Does a DAC need a large/strong power supply?

The BRYSTON BDA-3 DAC has independent power supplies, a feature representative in high-end DAC design, and resulting stepped-up audio performance in high-end DACs.

Tony,

It was an honest question. I am very confused by ASR loving these cheap DACs. My Yiggy has a very large PS and sounds great. My interest is curiosity as to how these $300 to $600 dacs test so well and have very low noise. I believe they have small power supplies due to the tiny sizes of these units. I don't have an "ASR Bias", just wondering if we're all paying too much.

Some people want their DAC to sound like nothing, similar to how some people believe that the best preamp is just a passive one with a quality attenuator - nothing but a straight line with gain

This is largely a problem if one like listening to their music at very low levels.
In that case the output impedance of the passive passive pre amp screams towards infinity… and any low impedance power amp, and the capacitance or inductance in interconnects, then becomes a real (filter) effect to consider.

Many hifi designers believe you are essentially listening to a power supply that is merely controlled and regulated by your pre and power amps?

And this is also largely true.
The stiffer, and lower noise of the power supply is what does separate the men from the boys in the better sounding gear.

But, answer the OP’s question, it also makes a difference as to what the input impedance of the preamp is, and what the output impedance of the DAC is.
It the pre amp has a 1000 ohm input impedance versus, say a 100k ohm input impedance, then a 600 ohm output impedance will likely be dragged down more.

The Audio Precision measurement gear likely has a super high input impedance, so it does not likely suffer… or it is not likely to pull down the DAC’s output in any measurable way whatsoever.

Luckily, most manufacturers provide the input and output impedances of their gear. So that helps to a large degree.

Many hifi designers believe you are essentially listening to a power supply that is merely controlled and regulated by your pre and power amps?

Yes and no, the power supply on the cheaper streamers do introduce noise into the system.  Like with the blusound node.  It's a great streamer but getting a better quality power cable does help out a lot.  I've also heard one modded to use an external power supply and it does help out a lot.  But with any decent built >$1000 DAC, you wont have an issue with that.

Jim White at Aesthetix for a Phd on great power supplies, isolation, Faraday cage, etc….

Does a DAC sound better with an overkill power supply?

I've found that to be true with two Dacs.

Some people want their DAC to sound like nothing, similar to how some people believe that the best preamp is just a passive one with a quality attenuator - nothing but a straight line with gain. Others believe that these components are major contributors to the heart and soul of music delivery. Neither are wrong, and each person is entitled to his or her preferences and values.

I am in the camp of the latter and believe that a DAC and preamp are integral to bringing the music to life. To do so, the analog stages of each component need to be exceptional. Part of making these stages exceptional is quality power. Good quality power also helps to reduce noise in the DAC’s digital stage as well.

There have been numbers of threads where people have upgraded or bypassed their DAC’s built-in power supplies and have reported improvements from doing so. I did this myself with the PS Audio DirectStream DAC, continuing to leverage the internal power supply to handle the digital display and firmware while handling the analog and digital audio stages with a Farad Super3 linear power supply. The improvement was notable with a much blacker background, faster, stronger bass and less etched / more natural presentation overall. 

"Does a DAC sound better with an overkill power supply?"

Yes.

My first "serious" DAC was an Audio Alchemy DDP-1. I tried this with & without the optional stand alone power supply. The difference was easy to hear. With the optional power supply the bass was more pronounced & the highs were cleaner. Also... what dow jones states above is right, just haven't run across one of those yet. 

Good detective work there, Tony. 👍

A good DAC doesn't sound like anything no matter the power supply.

@koestner 

"Does a DAC sound better with an overkill power supply?"

On the surface, you seem to be asking an honest question, but your ASR bias is made obvious by the use of the word "overkill".

If you already see a beefy power supply as "overkill" then why ask the question at all?

"but people say they're not that good because of a weak power supply"

When people say this, how many of them do you think have professionally designed electronics for audio or other similar low noise electronics?

When people say this, can they clearly and concisely describe, in point form, exactly what is wrong with the power supplies on these units?

I would be more worried about isolation on the interfaces.