2009 at 11:23 PM Post #14 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by MrOutside /img/forum/go_quote.gif
why did this get moved from the hi-fi forum i am after a high end source


Firstly because it's a source question, ergo, the source forum is where it nominally belongs. Secondly, because the DAC1 does not belong in the "high end forum" in the opinions of many.
 
Jul 3, 2009 at 12:17 AM Post #15 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Firstly because it's a source question, ergo, the source forum is where it nominally belongs. Secondly, because the DAC1 does not belong in the "high end forum" in the opinions of many.


That's my opinion too-DAC1 is considered a budget component. But since he mentioned" price is no object", I can understand this being a good discussion topic for the high end forum.
 
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