I think you might drive yourself nuts getting too deep in the weeds on individual product details, but if you enjoy that by all means have at it. I always start by identifying what sound characteristics I’m looking for, and then once I have some promising candidates I’ll look a bit further into design details but the final arbiter will always be sound. I mean, who cares if a DAC or streamer uses this design or that part if it doesn’t deliver the sound qualities you’re looking for? Now, if I’ve got a couple products like, say, DACs that are pretty much equal on all fronts and one offers a beefier power supply, galvanic isolation on the USB input, etc. then I’ll use design/parts to help make the final decision, but delivering the sound I’m looking for always takes precedence otherwise. Just my $0.02 FWIW.
Importance of a DAC's elements
Over the past week, I have devoted to myself to becoming knowledgeable about DACs -- and, having read literally hundreds of postings and articles, I am incredibly confused about the relative importance of the various elements of a DAC. Let me describe them as
1. Network streaming/rendering (i.e., providing, say, the stream from Tidal and delivering it to the DAC);
2. the DAC function itself (i.e., converting the digital data to an analog signal); and
3. the analog output (i.e., providing the analog signal to the preamp or power amplifier).
I have a decent handle on the relative merits of various engines (e.g., single-chip ESS devices, FPGAs, R2R ladders, ring, etc.) so I don't need feed back on that topic. However, let's take the "streamer/renderer". Is there any benefit from that function being a separate component versus being a board inside? What are the most important considerations in evaluating them? Currently, standalone streamer/renderers cost from under $2,000 to nearly $15,000. What do the higher priced units offer that the lower priced ones do not?
Also, I can appreciate that the analog output function of a DAC is extremely important in determining the quality of the outgoing analog signal. What makes one analog output better than another? What should I be looking for to ensure that this output doesn't undercut the quality of the conversion done by the DAC itself?
All insights will be appreciated.