I found out that CA DacMagic and Rega Saturn use the same chip(Wolfson Dual Differential 8740 Dac ) .Is is not weird that an high end cd player and a budget Dac use the same chip?Anyone could me explain this?
I found out that CA DacMagic and Rega Saturn use the same chip(Wolfson Dual Differential 8740 Dac ) .Is is not weird that an high end cd player and a budget Dac use the same chip?Anyone could me explain this?
It's not weird. The most important thing it's the implemention of the chip.
Another example: cd player Pioneer pd-d6-j (500 usd) use the same chip Burr Brown 1738 like Ayre CX-7 EMP (3800 Euro).
Although the E7 uses the chip well, Only reason i can think the E7 is so well priced is the base company is in china so their's no expensive overheads like in other countrys not to mention they build them in china must have much less overheads and export costs, Needless to say it's quite amazing for £50 LoL.
Not only is the DAC chip itself a small part of the overall product in terms of sound, but it isn't terribly expensive in the scheme of things. Most DAC chips cost a dollar or two - and the most expensive Sabre DAC chip is about $30 . Now, in a $40 product like the Fiio, especially if you're not talking 1000+ buy quantities, that's a significant difference. However, when you're talking $1000+ DACs, whether the main chip costs $3 or $30 doesn't seem like such a big deal. (The difference between "the premium part" and "the cheap part" is a very small percentage of the total price.)
It's also quite true that the sound does depend on the whole design much more than on the chip itself. Honestly, other than a few really obsolete chips (which people insist on using anyway), all of the modern ones are capable of VERY nice sound quality if used properly, and even the $30 Sabre can sound crummy if implemented poorly. You're really better off paying more attention to how the thing sounds and less to the particular parts that got it there.
Not only is the DAC chip itself a small part of the overall product in terms of sound, but it isn't terribly expensive in the scheme of things. Most DAC chips cost a dollar or two - and the most expensive Sabre DAC chip is about $30 . Now, in a $40 product like the Fiio, especially if you're not talking 1000+ buy quantities, that's a significant difference. However, when you're talking $1000+ DACs, whether the main chip costs $3 or $30 doesn't seem like such a big deal. (The difference between "the premium part" and "the cheap part" is a very small percentage of the total price.)
It's also quite true that the sound does depend on the whole design much more than on the chip itself. Honestly, other than a few really obsolete chips (which people insist on using anyway), all of the modern ones are capable of VERY nice sound quality if used properly, and even the $30 Sabre can sound crummy if implemented poorly. You're really better off paying more attention to how the thing sounds and less to the particular parts that got it there.
I found out that CA DacMagic and Rega Saturn use the same chip(Wolfson Dual Differential 8740 Dac ) .Is is not weird that an high end cd player and a budget Dac use the same chip?Anyone could me explain this?
Not necessarily - some $1,500++ Cayin CDPs' PCM179x chips can be found in eBay kits too. You can use the same chip and still get a different sound; it all depends on the circuit. What you get from a more expensive product is a better output stage design (maybe; like Cayin has tubes, Marantz has HDAM, etc), and in the case of the DACMagic vs the Saturn CDP, you're paying for a CD transport in the latter. And when I say that, I don't just mean they just crammed the transport in there and you're supposed to pay just the $300+ cost for it like when you replace it - there's the production cost of building the CDP with a transport vs just a DAC; the PSU was desgined to power that too (if not having two PSUs); plus a little extra to help fund warranties since there's always a few bum transports somewhere in the production line; etc etc.
Oh, have you touched the remote on CDPs? I don't remember what the Saturn has, but some brands give you cheap, rebranded plastic units (which is common with the brands who also make TVs and video players, back when they still made CDPs); others, even the smaller, newer ones from China, sometimes have remotes on an aluminum chassis.DACs generally don't need these, either.
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