One opinion here - No. There is always something to improve and advance the state of the art. I purchased a five year old DAC that was rated A+ at the time. Now it's not even in the competition. I think it's great, but will probably upgrade in another 2-3 years.
Is there such a thing as a FOREVER DAC/streamer?
I know I might be talking about rehab in a back alley, but here it goes.
I've been looking to upgrade my Hegel H390's internal DAC. But I would only do it to knock it out of the park; as the Hegel's internal DAC does an admirable job. So the question is, is there such a thing as an end game-forever DAC. At the end of the day, DAC is a digital product. Digital technology evolve quicker than analog technology.
Will that Lumin X1, Bartok, Dave, etc be obsolete in 3 years? Thus making this a moot conversation...
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@gpixels , As your DAC is inside of your integrated amp, you won't be able to upgrade, unless Hegel introduces new firmware. As DAC and streaming tech is moving at a rapid pace, I have no doubt that much of what is now 'state of the art' will be bypassed by newer tech. That being said, you'd need to spend a bit more money to get a significantly 'better' DAC than what you now own. I plumped for a Brinkmann Nyquist, and I find it to be quite capable- so much so, that I consider it my last purchase for quite a while. Bob |
The OP actually gives a very good reason for not breaking the bank on a streamer/dac. If you spend $20K on the latest hot streamer, that may put a crimp in your ability to upgrade for a while. As he noted digital technology changes very fast, and they greatest innovations tend to trickle down fast as well. Todays innovation at $20K may be largely reproducible for a fraction of that price in a year or two |
Back in the early 1980s when CDs were launched the marketing phrase was "perfect sound forever". Advancements since then make that phrase seem somewhat humorous. I think the same could be said of today's state of the art looking back from the future and of course you need to consider ever evolving formats. |