Stupid DAC Question

[Luckyleo]

My buddy and I were driving to South Beach this afternoon and I was relating a lot of things that I've learned here on Head-fi. I was explaining how I had my DAC connected to my HP Amp. I explained that DAC was short for digital to analog conversion. He pointed out that if you were listening to lossless from a laptop that it was digital and wondered why it needed to be converted to analog. Isn't digital better?? I explained that I was an idiot and couldn't answer the question. Can someone help me out?

Thanks

Leo

 

[FallenAngel]

You can't "listen" to digital, sound waves are analog, therefore the conversion MUST be there somewhere.

 

[Luckyleo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can't "listen" to digital, sound waves are analog, therefore the conversion MUST be there somewhere.

Thanks. Appreciate the quick answer.

 

[ZoNtO]

Not a stupid question at all.

 

[Lazarus Short]

To clear things up completely, most computers contain some kind of conversion: D to A, and A to D. Quality of said conversion is a subject that we might not want to address...adequate, perhaps?

 

[krmathis]

Your ears can not hear digital audio, hence it need to be converted.
Sound waves are analog.

 

[Luckyleo]

Thanks to all. One more thing I've learned on my journey. Appreciate your help.

Leo