DAzzdax, I agree that new doesnot mean better or that any specific design( upsampling,non-upsampling,tube,ss) is superior sonicly compared to other well designed DACS. However, my experience with DACS is they can sound very different, as much as amps, pre-amps, etc., and their has been quite an evolution towards better sound in digital front ends in the last 5 years compared with older DACS. It's personnal taste and synergy with your system, but their are real differences with the more current DACS that can raise the level of enjoyment in a system.
old vs new DAC designs and sound differences
Hello fellow Audiogoners, there are alot of DACs around. After having listened to various DACs, I come to the conclusion that differences between DACs are not dramatic. Some relatively old DACs, like the Accuphase DC-91 or the Wadia 9 can still compete with the best of the current DACs. So age (with regard to design) doesn't matter much (1). There is actually no real difference between non-oversampling, filterless designs and the over and upsampling designs with the most difficult and sophisticated algorithms (2). A good sounding DAC, whether it is old, new, non oversampling or over and upsampling remains a good sounding DAC. Differences between loudspeakers are much bigger. Even differences between power amps are more significant than between two well designed DACs (3). So there is no reason at all to replace your albeit old but still good sounding DAC. I know I'll keep my oldskool Accuphase.