Are "vintage" DAC's worthwhile, or is this a tech that does not age well

@drew_k ,
"When D/As became a $99-500 commodity, these design principles went out the window and the focus was on the chipset and general architecture (ladder, R2R, etc). The original designs put note emphasis on the “A” instead of the “D"

I concur and corroborate...

Anyway i own a low cost NOS dac Tda 1543 ....

There is no limitations on any count imposed by this vintage designed chip re-used in his own way by a french designer, no audible limitations in my audio system WHY?

Because the acoustic controls of the room is way more impactful than a dac, and optimize your audio system putting it on an another level completely, especially if you  did not use the  harsh analytical sigma dac on the market....

But like i already said:

Acoustic is the sleeping princess in Audio, but all people are looking for one of the working 7 dwarves....

The marketing schenanigans are more powerful than basic science....And the audio superstition around the listening of music from speakers .... We always listen music from the room....It is the last and more powerful piece of the chain....

Mahgister,

What dac you have that uses the 1543 chip?

A french dac  with an internal battery,a NOS one, designed by Christophe Mariac, bought on EBAY... Starting point systems dac....

Look for one used anything below 200 bucks will be the right price...

The problem is solved for me because my contemporay dac include only one vintage chip Tda 1543...

😊

Testing shows most DACs don’t have sonic signatures as long as they conform to basic engineering principles. I’m tired of the willfully ignorant who dismiss standard testing protocol and crown themselves golden ears.

I apologize for being in total opposite side from the "gold dial" side...

Dac dont give the same sound in all environment, like amplifier or speakers...Dacs are not like one another at all like other piece of gear...

The only way to test a dac is creating the rightfully controlled environment, and in this environment a good dac will disapear to some degree....Like other piece of gear to some varying degree related to the quality of their design...

My 20 bucks dac bought with a bid on Ebay give me ALL qualities associated with great dac: imaging, details, holographic sound, even analog flavor and is so good that upgrading it seems silly and dangerous idea...For those who think my S.Q. because of the lowest price of my gear limit my experience, my system for his price rival anything which top him for sure but not being so distant behind that most would think...

I deduced from that 2 things: there is difference between dac, and a good dac COULD or CAN cost peanuts and give a totally satisfying acoustical experience if the environment is under control in his 3 working embeddings dimensions : mechanical,electrical and acoustical....

I know most will not believe me....

Pricing a design means that often it is a better one but there is a ceiling where the implementation of the design begins to be way more important than the electronic design sophistication itself....

A controlled room is the more precious part of any gear at any price...

Older DACs will still sound as good (or bad) as they were originally, but there have been significant advances in DAC implementations. So I would recommend at least listening to some newer DACs before deciding to go with an older one.

Improvement of technology in amplifier or dac are not synonymous with an automatic improvement in S.Q. in your own room, gear and electrical grid.... And a change on some aspect of sound is NOT an improvement in itself just a change, an improvement is a change on all aspect of sound simultaneously: details but also natural tonal timbre, imaging but also soundstage, listener envelopment but also source width....Any change on only one or 2 aspect is not necessarily an improvement, but only moving the unadressed problems around one upgrade after an another....Most people call a change from warm to more details or the reverse an improvement and it is not an improvement AT ALL just a moving around of unadressed problem....







The real question is with the least money possible how will i make my actual dac sound great? Is it possible? if yes why upgrading at all?

Some vintage dac can probably sound so good in the right "environment" that upgrading them will look like silliness.... It is my case....

But people dont know what is an environment: a mechanical,electrical and acoustical environment.... The words "embeddings" here is replaced by environment for a best understanding....New words are terrifying it seems... 😁😊

a change of a piece of gear is often  only a "change", a moving around of the problem, not an improvement....

Very rare to have a good sounding cheap amp.

Call me i will give to you a list of cheap very good amplifiers....my sansui AU 7700 is unbeattable for the price: 100 bucks and 6th year of working in my room 12 hours each day....

Try to look for a very good and low cost dac? This is HARD, good luck..... 😁




I bought a NOS french dac which use only one old chip TDA 1543 in a minimalistic design... Sold on EBAY by Starting point systems...Christophe Mariac designer...

He is so good i want to buy another one used in case...If someone want to sell one call me.... 😊😁😁😁😁😊

I will bother no much ever for a dac, because in my actual acoustical settings i sense NO limitation at all coming fromt it...

And my audio system for his price is so well embedded that i dont listen to my 7 headphones anymore, i dont like NO other system i listen to more andi dont to want to upgrade or buy another one....

It is not the best system there is at all, but when all music is there filling the room without heavy limitations, we listen music without thinking about a new component....

Then my greatest purchase luck what the luck to buy one of this dac....

A good dac at LOW price is perhaps the harder piece of gear to discover and bought....harder than even buying low price good speakers....

I am born under a good star.....


Then yes, old designed cheap could be more good or than dreamed of because most people has never listened to their own system at his peak working potential at all anyway.... Often the real causes of theor unsatifactions unbeknownst to them, comes from the bad embeddings controls and less than from the gear they already own.... Then instead of adressing the more complicated questions like vibrations controls, electrical noise floor controls or more importantly acoustical controls, they search for an easy solution: an upgrade....And the more evident one : a costly DAC....


I think it is not the vintage chip TDA 1543 which only explain the result i listen to but more the MINIMALISTIC way and  the low noise which is associated also with the internal battery....I connect it to a good power supply also: IPOWER ...