Question about Burr Brown DACs


I am a bit confused about the different Burr Brown DACs and how they relate to the overall sound of a player. Currently the Burr Brown 1790 seems to be in use in many universal units like the Denon 2900 and 5900. In Stereophile's recent review of the Musical Fidelity DAC it mentioned that it used the latest Burr Brown DAC - the 1792. I took a quick look at the Burr Brown website and they make mention of a new generation chip - the 1796.

So my question is...

Is the newer DAC an indication of potentially "better sound"? In other words does a 1792 DAC make a 1790 sonically obsolete and likewise does the new 1796 make the 1792 yesterday's news? Would an upcoming stock unit with a 1796 make a modded unit based around a 1792 DAC sound ancient?

If the 1796 is going to be a sonic improvement over the 1790 I would assume it will start cropping up in new players. I am currently using a CEC transport and Audiomeca Enkiathus DAC but I am interested in migrating over to a universal player (perhaps a modified unit like the Exemplar Denon 2900 or the Goldmund Eidos 18) but I'm not in a rush...I'm getting great sounds but I always want better.

Are significantly better sounding units on the horizon?
lasercd

Showing 1 response by sean

Audioengr: Thanks for posting a simple and to the point answer.

Slappy: You should only make such an offer if you have a really good appetite or to those that have severe hearing loss / don't know how to fully utilize the hearing that they have : )

Lasercd: Obviously, technology in this area is moving ahead at a great rate. Whether or not a designer / manufacturer knows how to fully impliment that technology is another matter.

Having said that, it is not uncommon for even the designer / manufacturer of an integrated circuit to be up in the air about what makes their design perform optimally and what hinders performance. This is what R&D ( research & development ) by the company using this product has to determine. There are many products using the same or quite similar parts that produce very different results, both sonically and measurably.

If you wait for the latest and greatest, you'll be waiting forever. Technology and use of that technology is ever expanding and ever changing. Sean
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