@lordmelton 503 posts
“ … Whether it’s a DAC, cable, preamp or whatever you need to have a half decent system to reveal the differences.
That being said some people really can’t hear differences between a cheap or expensive DAC…”
MY TAKE:
(A) ) +1 on the prerequisite for a high-end system actually capable of having the advanced audio resolution threshold where differentiation starts and matters.
(B) In my experience, the clear differentiation between DACs starts at about $3K and going north from there. That’s the point where the design and the build quality starts to separate the contenders from the pretenders, with a step-up in audio performance.
for example:
- Robust linear power supplies and isolation from the signal path.
- Steel chassis and metalwork. Machined and anodized aluminum dress panel.
- Dual high-end DAC chipset used in in dual-mono configuration Balanced mode for improved SNR.
- The output is sent through the high-end unit’s custom discreet and fully balanced Class-A output stage.
- Most have an upgraded design before the incoming digital signal even gets to the DAC chips. The high-end units remove the embedded timing information from the incoming signal and re-clocks the data against its own proprietary master clock, thus minimizing potential jitter issues.
- invariably, they have a clean and well thought out layout with high quality parts and construction used throughout.
- You will expect a large toroidal transformer, connected to robust power reserves and filtration on the main control PCB, that powers a series of individual boards. If it has anHDMI board, it is separate from the dual-input USB board which is separated from the DAC / output-stage board as well.
- here’s a further blurb to read:
Cheap DAC vs Expensive DAC – What’s the Actual Difference?
https://www.musicservertips.com/opinions/cheap-dac-vs-expensive-dac/