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When Will the DAC Singularity Be Reached?

A humorous title, but wondering if those more in the know have an opinion on either: i) examples today where inexpensive DACs (say under $2500) are comparable or superior to expensive (say over $10K) DACs or ii) can we anticipate that within a relatively few number of years that inexpensive DACs will basically achieve the sound quality of today's expensive DACs? Thanks. 

mathiasmingus

Showing 2 responses by wsrrsw

wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
892 posts
 

I once saw a sign that said “Price, Quality, Speed. Pick Two.” This was in relation to commissioned work (at an ad agency) but works for so many things. Sure in Audio there’s overlap but often you get what you pay for. 

wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
892 posts
 

Given the slurry of related comments, your ears, the room and the winning hard of synergy it’s hard to know for sure about what’s definitive about a lot of gear. Is that hot new 8k DAC paired with an old 2k streamer? Given the certain proclivity of many here to be natural tinkerers or shoppers DAC parity or whatever component is on trail is hard to nail down. Did you wait hundreds of hours (sux months) before deciding? 
Beyound a certain level mining out a whee bit more is an expensive holy grail. 

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